tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25159268994196867092024-02-19T07:02:16.957-08:00Jacqueline Pye's blogJacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-63814216391511758932020-04-17T07:48:00.000-07:002020-04-17T07:48:02.081-07:00Radio Silence - and the Lockdown Effect<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apologies for not keeping up this blog. So many things have got in the way, nothing too serious but just didn't get around to updating.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last year, as mentioned, I completed an online poetry writing course. Grades were great and since then I've been subbing to magazines and competitions, so far without success. Set form, formal poetry has been a special interest - terza rimas, pantoums, sonnets and so on - but these rarely appear in lists or magazines. Successful poets seem currently to be writing lovely but rather ethereal poetry, so I'm wondering if I need to be more like that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recently submitted to a single-poem comp and also one for poetry pamphlets - around twenty poems. Waiting and hoping.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Currently I'm studying with an online Art Appreciation course. Not strictly a writing-related thing, but I try to get all the main points in my assignments while giving them a literary sort of style. Really enjoyable but very time-consuming. I've a very long history of published articles and some short stories and flash fiction, but the tutor doesn't know that. He commented, 'Well you can certainly write'! Seven assignments in and marks average 9/10. Find myself watching loads of art programmes on TV and realise I have been watching them keenly for years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the subject of our current lockdown, I have been noticing on social media that many of the writers I follow are struggling with moving their projects forward. It has taken them by surprise, as although most work from home and are used to being solitary, the atmosphere isn't now conducive to concentration. I've recently written a short piece on why this is, and how to manage it, and I believe it will be published online sometime soon. People report that it's more difficult to work with family members buzzing around, and concentration is difficult with all the awful media information pouring in. I'll write more on this soon, in case it might be helpful. In the meantime, the parting greeting 'Take care' has been replaced by 'Stay safe'.</span>Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-17744871868932120182019-06-08T02:43:00.000-07:002019-06-08T02:43:14.574-07:00Tips for writing students working online<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a long break ...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's the text of my ten tips for completing an online writing course. The piece was published on the blog of The Writers' Bureau on June 7th, 2019. I had just successfully completed the Bureau's online course, The Art of Writing Poetry, during which quite a portfolio of poems developed, including some set forms as I wrote in the previous post on this blog. My later submissions earned A+ grades, and this spurred me on to try to get my work published - an ongoing uphill task, but as with the course itself, I won't give up.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of the points may seem obvious, but surprisingly not all are followed by all students. I've studied through online and postal courses quite a number of times now, almost all writing-related (and all completed) and one for drawing (dumped), but I know what it's like to become disheartened. So here is the piece:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.writersbureau.com/blog/reap-rewards-2/2019/06/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to See It Through And Reap The Rewards">See It Through And Reap The Rewards</a></span>
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June 7th, 2019 </h3>
When
you’ve looked at the writing courses on offer and made the commitment, a
strategy can be helpful to ensure you’ll get the maximum benefit.<br />
<br />
I’ve recently completed the poetry course with The Writers’ Bureau,
and found planning helpful in keeping up the momentum. Here are ten
suggestions to remain on track from selection to completion. There is so
much enjoyment and satisfaction to come!<br />
<br />
1 When choosing your course, whether purely for interest or with an
aim to be published, read <br />
everything the website can tell you about
it. Don’t be put off by a suggested timescale. (I <br />
completed mine with
very few weeks to spare.)
<br />
<span id="more-6373"></span><br />
<br />
2 Pounce on the course materials. Read the introduction and details of
the first assignment carefully.<br />
Flicking through the next few modules
may whet the appetite.<br />
<br />
3 Plan your writing rate and submission goals. For example, a target
number of hours per week, to<br />
include reading the course material as well
as writing. If there are, say, twelve assignments over<br />
two years, your
goal might be to submit every six to seven weeks. But if you can’t keep
to this,<br />
never be tempted into ‘that’ll do’. Make it The Best!<br />
<br />
4 Keep a notebook with you always, including at night, and jot down
ideas, snatches of<br />
conversation (one spawned a prize-winning short story
for me!), themes, or issues that upset,<br />
annoy or inspire you.<br />
<br />
5 On settling to work, check the notebook. If there’s no light bulb
moment, think about an event and<br />
ask ‘what if?’. Start a rough draft and
try not to edit as you go along. I found it best to have both<br />
something
starting from scratch and one piece in mid-edit.<br />
<br />
6 Keep a log of your work; it’s very motivating to see it piling up.
For each assignment I kept a<br />
folder with a copy of the submission, the
feedback, and the resulting edited version. Keep a note<br />
of submission
contents and grades – this will hopefully show progress and be
motivating.<br />
<br />
7 Examine feedback carefully; if points are repeated, that needs
sorting. You may not agree with<br />
every point but each will have a reason.
Bask in positive comments.<br />
<br />
8 If it’s a struggle, or there’s a troublesome issue, ask the tutor for advice. It can be hard to be<br />
objective about our own work.<br />
<br />
9 Expect variable enthusiasm levels! Typical is a burst of creativity
followed by a slowdown, then<br />
an increase in energy as you get into the
second half of the course. Update friends/family on<br />
progress – that
helps avoid temptation to ‘take a break’.<br />
<br />
10 If you hope for publication, make notes about target markets as you
go. If the course is mainly for<br />
enjoyment, why not build up a catalogue
of the work to take pride of place on the bookshelf?<br />
<br />
Wishing everyone a fulfilling, successful – and completed – writing course!<br />
<br />
Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-35979636632850895092018-09-17T08:55:00.000-07:002018-09-17T08:55:13.155-07:00FORMAL FORMS AND FORMULAE<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As all poets will know, there are a number of set forms of poems which are usually rigid and which vary from the fairly easy to work with up to those that cause nightmares with their complexity. Keeping to a set of rules while making a poem that has something to say can be very taxing, but it's satisfying if it comes together.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I have invented two forms-with-rules, and have produced poems in a number of different forms to submit for my online course. Those from the general list I have written so far are:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Chaucerian Roundel</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Limerick (sad rather than humorous)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Minute (60 syllables)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Rubai (plural is the well-known 'Rubaiyat') </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Sonnet</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Terza Rima (one of my favourites)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Villanelle (wildly taxing)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Shape (or concrete)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Haiku.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The elements of an extremely tricky Sestina are emerging, and on a good day I may set my cap at a Pantoum. There are others, perhaps less demanding, but I do love a challenge.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Is anyone else out there tackling these forms? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span>Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-40047240451239325282018-09-11T02:56:00.000-07:002018-09-17T08:36:35.668-07:00BACK FROM THE WILDERNESS!<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You know that feeling when you're travelling and it turns out that you paid more than anyone else for your ticket?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> That's what it's been like for me in recent years with my website. Although I did all the work of setting it up, writing it, posting photos and images, and managing it generally, the web host was starting to charge ridiculous fees for 'hosting'. They were also giving me considerable warning that renewal was coming over the horizon, then suddenly the renewal date was imminent. 'But I thought you said ...'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Each year I considered abandoning ship, but I didn't want to lose all that work (did print it out in case) or the name of my site which was 'registered' with them. Also, when glitches appeared on the site, they were unable to fix them and I had to recruit a tech-savvy member of the family to take over the site and fix it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> This summer, I complained about the fees and was offered a year with more than a third off. Fell for that one, but when it came to paying, the site wouldn't work and the host several times said they'd fixed it but they hadn't. Then I got a bill for two years at four times the one-year offer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> So I have quit. I know about Wordpress, but thought I'd keep this Blogger account, for now at least, and ring-fence it just for writing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Currently I'm concentrating on Poetry, studying through an online course. 75 per cent done, and grades started at C+ and have steadily increased so that the last three assignments were marked A+, A and A+. I think my efforts with formal poetry forms and with my own invented forms have helped, and the course is really enjoyable. Aware that I have bragged about this on Twitter, but it's been so pleasing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> I have now started submitting to competitions and magazines, though the wait to hear further is up to three months, and then only if successful. No idea how novellists cope with the 'wait-to-hear'; more poems can be written and submitted during this time, but a new novel can't be produced that quickly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> More to follow. If you're still with me, thanks!</span><br />
Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-9259983768478088002015-12-05T04:05:00.001-08:002015-12-05T04:05:36.233-08:00Competition to win a Millie the Detective book<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Since I've a few paperback copies left of Millie the Detective and the Diamond Ring with the original cover - the 12-year-old detective's first case - I'm offering five signed copies in a draw (UK only). This is it:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JOfwtrn39RhvlGR5R0yUXuPZYm45lePMt0BfhOzvQUIzzhRpeDHzXx8tXvP969YP0raZdU4GLhCAS6QZaeYdD6AvYd-8p5ADnCnoYZTzAMJIVqnFtQ3M92A5lJZSB5YgZLuNL_cj/s1600/MillieCover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JOfwtrn39RhvlGR5R0yUXuPZYm45lePMt0BfhOzvQUIzzhRpeDHzXx8tXvP969YP0raZdU4GLhCAS6QZaeYdD6AvYd-8p5ADnCnoYZTzAMJIVqnFtQ3M92A5lJZSB5YgZLuNL_cj/s200/MillieCover.jpeg" width="122" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Readership is around 7+ to 11; the other main characters are Millie's younger brother and his best mate, as well as Badger the bully, and of course Boris the dog. Deadline is end of Tuesday December 8th. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">To enter (one entry per person), please provide the subtitle of Millie's <i>second</i> case (see the side of this page!) in one of these ways:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(a) tweet to @JacquelinePye </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(b) message me on facebook (Jacqueline Pye)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">(c) comment at the bottom of this blog with your name, and twitter or facebook</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> contact details if you have them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Winners will be drawn randomly, and I'll post names on this blog shortly after the Tuesday, with a link to it on twitter and facebook.</span></div>
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Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-7129391262437934832015-11-30T03:58:00.000-08:002015-11-30T03:58:06.254-08:00Winning Pieces of Flash Fiction - must there be a common strand?<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My own submitted flash fictions have varied quite widely in their nature. Some have been quite dark - murder, other death, jealousy, obsession, weirdness, threat and so on, with several of these appearing in my collection <a href="http://ow.ly/pioGZ">Bottles and Pots</a>. Others have veered towards the lighter and hopefully humorous. Guess which types have won or been placed more times?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I enjoy writing and entering flash fiction, I do read a great number of others' entries, especially those longlisted, shortlisted or placed. What troubles me is that these - and this often applies to your actual short story winners - tend to be disturbing, stream of consciousness, surreal or generally depressing. Quite prepared to be contradicted; this is just my impression.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wouldn't it be pleasing if, sometimes, lighter work and humour could be considered worthy? Guessing most of us study what's been winning before we submit, as is wise, but I'm imagining a tranche of flash fiction competitions that state the judges are looking towards fun/humorous skilful writing that manages to tell a story, show a snapshot, make a point, deliver a twist - or all of these.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This a bee in bonnet matter!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-34618712767358261782015-10-31T04:08:00.000-07:002015-11-01T01:25:50.472-08:00October Round-Up: Ups and Downs<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Further to the previous post, some things came off well, others less so ...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Portswood Library centenary celebrations went very well, with some staff in vintage clothing, lots of exhibits, and the mayor cutting the cake. Penny Legg and I each did a short turn about our books; small audience with one chap rapidly falling asleep but the rest giving their attention.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then Southampton's Festival of Words SOToSpeak15 began! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Authors on the water Southampton-Isle of Wight was entertaining, although my pitch in the family lounge was surrounded by very vocal preschoolers so a talk was not possible. Even so, had some very nice chats with children about reading and writing, and sold some books. The Solent was slightly choppy but not enough to bother us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Very small audience at the Boutique Village, but even the children who were too young for my Millie the Detective books watched and listened as I hammed it up with the actions of the school bully and the fretting of the goodie characters. And again I sold books. Maybe should consider a late career on the stage instead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The writing group of which I've been a member for about 6 years was given our own competition with prizes in each of the four categories. At a very lively awards ceremony in local bar/restaurant The Stage Door, I learned that I had come first in both of the categories entered - flash fiction and non-fiction. This was a shock, but very heartening as during the weeks beforehand I had seriously considered giving up writing. Some of the prize money will go towards raffle prizes to be won at our fab group Christmas tea at the Grand Harbour Hotel in Southampton.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The one-day writers' conference sadly had to be cancelled. I had collected loads of books and leaflets for our writing group trade stand, sorted them into categories, and made a plan of how the table would look. However, it was worse for those who were booked as speakers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Made the longlist but not the shortlist for the Bath Flash Fiction Award, again honestly unexpectedly. This rolling award has just restarted, and I think it's worth entering again and working even harder this time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So it's been quite a month, which also saw self-publication of Millie the Detective's second case, The Thief Unmasked. Details are at http://tinyurl.com/p4n7soq - a five-star review already - and info about the first book is not far away from that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy November, all, whether or not your plunging into NaNoWriMo!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-4873680916627434752015-10-06T04:50:00.001-07:002015-10-06T04:50:54.335-07:00October 2015 will be some month ...<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Much of my activity this month relates to Southampton's Festival of Words, SOToSpeak15 - http://www.sotospeakfestival.org - which runs from October 23rd to November 1st. But not all.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">October 2nd was meeting day for Southampton Writing Buddies, of which I've been a member since soon after the group was formed six or seven years ago. As the group owner was away, I chaired the meeting. Always a worry, as she's a Duracell bunny and a great group leader. Still, decent-sized turnout, lots of members in chatty mode, and a great workshop from magazine short story guru Barbara Dynes. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On October 4th I, along with up to 49 other writers, received a very cheering email to advise that our entry to the Bath Flash Fiction Award had been longlisted. Especially thrilling since it's the inaugural award and will be ongoing, always stopping after 1000 entries before restarting soon afterwards. I didn't have high hopes, as the competition comes from the prestigious Bath Short Story Award stable, but gave it my best shot. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still to come:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On October 22nd my local library, Portswood in Southampton, is celebrating its centenary. As part of the festivities, our writing group owner and I are giving short talks about writing and our books, and hopefully working our way through some cakes. Delighted to be invited to this; the library is very community-friendly and hosts regular events. Including cake sales.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">October 26th, first weekday of local half term, will see me boarding Red Funnel ferry Osprey to the Isle of Wight for a straight there-and-back in the family lounge chatting about writing and about my two books for children. Planning to wear something sparkly. A number of Writing Buddies are doing this during the day, and we're all hoping for a calm sea ...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On October 27th I've a date at The Boutique Village in Millbrook, Southampton to chat with families about writing and my books. It's an open, free event, and again other Writing Buddies will be doing the same during the week.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As Southampton Writing Buddies are involved with the Festival, a competition was set up for members to submit fiction, non-fiction, poetry and/or flash fiction, with three prizes in each category. I have entered but shouldn't say what or which category until the judging is completed. On October 28th there's our award ceremony where we learn our fate in this competition. We're a fairly large but very cohesive group, and it does seem odd to be competing with one another, but a great incentive to get on and write.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">October 30th is a big day - the Festival's Writers' Conference at Southampton City College. There will be some amazing writing-related talks and workshops throughout the day, and I'd be there even if I didn't have a part to play. Writing Buddies have a 'trade stand', and I'll be enjoying organising it. Have already amassed a good collection of books, booklets, laminated short pieces, biogs and other publicity material and have planned how it's all going to be displayed. Very fine displacement activity, that.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">November will seem very flat, writing-wise, but time to relax.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span>Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-36729279273434551282015-05-28T03:51:00.001-07:002015-05-28T03:54:09.194-07:00First 7 Lines<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Can't believe</span> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">it's been so long ....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have had some successes with flash fiction along the way, currently my favourite writing genre. However, since there is a bit of a trend for people to link from twitter to the first 7 lines of one of their stories, here are the first 7 lines of the first story in my collection <i>Bottles and Pots </i>(see left for link). There's a full, different story in a previous post.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">THE ENEMY</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The word that means a fear of clowns is 'coulrophobia'.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know this because I read it in a book given to me last year for my eighth birthday. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Didn't need to look it up - you could tell from the text and it made me feel sick. I never </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">liked clowns, ever since we were at the circus when I was very young, and one </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">pretended to throw a bucket of water over me when it was only pieces of paper. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They are the enemy now.</span><br />
<br />
----------<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the story, the narrator comes face to face with a clown with rather unfortunate results!</span><br />
<br />
Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-27826950966944507972014-06-23T08:40:00.000-07:002014-06-23T08:40:53.042-07:00To Celebrate Prizes, a Sample Story from Bottles & Pots<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seem to have banged on about my two recent prizes everywhere else, so here's a quick summary for this blog.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The current issue (July) of Writing Magazine includes my story which won first prize in a Writers' News competition on the theme of 'Comeuppance'. Being familiar with my darkish short stories, some of my writing group could quite see why I entered! The story is She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not, told by a chap who watches his own funeral and the aftermath, and involves a naughty wife, a cardigan, a chubby chancer and a pink leather jacket.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was also awarded second place in a competition run by our city council & their 'depot'. This one was The Butchers, and since I'm vegetarian I put the boot into them but as sweetly as I could.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then I realised that I haven't, as it were, spread myself around in a literary way. So here is a short story (760w) from my first collection, <i>Bottles and Pots</i>. Not all are historical, and length ranges from flash fiction to 3,000w or so. Hope you like it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span> <style><!--
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>ST ANSELM’S DAY
</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The people of Fordwich held a festival each year on the
feast day of St Anselm.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He
was their much-loved eleventh-century local saint, once archbishop of nearby
Canterbury and now interred in the cathedral. Each year on April 21<sup>st</sup>
the servants at the manor house were granted the day off, as were the
labourers; shopkeepers and merchants closed their doors. Even lords and ladies
from other manor houses would mingle with the crowd in the market place. And
this year, 1263, events had been meticulously planned, for local records
suggested that Anselm was canonised exactly one hundred years earlier.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Milo
Chaloner had lived in Fordwich all his life, as had his wife, Estrild. At this
time they had been married for some ten years, and had been reasonably
comfortable together, although there remained silent shadows in the background.
Still, like others, they and their three children were looking forward to the
next day’s festival. There had been another child, but he had died during his
first weeks after crying bitterly and often during his brief time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As was usual for little ones, his body,
wrapped in its christening gown, had been taken to an ancient oak outside the
village. A small tomb had been hollowed out for him within its massive trunk,
and Estrild had gently placed him within, watching and weeping as the elders
sealed the tomb with pieces of the bark held together by mortar. His remains
would feed the tree in the months to come.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now Estrild was preparing the
slaughtered pig, a job she loathed but it was expected of her.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“You’re
doing the hog roast again this year, Milo?” she asked, without looking up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Aye.
And the brewer’s supplying the ale.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Anyone
helping you with the roast? I’d rather not, myself.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“When
you say ‘anyone’ …?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I
mean Alwyn. He usually helps you.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Aye,
and he helps himself, too. Not only to the meat, neither.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Estrild’s
knife slipped and cut her hand. He watched as she went to find cloth for a
bandage.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On
the day itself, the weather was fine. The maypole dances went well, with just
the occasional knotting of ribbons, and much ale was bought and drunk. The
Greene Man was splendid in his costume of branches, leaves and grasses, and he
lit the bonfire as the day wore on. The travelling fortune-teller told Estrild
that there had been sadness – of course everyone knew about the baby – but said
there was more to come and dismissed her without taking her silver.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Two
farm hands helped Milo with the hog roast, but Estrild had no interest. Alwyn
had stayed away, and she was sorry. She did not mention him further to Milo.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
evening fell, the villagers formed a group and began, as was traditional, to
walk the boundary of the village, laying their hands upon established trees in
thanks and reciting prayers to St Anselm around any that held living tombs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
they approached the Chaloner baby’s tree, Estrild held on to Milo’s arm as the
tears welled up. But his arm was stiff and he could not offer comfort. The
prayer was said and the group moved on, but not before the Greene Man had noted
some dislodged mortar. There was whispering and later he, with two others,
returned to the tree. They studied the mortar carefully, and it was decided
that the tomb must be checked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
replaced bark pieces were removed, and they peered inside. The body of the baby
was decayed while the gown was in fair form, but doubled up and pressed against
it was another that should not have been. A man, not long placed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That
looks to me like Alwyn,” said one of the farm hands.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“It’s
Alwyn all right,” said the other. And so it was.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
news spread quickly back to the group, and they were shocked. Alwyn had been a
striking young man who featured in the dreams of many of the local girls,
though as far as anyone knew, he had not taken up an offer in the village.
There were rumours of a lover, possibly in Canterbury itself, but no proof.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Estrild
was grief-stricken once again, and Milo spoke harshly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“It’s
months since we lost the child. You’ve three others to look after, and they
need you to be strong. So be strong.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As
Estrild made her way tearfully to their bedchamber, she heard Milo muttering
but could not make out his words.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Best
thing for the bastard child. Together with his father until the tree be
felled.”</div>
Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-49636590381628791452014-04-10T03:41:00.000-07:002014-04-10T03:41:19.344-07:00A Song from the Teenage Heart!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">A change of mood now. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">In my late teens I played folk guitar and occasionally wrote songs. I used to sit by an open window, playing and singing, in the vain hope that a record producer might walk by, hear me, and offer a record contract on the spot. At that time I was writing a pop music column for the local paper, and soon afterwards had a job as singer with a group of Cambridge undergrads performing at USAF bases in France for the summer vacation. Buddy Holly, Brenda Lee and all that. Then the others went back to university; I was invited to join another group to tour Germany, but being a romantic and my boyfriend being unhappy about the idea, I didn't go but came home instead to take up secretarial work.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Anyway, one song 'what I wrote' has recently been circulating in my head for some reason. I sang it and played guitar for an audition for Opportunity Knocks, though I got the old 'Don't call us, we'll call you'. Here are the lyrics - and I must stress they're not autobiographical! I was lucky not to be dumped at all ...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Each verse except the third is sung in a minor key. All together now:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I met him in the su-ummertime,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">And loved him by-y the fall.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> He smiled at me,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> I couldn't see</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">He didn't ca-are at all. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">He gave me pearls, he ga-ave me gold,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">He gave me e-everything. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">He smiled, he said</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> That we'd be wed -</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I wore a diamond ring. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">But came the spring, I suddenly knew</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">He wanted to be free.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> He smiled, he said</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> That love was dead -</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">He didn't ca-are for me.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">So if you meet the boy of your dreams,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">With lips as sweet as wine,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> You may be blind</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> And you may find</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">He'll break your hea-art like mine.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Have to add, ©Jacqueline Pye 2014 ! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<br />Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-19162089757798305202014-03-30T03:37:00.001-07:002014-03-30T03:37:19.333-07:00Target Reached!<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was the online short story course early last year that showed me how to break out into different genres, and that has been the root of what's happened since.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My climb up the greasy pole began with some short stories being accepted for several anthologies. Then last summer I began collecting together some of my short stories from earlier months and writing more - mainly dark stories and flash fiction - and put together a collection. While this was in progress, I entered two stories for the open competition held by the Winchester Writers' Conference 2013. A writing pal from Southampton Writing Buddies won first prize with a terrific piece full of colour and some quite understated violence, and we were all delighted. Then, to my surprise, I had my two stories back with kind critiques, one marked 'third place' and one 'commended'. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After that I set about finishing and self-publishing the collection as Bottles and Pots* (ebook and paperback) and this has sold reasonably well and received five-star reviews. At the same time I converted my ebook novel for children of 8-10 years, Millie the Detective and the Diamond Ring**, to a paperback, and that has done well too, again with five-star reviews. Millie mark 2 is in progress. I arranged book-signings in various places locally, which was great fun, and judged a children's book-themed cake competition. Currently awaiting entries from Southampton Writers' Circle for an article competition which I'm to judge and award the trophy - I have twice been to their meetings to talk on the subject.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now to targets. Last year I set myself the goal of being listed or placed in a writing competition by Christmas, and both of those were sorted, including two second places for limericks. By this summer I had ambitions to actually win a competition, and I recently heard that my short story had won first prize in a comp set by Writers' News, a magazine which I've read since the year dot but haven't entered many comps. The story is dark in its way but with some lightness and, I hope, a laugh or two. It's about a funeral, the wake and the will!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The only target that can follow these is to be listed or placed in one of the big competitions - Bath Short Story Award (just entered) followed by Bristol (April) and Bridport (May). Just have to be sure to up my game for these as they have big prizes and large numbers of entries. But faint heart never won fair writing competition, so I'm giving them my best shot.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* Link to Bottles and Pots is http://ow.ly/pioGZ</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">** Millie the Detective is at http://ow.ly/pFOy8</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My website is at http://www.jacpye.com</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-8405367139495191942013-12-08T13:44:00.001-08:002013-12-08T13:48:21.483-08:00Offer for Bottles and Pots for kindleA quick note for anyone following this blog.:<br />
<br />
For a week from December 6th, Bottles and Pots is available for kindle at ***99p***. This is the link:<br />
<br />
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Bottles+and+Pots<br />
<br />
I've used this particular link because, oddly, going the direct route seems still to ask the original price. If the link doesn't work, could you copy it and paste into the search bar? So far reviews around the place are 1 four-star, 4 five-star.<br />
<br />
The paperback price is also now reduced to £3.30. Just saying!Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-17289729211163188842013-10-10T07:27:00.000-07:002013-10-10T07:27:50.620-07:00Self-publishing via CreateSpace: My Experience and Tips<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last year I published my children's novel as an ebook. However, marketing ebooks for children is not yet in full swing, I feel, so it has just appeared in paperback - see Millie's cover on the left.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the same time (almost), I realised that since I started writing dark short stories and flash fiction a year ago, I had accumulated quite a stack of pieces. Some were already published in various anthologies, or had been listed/commended/placed in writing competitions. This gave me the idea and the impetus to publish the collection which turned out to be Bottles and Pots. After sending for quotes from various printers and publishers, and asking advice of writing colleagues, I decided on Amazon's CreateSpace (CS). So this post is intended to be helpful for anyone thinking of going down that route.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has not been without hitches, some my fault, some I think theirs. They include page numbers, page breaks and the 'Browse' for files button not functioning. With each query there's a 24h a response which sometimes amounted to little more than 'Have you tried turning it off and on again' as per The IT Crowd. Any alteration means another 24h wait.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eventually, though, all the problems have been solved, and on balance I would use CreateSpace again. Here are my tips for anyone thinking of using this publishing method.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 Of course, have the text fully <b>ready</b>, edited and proofed, with page breaks inserted.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 Set aside a whole <b>weekend</b>, if possible, to get everything uploaded for their review.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 If there are time constraints on obtaining your own copies to sell, bear in mind that once</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> your files are finally submitted, reviewed and accepted, you've accepted the proof, and</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> you've ordered copies,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> printing can take maybe 3-4 working days, then shipping 1-3wd,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 5-8wd, or</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> much longer </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">depending on how much you pay</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Once you order, the expected</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <b>delivery date</b> may be later than you thought.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 <b>Read</b> everything on every instruction screen. (Said with feeling.)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 When CS formatted my .doc file for Millie, t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">he page numbers and some page breaks went</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> all to pot, and I kept </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">querying (another 24h wait) and altering (ditto) repeatedly.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Eventually CS suggested I</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> submit as PDF since they format into PDF. This worked </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> perfectly - at last. So it might </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">always be best to <b>submit as PDF</b>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5 My browser is Safari, and when I repeatedly hit a brick wall trying to click 'Browse' to</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> select my text file, again after several support requests it was suggested that a</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> different browser might help. <b>Firefox </b>did - and a colleague finds Chrome good too. So</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> if I do this again, Firefox it is.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 Once cover and 'interior' files are reviewed and accepted, you choose whether to check</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the <b>proof</b> on your computer, or order a copy (cost £10+ in a hurry). The first time, I</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> ordered a proof copy, and was glad as there was an aspect of the cover I wanted to</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> change. For Millie, I proofed digitally and that was fine (and free).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7 When looking at the proof, it's really important to <b>check</b> <i>every bit of it</i>. I was so tempted</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to just say 'go', as I need Millie p.d.q., but checked and triple checked first. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">8 Once the hard work is over, within the programme CS has some <b>marketing</b> tips.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My first consignment of Bottles and Pots has delivery date tomorrow, and no sign as yet. My order for copies of Millie hasn't shipped yet, and delivery date is just 2 days before I need them for an event. And so the nailbiting continues. On the other hand, not a penny need change hands if you don't want to buy any physical copies of your book (special members' rate) and if you proof digitally. Nothing to lose except your hair!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-73260599152937345872013-08-27T02:05:00.000-07:002013-08-27T02:05:19.602-07:00Lots of Writing Going On!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Currently I'm in one of those can't-think-about-anything-except-writing phases. (Apart from cooking in between of course.) Brain is in overdrive.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A previous post was about being either a pouncer or a stalker, and I'm the former - can't resist a challenge, always several short projects on the go. Here in list form is what I've been pouncing on recently.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Gave a talk to a writing group about magazine articles, and have now been asked to return to run a workshop and judge</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> a competition.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Submitted two stories for the Winchester Writers' Conference/Hampshire Chronicle competition - judged </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by the Prof of </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Creative Writing. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One was commended, one awarded third place.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Very nice critiques, too.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• A rather unpleasant piece involving a clown and a little girl was awarded 4th place in an international flash fiction comp.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• A very short piece was included in National Flash Fiction Day's rolling blog. That was rather nasty, too.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• My work is currently longlisted in Ether Book's twisted tales competition; shortlist not out yet.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Waiting to hear whether shortlisted for a cash-prize locally based story comp. And, oh goodness, another murder, </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> but this time set in the middle ages.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• I have ready a 22,000 word anthology of my 'dark tales', and a cover, and currently exploring the best way to get it into print.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• As a member of <a href="http://www.inkslingerbooks.co.uk/">Inkslinger Books</a> I've just submitted a 4,200 word whodunnit for consideration for our next anthology.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Now planning to give more attention to a work-in-progress novel for 8-11s about a boy and his mother's new partner. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Nothing nasty here but </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">plenty of conflict. Cd be 15,000 words.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please forgive the egotistical nature of all this - it needed to be out of my brain and onto a page of some sort. So if you're still with me, thanks ever so.</span>Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-81286650818052582642013-06-20T02:37:00.001-07:002013-06-20T02:37:51.969-07:00Microblog!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">A blogpost that takes 20 seconds to read. It's another limerick of mine:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Player at the Gate</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Said St Peter "The footballing game</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Has earned you great fortune and fame.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"> The media adored you,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"> While rivals abhorred you -</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">But I'm letting you in, just the same."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">The end!</span>Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-55357698398972484522013-05-07T06:52:00.001-07:002013-05-07T07:10:13.810-07:00The Power of Three - Limericks, that is. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are two of my (prize-winning) limericks, with a new third one for good measure.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first was for a competition to write a limerick relating to the most recent royal wedding,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and it involves .....</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOidf8X0ha8Y0SQuBQBZB0yk3EGtQyoekYiaCLezfi_RTx5lJAm8opSukdwAK0MC6P92UWuQqhf373ty_YhhXF5Ytc5cecL1UTH25pM2e_pISn4mZ_nDQ3l-DOkjQ_mD9p7e4S5Ti/s1600/PrinceHarry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgOidf8X0ha8Y0SQuBQBZB0yk3EGtQyoekYiaCLezfi_RTx5lJAm8opSukdwAK0MC6P92UWuQqhf373ty_YhhXF5Ytc5cecL1UTH25pM2e_pISn4mZ_nDQ3l-DOkjQ_mD9p7e4S5Ti/s1600/PrinceHarry.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Prince Harry by <br />
Charles LeBlanc<br />
via flickr.com<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Pippa's moment of glory last year</span><br />
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Was in showing the world her fine rear.</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> So when Harry espied</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Her amazing backside,</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> His princely response was quite clear!</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second had to relate to the seven deadly sins. Here's one (well, sort of):</span> </div>
<div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicUur0JlzWURPJ3VmM1pPRjG9yv3YeY9Qaqhs-L6l7Mzlv-sL4mBEtscArvpQqfPQYg6ptwYPpocoegUD6B1ooN8-9dhGTgxiOh2m_S97pn9oS8yf6TP9TpRjZ8L21SFGRcCl_Txt4/s1600/Sloth.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Sloth <br />
by Dark Meadow<br />
via flickr.com<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Of the seven, it's hard to decide</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Which is naughtier - lust, wrath or pride</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> With envy and sloth,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Well I'm guilty of both,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> But gluttony's toughest to hide.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">And lastly, a new one:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">An artist who painted a triptych</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Told admirers its meaning was cryptic.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> He gazed at the sky</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> And remarked with a sigh,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> "The solution lies on the ecliptic."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Your go!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-17778776418553212132013-04-22T03:34:00.003-07:002013-04-22T03:38:10.406-07:00Party Trick Number Two<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
(The previous party trick was on this blog in August 2012, a memory 'act'.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This time it's how to look at a row of faces (e.g. friends lined up, or photos) and tell which of them is left-handed. I worked this out myself, and although not infallible (children change dominant hand, dominant hand might be injured and so on), it's been pretty reliable so far.<br />
<br />
In my experience, the greater the difference (there's almost always one), the more dominant the hand. The exception is top celebs and models, where I'm guessing they either photoshop or compensate by narrowing one eye slightly, or else they're by luck perfectly symmetrical.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYfwE_2GWM_2RDI0ibOQGkhNEPtX2VgekKA_6l-XVF5MW3FKzH4jtUYN1rEngRshVd2-I6Fy-laNzJC6tTM3ol2txDQ7N_ZeCKq7WbW43iuC18RPMtUIzaWuOO5fMdoFjIEY0iv8w/s1600/MoiAt7.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOYfwE_2GWM_2RDI0ibOQGkhNEPtX2VgekKA_6l-XVF5MW3FKzH4jtUYN1rEngRshVd2-I6Fy-laNzJC6tTM3ol2txDQ7N_ZeCKq7WbW43iuC18RPMtUIzaWuOO5fMdoFjIEY0iv8w/s200/MoiAt7.jpeg" width="140" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At age 7</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
Here's how it goes:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
1 Look casually at someone's face.</div>
<div>
2 Note which eye is wider.</div>
<div>
3 That's probably the side of their dominant hand!<br />
<br />
<b>Test</b>: picture of me above. And yep, I'm right-handed.<br />
<br />
Anyone want to test this and let me know?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-33627295394501693782013-03-24T06:31:00.000-07:002013-03-24T06:31:08.080-07:00Exams Just Around the Corner?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As Easter approaches, exams are lurking not far ahead. Schools, colleges and universities will notice the atmosphere becoming more tense, with students getting nervy and staff hoping for the best where results are concerned.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirjL65Ohu8dprjT92OUW4b-0LT4XPJhxAWwEEj9nCsjeuhbSW2q8X_m0dHaShKZua-pE7Xqf90MoCVW9DER88pcinP4U9ua_MKj7oQp2NAwOk2nP_T8Br1RwAEDKJRZjmezU7sNHMI/s1600/ExamHall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirjL65Ohu8dprjT92OUW4b-0LT4XPJhxAWwEEj9nCsjeuhbSW2q8X_m0dHaShKZua-pE7Xqf90MoCVW9DER88pcinP4U9ua_MKj7oQp2NAwOk2nP_T8Br1RwAEDKJRZjmezU7sNHMI/s1600/ExamHall.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By boon chuan low</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a shame to allow the Easter holidays to be a time for noses continuously to the grindstone, but it's a good time to plan revision and exam strategies in among the fun activities.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are links to two of my student-related articles on http://www.suite101.com which may be relevant.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Essay Titles: compare, discuss and asses - what the key terms mean</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> http://tinyurl.com/665naf6 </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gain Maximum Benefit from Every Lecture to Help Improve Grades (aimed at 16+)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> http://tinyurl.com/7rgz626</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some other tips, mainly from my piece in <a href="http://www.snip-newsletter.co.uk/">Special Needs Information Press</a> (SNIP), a newsletter for teachers which I created and wrote for about 6 years before passing it on to a team. It's still thriving!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>One Month Before the Exam</i></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 Make sure you can spell the important subject-specific words.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 Go through class notes, tidy them up, and pick out those on complex topics which you</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> can then summarise.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 If not already known, get familiar with the revision method called Mind Mapping (term</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> is ©Tony Buzan). It involves a core topic with branches out of it to sections. It's a key</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> method for visual revision. This is especially good if you remember what you <i>see</i>.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 If you remember info better if you <i>hear </i>it, try to get hold of a small recorder, and start to</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> dictate your notes so you can listen to them on the bus, before you go to sleep etc.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5 Make a four-week grid as your Revision Master, for each half hour of your organisable</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> time, with 25m of work and a 5m break. Decide on the proportion that should be for each</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> subject. Fill in the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> first two weeks with topics and any </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">further detail. As the end of the two </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> weeks approaches, you'll have a better idea of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">how to plan the final two weeks.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 Begin narrowing down the most important topic areas for each subject and start a set of</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> index cards, one for each.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHrvN1bMQ_P3EidMTvTz2zqenApilyfP2rE1dtDeawDNBgzqWF4aro8phJsVpZhhMbzNWPpD0OY7vkuCla-uTRRqbAsZXUEuttUyeqrlEBE1h8NZFBrMt_9hA96YsR-uQO11vJ_Vh/s1600/GirlNotes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHrvN1bMQ_P3EidMTvTz2zqenApilyfP2rE1dtDeawDNBgzqWF4aro8phJsVpZhhMbzNWPpD0OY7vkuCla-uTRRqbAsZXUEuttUyeqrlEBE1h8NZFBrMt_9hA96YsR-uQO11vJ_Vh/s1600/GirlNotes.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By CollegeDegrees360</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Two Weeks Before ...</i></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 Fill in the Revision Master for the final two weeks, being as specific as possible.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 Study your exam timetable, noting carefully the places and times - people do sometimes</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> get these wrong, with dire results! Make several copies in case you mislay one.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 Check which notes/books you'll be allowed to take into the exams.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 If you own the books, use highlighters for points/facts you may need to find in a hurry.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5 If the exam results will affect how you go forward, e.g. Year 9, 11, AS or A2, work out a</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> plan for (a) if the result are OK or good, and (b) if they're not. This means one less</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> thing to worry about.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfEXKKTbxX3Tu24jc2jJ6bOLy9kh5yfZ64KwaoYQl6-l_gzknjYuhyphenhyphen5U9lyxVSi2v8NxB47AgzNGxPFh77rqwJpfrlSofZNZSlJFtbNaL6etFQOg8BLxvbLW55Qp4HzMFtcFmGncx/s1600/boystudent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfEXKKTbxX3Tu24jc2jJ6bOLy9kh5yfZ64KwaoYQl6-l_gzknjYuhyphenhyphen5U9lyxVSi2v8NxB47AgzNGxPFh77rqwJpfrlSofZNZSlJFtbNaL6etFQOg8BLxvbLW55Qp4HzMFtcFmGncx/s1600/boystudent.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By Universiteitskrants Univers</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Day Before ...</i></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 Prepare all the writing gear, and make a checklist of anything else you'll need, e.g.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> calculator, permitted books and notes, water.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 Run through condensed notes, index card info and so on.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 Check</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> again that you know the date, time and place.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 Eat decent food and drink plenty of water.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5 Go to bed at the usual time, and after a period of relaxation. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6 Don't be intimidated by others saying what and how well they've been revising.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7 SET THE ALARM if it's a morning exam!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmLJ2wr3T09ZBaruz6yEeL6nFQutI31bReQ5Fi0_aoAFgzv3RkiLA85domMa70D60JolNCyYFJXbhAl9lIbbXSryZcJ991flkhkynevmymUp7m0O3gYbvCNT3taFbshdqtswLg_aY/s1600/4293345633_cfc8539134_t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmLJ2wr3T09ZBaruz6yEeL6nFQutI31bReQ5Fi0_aoAFgzv3RkiLA85domMa70D60JolNCyYFJXbhAl9lIbbXSryZcJ991flkhkynevmymUp7m0O3gYbvCNT3taFbshdqtswLg_aY/s200/4293345633_cfc8539134_t.jpg" width="137" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By Alan Cleaver!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And finally, from the University of Brighton, tips for the exams themselves. Aimed at university students but mainly appropriate for younger students too:</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> http://www.brighton.ac.uk/pabsstudyskills/examination-assessment/exam-strategies.html</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good luck to all those about to take their exams. </span>Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-29450144310584975882013-03-03T06:53:00.001-08:002013-03-03T06:53:53.207-08:00Writers - are you a stalker or a pouncer?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This analogy came to me overnight, while I was considering my writing goals for the next 3, 6 and 12 months. I'm a pouncer who dreams of being a stalker.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Stalker</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the kingdom of large animals, and indeed where early man is concerned, targets are often sizeable and almost always food-related. A 'caveman' might be away for a while with his peers, patiently waiting and watching, aiming to nab a large animal to take back for cooking and maybe sharing out. It could take ages, but if successful, the reward was significant and they could take a short break ("chillax" they used to grunt) before having to start the process again.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_WoNAp_zRPcrpPQWjtRiTlaqsBu9y1LWyBe02pzpHTVfoivThd5CPP0RwGaHR7fNY8drFnpvts2yJLOHXaTGwrA0Q22WNnlP8YWsqm8rTgVIt9Xz02aeaNPGaEPklY8U9930zkN8/s1600/leopard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_WoNAp_zRPcrpPQWjtRiTlaqsBu9y1LWyBe02pzpHTVfoivThd5CPP0RwGaHR7fNY8drFnpvts2yJLOHXaTGwrA0Q22WNnlP8YWsqm8rTgVIt9Xz02aeaNPGaEPklY8U9930zkN8/s1600/leopard.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">by Yinan Cheng<br />via flickr.com</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is how I see novelists. They know they're in for the long haul, and that a hard slog is likely to be involved, but they have the support of their peers hopefully (other writers and their agent and publisher), and there's celebration and feasting when the goal has finally been reached. They are willing to be patient and to make sacrifices.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Pouncer</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here I'm thinking first of creatures who hunt quickly and descend on prey often. Something might pass by which would make a good meal, and it's rapidly dispatched. I have in mind toads and flies, pelicans (or otters) and fish, and - going back in time - the hungry dog and the string of sausages from the butcher's. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWk3BVp0ZIuugtIpVxJRbuYjcAhi1_vzYxIK7qAGbnWeZUzclDJ8tQzSSfD2EdKc-wcjeNnsbcyOMN8heqyz3LrmhuMETe-6vTbVS0qb-vo8Dw2yGTob0Nm3FK8t80C2IjQVMmtN3/s1600/DustyToad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWk3BVp0ZIuugtIpVxJRbuYjcAhi1_vzYxIK7qAGbnWeZUzclDJ8tQzSSfD2EdKc-wcjeNnsbcyOMN8heqyz3LrmhuMETe-6vTbVS0qb-vo8Dw2yGTob0Nm3FK8t80C2IjQVMmtN3/s1600/DustyToad.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">by Thomas Guest<br />via flickr.com</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cats are pouncers too, quite apart from their method of capturing prey. They don't appear to push off outside specifically to look for mice and birds, but if there's a sudden scuffling or a tantalising scent, that's enough to trigger their hunting instinct.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Writers on this side of the fence would include poets, short story or flash fiction people, and magazine article journalists. Opportunities usually do have to be sought, but this is not such a long-drawn-out process. Work can be completed more quickly than the Stalker could imagine.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* * * * *</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Writers of children's books, though, could come somewhere in between. Not a 2-7 day process, and probably not 9-12 months or more. Another analogy is needed. Another time!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not sure that Stalkers do much pouncing, and Pouncers might rarely flirt with stalking. I love to read about writers nearing completion of their book, completing it, waiting for the verdict, then rejoicing about acceptance and publication. Not to mention launch parties. How I'd love to have a book to launch, giving a speech, signing books, and handing around perhaps an ice-cold, flinty Sancerre to the fans of my work. But now I have come to realise this won't happen. I submitted sample chapters to M & B in the past, and was told 'Nicely written but not enough emotional punch', and I've started other novels but ...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'd love to know what you think about this analogy, and whether it's far too simplistic. It's just a bit of fun, really, but it clarified my vision of my own writing goals.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-83213280718702373922012-11-09T02:34:00.002-08:002012-11-09T02:34:32.878-08:00Writing for the Family at Christmas <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As families get together at Christmas, there is often a lull in 'things to do' once the grand lunch is over. Board games or other everybody-join-in activities don't appeal to everyone, either. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXix9RFE0gJ_rgjDSMq9iiejqCAm5qJUM-0ubmRDAQmxYaqsrrCTma6sXXB4tv53zDPqMjvisvzauQCijDJdFdzLpnPPLj5PeeHDGZIP5fl6sVHMIIi7V9L1GS_dYx7XB8NkaBaqP_/s1600/XmasTree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXix9RFE0gJ_rgjDSMq9iiejqCAm5qJUM-0ubmRDAQmxYaqsrrCTma6sXXB4tv53zDPqMjvisvzauQCijDJdFdzLpnPPLj5PeeHDGZIP5fl6sVHMIIi7V9L1GS_dYx7XB8NkaBaqP_/s1600/XmasTree.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">by LizMarie_AK<br />via flickr.com</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What John & I have enjoyed for a number of years, and which fits nicely into a 'quiet' slot, is to provide a reading, a mini panto, or a play of some sort. Sometimes they're worked out last-minute, but the family always listen dutifully, laugh in the right places, and shout out if it's called for. It's been such fun that I wondered if others might consider giving it a go.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course some people are currently busy with NaNoWriMo, but even they could put the idea in their brain section marked 'ideas for later'. I believe all writers have one of these, and that's why I'm blogging about Christmas this early.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu03p8_nif-EUvBx7zb3MPE6lUGzIeM2GVsjKJCh5gZkduki7D6WsEyR34edNlSAvVjDslvQzjgl69OdBbRNL1jYrp-mSb97DPA1Uw-KBJ6Wby2sF_h3MqonKSmHdQ4qZIed4-URVt/s1600/pen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu03p8_nif-EUvBx7zb3MPE6lUGzIeM2GVsjKJCh5gZkduki7D6WsEyR34edNlSAvVjDslvQzjgl69OdBbRNL1jYrp-mSb97DPA1Uw-KBJ6Wby2sF_h3MqonKSmHdQ4qZIed4-URVt/s1600/pen.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">by David Blackwell<br />via flickr.com</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some of the 'productions' we've offered in recent years.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* We'd acquired an Angelina Ballerina Theatre set to amuse the grandchildren. So, for two</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> consecutive Christmases I wrote 20-minute 2-act plays for the Angelina characters to</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> perform. The script had stage directions and everything. I did the moves and most of</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the voices, while</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> John acted a severe Miss Lilly, narrated, and operated the FX, </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> revolving</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> bit </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of the stage, the curtains and the 'lights'. Popcorn was served in the </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> interval. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were, of course, some black moments but always a happy resolution. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">highlight of these plays, in 'Roger the Rat Saves the Theatre', was John's FX for</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the roaring of Roger, made by that crocodile toy that roars when you pull the lever.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The immediate response from the children was to dive under the table to see how he</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> was making the noise.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* An existing folk tale, narrated and with speaking characters, about a princess saved by a</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> donkey that </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">could make gold coins shower out of its huge ears. At crucial moments</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> a handful of gold-wrapped chocolate coins would be thrown into the air, and play</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> stopped while the children scooped them up.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* A reading of <i>Twas the Night Before Christmas</i>, which was written in 1822. I'd taken the</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> liberty of altering the text to remove any references to Santa smoking his pipe, so I</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> was interested to hear very recently on the wireless that someone else was thinking</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> along the same lines.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* A ten-minute Christmas ghost story for children. Each character had resonances with at</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> least one person present. It involved a family where the tree </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">decs had always been red</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and gold although the girl would have loved something</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> different for once. The ghost of</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> a child visits the girl on Christmas Eve, and in the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> morning there's a new purple bauble</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> hanging on the tree.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* Usually I also write or copy a poem suitable for children, print it out and laminate it, and </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> ask </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the children if they'd be willing to read it for us. No refusals so far! My all-time</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> favourite is <i>Christmas</i> by Steve Turner. Four lovely 8-line verses, with the recurring</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> theme a variation on 'We always do that.'</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year's effort isn't planned yet, but now the children are older, I'm thinking a play with perhaps a ghost theme and involving social media. It might be an idea to write in a part for each of the children, too - I'll ask them.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPj6wuyIzFlQIiiD3PmgtJTuFNmOfIrjnEMRhZ92b0PH83Ug4HGlu726qkOHB8o5zcDehrzX0O7Mx90Nk8AR-lud5gdhPMQfJ2yA7lvrXFxiHMSAMNcZw06LjIirXpFIPIkHmgkMTy/s1600/keyboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPj6wuyIzFlQIiiD3PmgtJTuFNmOfIrjnEMRhZ92b0PH83Ug4HGlu726qkOHB8o5zcDehrzX0O7Mx90Nk8AR-lud5gdhPMQfJ2yA7lvrXFxiHMSAMNcZw06LjIirXpFIPIkHmgkMTy/s1600/keyboard.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">by WaterHorse Media, LLC<br />via flickr.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If anyone is inspired to do this sort of thing this year, I'd really love to hear about it! It can be a lot of work for a short 'performance', but great fun and, hopefully, memorable. Anyone want to borrow a story?!</span><br />
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Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-56913329046842176052012-10-21T07:42:00.001-07:002012-10-21T09:28:34.578-07:00 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Delighted to Have Received an Award!</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you so much, JPF Goodman (http://www.jpfgoodman.wordpress.com) for nominating this blog of mine for an award. Very pleased to receive it, and of course I follow and enjoy your blog as well (though not sure if one can bounce an award back).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is an informal arrangement, but there are 'things' to be done. Firstly, to explain why I blog. I am an opinionated type, and wanted to express my thoughts on various subjects although on this blog I have been concentrating mainly on writing and writers. As a former psychologist and a writer too, I have a really inquisitive interest in how, why and what other people write and in any features common to most writers. I began to write blogs (my other one is about vegetarian food) after we'd discussed social media at my writing group, Southampton Writing Buddies. A number of us now post blogs and manage to make them our slaves rather than our masters.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's also important for recipients of this award to nominate other blogs. Yes, it is a little like a chain letter but it's a way of expressing appreciation for other people's work. So here are the blogs which I am nominating for The Addictive Blog Award. (JPF's blog explains how this works - link in first line above.)</span></div>
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http://mo-foster.co.uk - mo is a novelist and really interesting blogger who's lived a bit ...<br />
http://patriciajmorgan.wordpress.com - keen writer, talented artist, again some fascinating experiences<br />
http://ginadickerson.blogspot.com - enthusiastic writer with flair, glamour, and great cooking too<br />
http://justdoitmummy.blogspot.co.uk - not just parenting, but a range of interesting opinions & insights<br />
http://whereivegone.blogspot.co.uk - the travel blog of Jo Carroll which can leave me breathless!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And thanks to everyone who writes blogs which I read and enjoy regularly. Especially JPF for this award.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Delighted to Accept an Award!</span></div>
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Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-50056345182335276462012-08-31T02:48:00.000-07:002012-08-31T02:57:20.874-07:00Blood and Guts in Short Stories: What does it tell us about the author?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Horror, zombies, blood, guns - a quick look at Amazon's lists shows that there's a </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">market for short stories in this (pun alert) vein. So what does such content reveal </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">about the author and, indeed, the reader?</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGqLMDgX123MkNk9CeMBN_nVg6hLyI1sbAu4whXbfCeuzKijYJEmjKIcR82p3jkeKf-IUz_eXDNdZUYALm5RgcfmMlxNh3Ouj6YrK5-gIpeLXtY_37OlskOI7lQE2yWWLZJR5x9-R/s1600/pistol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGqLMDgX123MkNk9CeMBN_nVg6hLyI1sbAu4whXbfCeuzKijYJEmjKIcR82p3jkeKf-IUz_eXDNdZUYALm5RgcfmMlxNh3Ouj6YrK5-gIpeLXtY_37OlskOI7lQE2yWWLZJR5x9-R/s1600/pistol.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DBduo Photography<br />
via Flickr.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One approach is to look at the motivation behind this choice of material. First, <b>the writers</b> - why do they write about violence? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 The glib answer, pseudo-psychogically, is they are freeing repressed urges to commit</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> violence. I don't hold with that, except maybe occasionally it might be a socially</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> acceptable and safer outlet. We'd rather they wrote about it than did it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2 Versatile and savvy writers may have realised that bloodshed sells. It's a sound business</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> approach to identify a market and buy into it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3 It can be a way of slipping outside the usual comfort zone of safe writing, to be tried as an</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> experiment. They may then enjoy it, maybe not.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4 This is my view of the prime motivation. Violence seems rarely to be the chosen genre of</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the rookie writer. Rather, as time goes on and authors develop experience and</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> confidence, they may start to write crime, horror, violence<i> just because they realise</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> that they can. </i>I base this on personal experience and it seems valid for us all. Earlier</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> this year I worked through an online short story course, and came to realise that the</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> standard of successful stories was vastly higher than I'd been producing. Without</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> noticing what was going on, I found myself producing two dark stories, both</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> involving death - one accidental, one deliberate. Both have since been published by</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> others. I've</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> since continued with dark and</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> sometimes creepy themes, and find that I'm </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> ready to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">attack them head-on. Again,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> that is just because I can.</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3e1d8OCpBX0mfutvQhnT2zMAdnIiLxLhdYpicL3KExDuZ3mazWri-hg0owwkoR5bw6GZcfCYNl_h-HjWLStbNTtsVr6EJZqLoZ8acRL4nTluqoXyUwrUJlilT_7LoD73k1X0XJyNr/s1600/Knife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3e1d8OCpBX0mfutvQhnT2zMAdnIiLxLhdYpicL3KExDuZ3mazWri-hg0owwkoR5bw6GZcfCYNl_h-HjWLStbNTtsVr6EJZqLoZ8acRL4nTluqoXyUwrUJlilT_7LoD73k1X0XJyNr/s1600/Knife.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brenda Clarke<br />
via Flickr.com</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And now a brief word about <b>the readers </b>of gory material. I believe it's for the same reason that people watch fictional violence on television. It's chilling, which may mean thrilling, but at the same time safe because it's fiction and anyway, you can close the book just as you can switch off the television. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here's where my personal psychology collapses. I can write (and read) about a bit of gore, but I'm behind a cushion when the TV villain aims a gun close to the victim's head. This is because my brain seems determined to bank such visual images and keep them for ever, and I really don't want them. Oh no. I'm barking after all!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One last confession - I can never watch animal cruelty or slaughter on television, and will never put it into any of my writing. As Aunty Joan (in Doc Martin) reaches for one of her hens, the nice old lady in Midsomer Murders prepares to put a pet rabbit out of its misery, or a lion is seen about to pounce on its prey, I'm out of the room p.d.q. Animal stuff seems more real to me, probably because I know it goes on all the time in the real world and I can't bear that. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was going to end by saying that violence towards animals (even from other animals) is the only area I won't tackle. But wait. I haven't started on erotic fiction - and probably won't, because I really am a prude. Shame - there's obviously a good market for it!</span>Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-78711411454836341222012-08-19T05:47:00.004-07:002012-08-19T06:22:41.347-07:00A Memory-based Party Trick!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This party trick was originally written up in an early edition of my monthly newsletter for teachers of special needs children - Special Needs Information Press. SNIP was delivered to 500+ subscribing schools by the time I handed it over to a team of teachers after about six years of publication.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The 'trick' rarely fails to impress anyone who doesn't know how it's done. I featured it because it was a useful aid to improving auditory memory and is great fun, too. It is included in this blog as part of my 'psychology' strand. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You need one person from your audience to be ready with pencil and paper. Here's how it works.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 Your opening gambit: I'm going to ask you to make a list of ten common objects. After</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> you have</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> told me the objects just once, I shall be able to remember them straight</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> away, in any</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> order, from their number alone.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2 The set-up: On paper, the chosen person writes the numbers one to ten in a column,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and beside each they write the name of a common object. Typically they might </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> choose things like pen, chair, cat. Then you recite the numbers one at a time, and</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> after each number the person tells you the object. At this point, people don't believe</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> you can do it.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpN2hJC44jTxWVE5Qi_CzhnExFgbVZ3GQpMoJN5AHd4UGYuMwOwYvfXLgE1Cn1ws87jCD6zlywUbTAoYLJuKYqUPxfG3NZL8epr2bmcI8wc2ri0jl5Gct-Brdyh5Y0nshAN_CM_CSu/s1600/Esme+Vos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpN2hJC44jTxWVE5Qi_CzhnExFgbVZ3GQpMoJN5AHd4UGYuMwOwYvfXLgE1Cn1ws87jCD6zlywUbTAoYLJuKYqUPxfG3NZL8epr2bmcI8wc2ri0jl5Gct-Brdyh5Y0nshAN_CM_CSu/s1600/Esme+Vos.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">by Esme Vos<br />via flickr.com</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3 The trick: This is done by auditory memory and visual association, and you need to </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> learn the basic code of associations. This is:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> one-bun two-shoe three-tree four-door five-hive (beehive)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> six-sticks seven-heaven eight-gate nine-line (washing line) ten-hen.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> As the objects are named, you make a visual association in your mind, preferably a</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> nonsensical and action-based link. For example,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> 1 Table - one-bun, visualise a table which is rocky because one of the legs is</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> resting on a squashed currant bun.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> 2 Wheelbarrow - two-shoe, a wheelbarrow trundling along filled with shoes.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> 4 Pig - four-door, opening a door and a herd of pigs rushing out towards you.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> 5 Spoon - five-hive, lifting the lid of the hive and scooping out the honey with</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> a spoon.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> And so on until all ten have been (rapidly) memorised.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mnZeX6_PzJXye2h3bdbU0-WKlHZXYfdLngKNuIEahc_4EpjMa0ocYH46ogtNNuXRZvfh_bipnYaB-6ccgj9ZyQheFn2wxziO5SQ9A_ngeCLUFgWJ9eS4Dy98id01M3vEWTtx73LO/s1600/artethgray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mnZeX6_PzJXye2h3bdbU0-WKlHZXYfdLngKNuIEahc_4EpjMa0ocYH46ogtNNuXRZvfh_bipnYaB-6ccgj9ZyQheFn2wxziO5SQ9A_ngeCLUFgWJ9eS4Dy98id01M3vEWTtx73LO/s1600/artethgray.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">by artethgray<br />via flickr.com</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4 The show: Now you simply invite the person to say any of the numbers, and your</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> visual picture should prompt you straight away. Easy!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is a very quick process once you get the hang of it. The associations may not last longer than the rest of the day, but that won't matter. As the old Ellison's joke catalogues used to promise, 'Amaze your friends with this very simple trick'!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2515926899419686709.post-84015998524054496132012-07-24T02:48:00.000-07:002012-07-24T02:48:51.856-07:00The Olympic Struggle Should Not Apply to Writers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAJx-RXijCpN-gBePgpfr4L39ztKmG_DFddnTJsElXhrqurZP_stJD9DQ9Peqv4SO5Q3bAd89v6_bJpF3nopCb4c1nUeWt3a48U4yhyphenhyphenf_5mdi9YjMharBdzSazhLU5JqgplpcjN31/s1600/OlympicLogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAJx-RXijCpN-gBePgpfr4L39ztKmG_DFddnTJsElXhrqurZP_stJD9DQ9Peqv4SO5Q3bAd89v6_bJpF3nopCb4c1nUeWt3a48U4yhyphenhyphenf_5mdi9YjMharBdzSazhLU5JqgplpcjN31/s1600/OlympicLogo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">by Aaron Fulkerson<br />
via Flickr.com</td></tr>
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After wondering for some time why I'm such a wet blanket about the Olympics, an answer has emerged. The point of this blog is that I believe my reason applies to writers as well - some of us at least.<br />
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The aim of the Games, for individuals and teams, is to make your country proud by proving that you are better than anyone else at what you do. And, as the bard says, 'There's the rub.' I strongly believe that 'be the best' should not be applied as widely as it is. All right, a little competition at school sports days for fun - but look how easily it turns into bitter competition, no less for parents than for pupils, perhaps damaging the child-parent relationship along the way. How much more must it affect athletes and other competitors to fail in their bid, especially after years of planning, outlay and effort have taken over their lives.<br />
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Moving on to writing, I have also realised that it is not so important to 'be the best'. Although for many years I have been a published article writer, recently I have taken to fiction, making use of courses, advice books and feedback. At first I naively entered competitions, and heard nothing. Then a little feedback started to arrive, often mainly positive with just a few correctable problems. That's progress, and I'm happy with it. I'm now seeing my fiction published here and there, and that's joyous. Fortunately I don't need to make my living this way, and any type of success adds building blocks to my self esteem and confidence as a writer.<br />
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For those who are able to make their living through writing, that's just wonderful. I sense that many are not especially striving to win competitions, but just to write work that large numbers of people are happy to buy and enjoy reading. If an agent puts an author's work in for a competition, fine, and it if does well - brilliant.<br />
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In summary, I feel that progress and success lie in building on one's own achievements, grasping opportunities and making the best possible outcome, rather than wanting to conquer everyone else. <br />
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So my competition efforts will be limited, although I love to read winning entries. I'm aiming to improve my standards and my publication rate as an end in itself. And that's why I don't rate the Olympics. It's not necessary to be the best.<br />
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<br />Jacqueline Pyehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11761842296059600681noreply@blogger.com0