Target Reached!

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.

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'. 

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.

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!

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.

*   Link to Bottles and Pots is http://ow.ly/pioGZ
** Millie the Detective is at http://ow.ly/pFOy8
My website is at http://www.jacpye.com

Writers - are you a stalker or a pouncer?

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.

The Stalker
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.

by Yinan Cheng
via flickr.com

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.

The Pouncer
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. 

by Thomas Guest
via flickr.com

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.

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.

*         *         *         *         *

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!

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 ...

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.

Back To School!

As I've been venturing into fiction more lately, especially of the flash type but also short stories, the lure of Tom Vowler's six-week online short story course was hard to resist. After looking at his website, achievements and general cred, I paid up and planned - very roughly - my 3-5 hours per week to devote to the course. There are only a few 'students' so feedback from Tom and from the others is manageable for us all.


The first week's work is now done, and I am really glad that this is more a literary course than one for women's popular magazines, as that's what I feel I lack. Tom wrote a useful intro about the short story, and set some exercises - including submitting the beginning of a story - and reader, I did them all. He intends to make silk purses out of sows' ears, and I shall give it my very best shot. Oink, oink.


I shall blog in a week's time about the second lot of exercises now in my inbox, together with (if publishable) any interesting feedback on my first attempt.