With a little help from our friends

September’s stories go off for judging tomorrow. In the five and half years we have been running the monthly Global Short Story Competition, our entries have become split into two categories.

One category is those writers who enter regularly; some of them have been shortlisted and gone onto to win or secure further shortlistings, others have received several shortlistings and are waiting to make that step up. Their support for our competition is very welcome indeed.

The other category is the growing number of writers entering for the first time, either because they were recommended to do so by friends or specialist websites and blogs or because they found us on the web.

We very much appreciate those people who mention our competition, many of whom provide links to our site. Such support is crucial if we are to survive and thrive.

What also pleases us is those writers who stumble across us during web searches: the big challenge for any web-based concern is featuring highly on the search engine rankings and we are starting to do that as more and more people find us.

We love seeing new writers and are constantly impressed by the standard of stories coming in.

Meanwhile, just hours left to enter this month’s competition at www.inscribemedia.co.uk.

John Dean

Winners to be announced

We will announce the winners of the August Global Short Story Competition on Friday October 4. Still time to enter the September competition at www.inscribemedia.co.uk

A question of quality

We have had one or two emails over recent months, asking for feedback on stories which failed to make our shortlists.
We tend not to offer feedback as such (although we do offer a mentoring service) but one thing I would say is that failing to make our shortlist does not mean that a story is not very good.
One thing that has been apparent right from the start of our competition (and we have awarded approaching £10,000 in prize money already) is the sheer quality of the entries we receive.
Many of the stories entered into our competitions are easily of a standard which suggests that they should be published (indeed, we would dearly love to hear about successes from writers so we can celebrate them on our site. You can email us with details at deangriss@btinternet.com).

So falling short in one of our monthly short story competitions is no shame - and being listed should be taken as a real achievement, increasingly so as our reputation grows.

And if you do miss out, there is always next month ….

John Dean

In praise of young writers

We ran an open mic for writers in our home town of Darlington last night and one of the writers who read was aged twelve.
Already a double competition winner, she impressed with her talent, particularly her ability to use detail to bring her writing to life.
She reminded me of me at 12, writing feverishly, learning my craft (just not as talented as the young author last night!)
I know a lot of youngsters who write (my 14-year-old daughter is part of a circle of them and I take creative writing sessions in schools) and in an age when exam pressures threaten to crowd out our young people’s creativity, it’s a joy to see them experimenting with their art.
Long may it continue.


John Dean

A spot of wisdom

As you know, we receive entries from all over the world but what always strikes me is the way that writers from all countries hone in on strong human stories.

It does not matter where they are writing, or what culture shapes their work, authors come back time and time again to real people and real stories.

This came to mind with a powerful story that came into the Global Short Story Competition overnight, one that dealt with a truly powerful human predicament, the serious illness of a loved one.

It made me recall my late father, Stan, because he was the one who taught me that drawing from reality informs writing. He always told me when I was a teenager that I should write about what I know. Because I was a bolshy teenager, I did not listen for many years but Dad was absolutely right, of course.

It is clear that many of our entries are from writers who also listened to wiser counsel and who dip deep into their own personal experience to bring their stories to life.

I certainly draw on my experiences as a writer. I find that having gone through an experience, or seen others go through it, helps me to bring a sense of reality to my writing.

But why does that matter? Well, if we are to truly draw our readers into our stories, they have to feel the reality of the situation. That’s what the best of our short story entrants do time after time after time.

And, yes I know that writers can create fictional scenarios without ever having experienced them. Yes, I know that they make them work through the power of their imagination. And yes, I know that science fiction writers have never been to Neptune and fantasy writers have never conversed with gnomes (well, most of them anyway).

But even in those imagined scenarios, what shines through is the writers’ ability to draw on real life, real people, real characteristics, real situations.

It really is a simple maxim: write about what you know because if you believe it, the reader will believe it.

So, thanks Dad.

* You can still enter the September competition at www.inscribemedia.co.uk

John Dean

Starting out right

We had an entry into the Global Short Story Competition over the weekend that started with a terrific opening line, one that grabs the reader and says ‘hey, you gotta find out what happens next.’
Won’t reveal what it was as the competition has not closed yet but it got me thinking about the importance of the first line in short stories, indeed in any fiction. A busy and harassed judge/editor/agent reads so much that anything that makes them notice you has got to be good. Look at these examples, which came in the top 100 of a recent poll of all-time great openings.
* Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. —Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude
* It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. —George Orwell, 1984
* It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
* I am an invisible man. —Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
* Someone must have slandered Josef K., for one morning, without having done anything truly wrong, he was arrested. —Franz Kafka, The Trial
* If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. —J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
Each one draws you into the story right from the off. Do that and you have given yourself a great chance of success, assuming your story lives up to the promise of the opening lines, of course!
Still time to enter the September competition (still a low entry) at www.inscribemedia.co.uk



John Dean

So does where you live influence the way you write?

A lot of Australian entries come in to the Global Short Story Competition (more this month), which gives a chance to ask writers everywhere a question.

It would be interesting to hear, for example, from Australian writers to see what inspires them. Do the searing heat and the vast open spaces produce a particular kind of fiction from you?

I have always believed that a writer is influenced to some degree by where they live and work and would love to hear from writers in other parts of the world as well, not just Australia.
Yes I know it is a gross generalisation but I am sure that a writer writing in a dark, cold country produces different fiction than one in a bright sunny one. Certainly if you look at the great Scandinavian and Icelandic crime writers, their work is influenced by their surroundings.
I can speak from my own experience. I write best in Winter. I also write about a fictional city called Hafton. Sited in the North of England, it is based in part on a real city which most appeals to me in winter, when the streets glisten with rainwater and darkness falls early. The result is that my work that deals with dark themes and I believe they emerge from the darkness of the city.
I have posted this at our Facebook page as well should you wish to offer your views. You can find it at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inscribemedia/183385438479538

* Still time to enter the September competition at www.inscribemedia.co.uk

All female shortlist announced for the BBC National Short Story Award 2013

The shortlist for the BBC National Short Story Award 2013 has been announced on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row.
For the second time in the eight-year history of the Award, the five stories on the shortlist are all written by women, a great example of how female writers are leading the field with innovative and compelling work.
The shortlist features well-established writers including: Lionel Shriver, Orange Prize-winning author of We Need to Talk About Kevin; Sarah Hall, one of Granta's Best Young British Novelists 2013 and an acclaimed short story writer; and Lavina Greenlaw, poet, novelist and Professor of Poetry at the University of East Anglia. There are also two newer names on the list: Lucy Wood, debut author of short story collection Diving Belles and Lisa Blower, winner of The Guardian's National Short Story Competition in 2009.
This year's shortlist is:

· 'Barmouth' by Lisa Blower

· 'We Are Watching Something Terrible Happening' by Lavinia Greenlaw

· 'Mrs Fox' by Sarah Hall

· 'Notes from the House Spirits' by Lucy Wood

· 'Prepositions' by Lionel Shriver

Healing the State of Man by Sarah Lewis was also given a special mention by this year's judges.

Mariella Frostrup, Chair of Judges, commented: “The 2013 shortlist is all female, which suggests the short story is a form much suited to the innovative brilliance of women writers. From Charlotte Perkins Gilman - author of the enormously influential The Yellow Wallpaper - onwards, many favoured short story writers are women. Now we have five new names to add to the list of skilled exponents.
“We were delighted this year to be able to zoom in on the contemporary world and to compile a shortlist that is rich in imagination and diverse in style. In each of these original tales we enter a world that is at once familiar and yet surprising, each offering a unique and often startling view of society today."Five top UK actors, including Hattie Morahan, Claire Skinner and Andrea Riseborough, will each read one of the shortlisted stories, broadcast daily on BBC Radio 4 at 3.30pm from Monday 23 September. Each story will also be available as a free download from the day of broadcast for two weeks at www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/nssa.

Opportunity beckons

With seven days to go, the September Global Short Story Competition is still fairly quiet - good time to have a crack at the £100 first prize!
You can enter here at www.inscribemedia.co.uk

OK, I'm intrigued

Many of the stories that come into the Global Short Story Competition show that their writers have a keen understanding of the need to intrigue the reader by creating tension.

Intrigue works in various ways and it is an important tool if your reader is going to stick with your work.

One way of creating intrigue is something in your early lines, something that makes you sit up and want to read more. It is called The Question and it lifts the start of a story into something special. Catching the reader’s attention is crucial and a good early question does the job beautifully.

But there is another, more subtle way, and done right it can be very effective. But, for the writer, it comes with a gamble.

The idea is that, in the middle of ‘straightforward’ narrative, you drop in something, sometimes just a line, sometimes just a word, but something that nags away at the reader. Maybe they missed it first time around then go back to check.

It is like having a conversation with a friend who suddenly says: “Of course, there’s that other thing that has been worrying me.” At first hearing you might miss it but within

seconds you are going back to the line and saying “Thing, what thing?”

It is like that with writing and many of the stories we receive into the competition via www.inscribemedia.co.uk do it really well.

John Dean

Open mic night to be held

The Open Mic nights for authors, which are supported by Darlington for Culture, will open their 2013/14 season on Thursday (September 26) in the North East England town.

The nights, which offer a forum for writers to read their material and audiences to enjoy it, run at Voodoo Café/Cantina, 84 Skinnergate, on the last Thursday of the month. Each session starts at 7pm and the cost of entry is £3 paid on the door.

John Dean, of Darlington business Inscribe Media, which runs the sessions, said: “The open mic nights give a great opportunity for writers to be heard and for audiences to hear work which is often being read in public for the first time. It is a beguiling mix.”

More information is available from Inscribe Media Limited at deangriss@btinternet.com

India - a melting pot of creativity

I was delighted to see another entry from India come in over the weekend. Few countries can point to such a rich and vibrant storytelling tradition.
Many countries can track their storytelling traditions back to ancient times but what makes India special is the way so many different influences interweaved with each other, even from early times, to provide a melting pot of creativity.

Yes, many other countries can point to similar ancient histories but India’s position on important trade routes meant that, from very early on, it was a very diverse culture and had a strong sense of the wider world.

Storytelling has always been an important way in which diverse cultures find a voice and, if you look at the history of Indian storytelling, there has long been a beguiling mix of history, religion, myth and fantasy. The result has been truly fabulous stories.

Of course, modern Indian writers seek to reflect their views of modern life but they are also influenced - consciously and sub-consciously - by that rich tradition. You can see that in the way many of the country’s writers draw on the past in their stories.

Here at the Global Short Story Competition (which can be entered at www.inscribemedia.co.uk), we always welcome the arrival of entries from India because they invariably provide inventive ways of telling stories. Indeed, we would love to receive more entries from India and the other countries in that part of the world.


John Dean

To begin ... in the middle

One of the entries which has just come into September’s Global Short Story Competition (which can be entered at www.inscribemedia.co.uk) illustrated beautifully one of the most important aspects of starting a story - remember that it’s not the start.


Sounds a daft bit of advice but all stories begin in the middle of someone’s life when much has already gone before, when people‘s lives are already well under way.

The trick for the good writer is to give that sense from the very beginning of the story and this one started with a line that did just that.

It gave us the idea that much had gone before, that it was set in a community with its own idiosyncrasies and histories.

That is good story writing. It immediately draws us into the world in which the story is about to unfold.

Talking of unfolding, there is still a week or so to enter the latest competition.

John Dean

And take me by the hand...

Some nice entries to the Global Short Story Competition already this month and a number of them illustrate one of the most important elements of a short story, in fact, any story. The beginning.

I have sat through many a judging sessions down the years, on various competitions, and seen how different judges’ approach the task.

They all think differently, look for slightly different things, but one thing unites them. They want to be drawn into a story from the very first word.

That could mean a line that intrigues or one that gives you the impression that you, as a reader, have arrived in the middle of something, that you had better sit down quietly and let events unfold.

For me, the best writers are the ones who reach out a hand to you, the reader, and say ‘come on, join me on the journey.’

Here’s to the journey!

John Dean

Writing that moves the reader - and delays that all-important cup of tea

Recent Global Story Competitions have been characterised by the arrival of a number of very powerful stories and another arrived today.

They have been stories which show the writers’ instinctive understanding for the way readers can be moved and I thought it would be useful to recap my thoughts on the subject,.

For a start, what do I mean? Well, in my view, good writing is about triggers. What is the point if the reader gets to the end of your story, shrugs and goes to make a cup of tea, their life unchanged by your efforts?

How much better if, before they go and make that cup of tea, they sit for a few moments and think back on what they have read?

Maybe they will feel emotional, maybe they will feel moved to tears, maybe they will say a silent prayer for a remembered loved one, maybe they will smile at memories, maybe they will laugh at jokes just read, maybe they simply cared for the people in the story they just read. As long as they feel something.

Tales that bring forth such reactions often draw in some way on the writer’s own experiences but they also trigger something in readers they have never met. And we all have those triggers inside us. Fears, insecurities, emotions, experiences. Like everyone, I have had, still have, deep sadness in my life. Loved ones lost and damaged, deaths witnessed, things unsaid, lives un-lived.

So when I read some stories, they trigger something deep within me. It will not happen with all stories but it happens with a fair proportion that I see entered into our competitions. For others, different stories will move them and in different ways.

Now, I am not saying that to succeed a story needs to have all that power - we should never lose sight of craft, of the sheer joy of good writing - but if it has the ability to move someone somewhere then it’s achieved something special.

I think that sometimes writers forget the power in our hands when we pick up that pen, switch on that computer. Yes, it’s fiction but in so many stories you can see the truth running through it.

That is certainly the case with my own writing. In a way, my characters tell parts of my life story. Changed, adapted, developed but part of my life story for all that. Does it trigger something in the reader? Do you know, I reckon it might just do for some of them. Not all of them but for some.

And did the writer who entered today’s story trigger something in me as I read it? Well, I didn’t go off to make that cup of tea straightaway. I reckon that answers the question.
John Dean

Nurturing new talent through our e-books

A reminder that, as part of our efforts to support and showcase new writing talent worldwide, we have published seven e-books.
You can find more about the books on our website and view the covers below. They include the two latest to be published:
Lost Souls by Roger Barnes When young women start to go missing in Africa, an International Strike Force is assembled to rescue them and ensure the kidnappers are stopped.
Harry’s Torment by Michael Beck Set in the fictional east coast port of Thirlston and centred on investigators tackling the heroin trade. 
Previously published were:Cyber Rules by Myra King. The novel by Australian writer Myra tells the story of a farmer’s wife in isolated rural Australia. Caught up on the addictive side of the Internet, she holds a secret which may prove to be deadly.
Global Shorts - an anthology of short stories taken from the early years of the Global Short Competition.
Vegemite Whiskers - a selection of some of the finest writing from Australian authors who have entered the Global Short Story Competition.
White Gold by Roger Barnes A thriller by first-time author Roger Barnes taking the reader into a world of intrigue and danger set amid the poachers of Africa.
Haghir the Dragon Finder by John Dean, a comic fantasy for older children. Haghir 
and his hopeless comrades are dragon slayers seeking a new challenge.
* All the titles can be obtained by keying their titles into the search field of the Kindle shop at www.amazon.co.uk Australian readers will have to purchase via Amazon US at www.amazon.com   



* If you don’t have a Kindle, there is a free Kindle reading app for your PC at 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

 

 

 

 

 

 

Low entries offer great opportunity to win short story competition

With eleven days to go, the September Global Short Story Competition is a really quiet one - good time to have a crack at the £100 first prize. You can enter here at www.inscribemedia.co.uk

FIrst, second or third person?

Yesterday we received an entry into the September Global Short Story Competition which was written in first person. This touches on a debate that all writers have - which person to write in?

Traditionally, there are three categories, first, second or third person. First is when you use refer to I, second person is you (as is in ‘You might have thought I would have liked that‘) and third is he, she, they, their, his, hers, him, her, etc.

Most stories tend to be written in third person. I write in third person because it gives me the ability to oversee all of the story. I can mix in narration, plot information and reporting of incidents happening elsewhere instead of being restricted to what happens where ‘I’ is standing. If something happens round the corner, ‘I’ cannot see it but the third person narrator can. Helps create tension and perspective.

However, first person has its advantages. As most of our spoken communication takes place in the first person and much informal written communication is in first person (letters, e-mails, for example), many people are more comfortable writing in first person.

First person is a great choice when you intend to write informally or casually. It can be chatty, relaxed, intimate. Some writers would also say it is a good choice when writing about personal experience. If you are sharing a story about your life or an event that you witnessed it can be more powerful in first person.

However, many writers would still go for third person. Why? Well, third person creates a sense of objectivity and distance and allows the writer to get on with telling the story. Some would say that third person means the writer's feelings and personality become peripheral and that the author can simply tell the tale.


John Dean

Where it all started

Recent competitions have seen increasing numbers of entries to the Global Short Story Competition from the United States.

Those American writers are following on from a proud tradition because it is widely acknowledged that it was a US writer who started the modern short story tradition.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, of Salem, Massachusetts, was the author of Twice-Told Tales, a book published in America in 1837 and one whose format excited authors more used to the traditional novel format.

Suddenly, they found themselves liberated from the need to produce works of epic length and took to the new format with gusto.

And why not? Short stories are a brilliant format in which to write, allowing you to take one fragment of life, a fleeting event and turning it into something compelling. Many of our entries demonstrate that skill beautifully.

We have had one or two queries recently relating to the rules for our monthly short story competition and whether or not they preclude stories which have been entered into/won other competitions. The answer is that we do not impose any such conditions - if a story wins two competitions then so be it - must be a good ’un!



John Dean

Our latest newsletter

Hi everyone

It’s six months since we relaunched the Global Short Story Competition and we thought you would like some ‘edited highlights’, so here goes.


A new era

The Global Short Story Competition unveiled its new look and new website in February.

The competition, which began five and a half years ago and runs monthly with a £100 first prize and a £25 highly commended payment, is run by Inscribe Media Limited, of Darlington, County Durham in North East England.

Entries come from all over the world and the judge is North East author Fiona Cooper. Approaching £10,000 has already been paid out to winners.
You can find more and enter the competition through www.inscribemedia.co.uk





Free stuff



There’s loads of free hints on writing at our blog at www.inscribemedia.co.uk and you can check out our free writers’ toolbox, which can be downloaded off the home page at http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/




Free poetry competition


Time is running out to enter our free poetry competition. The challenge is a poem that stirs emotions in no more than ten lines. £50 first prize, closing date October 18, 2013. All entries to be posted at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inscribemedia/183385438479538




Competition winners


We have announced plenty of winning or commended/shortlisted writers over recent months (winning stories are posted on the site). They were (from fourteen countries):





July
The £100 first place prize went to Ruth Simpson, for Running Away. Our highly commended runner up was Temptin’ Bison by Dianne Bown-Wilson, of Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England, who wins £25.

The writers on the shortlist were:

Mike Woodhouse, Mittagong, Australia

Elaine Desmond, Mallow, Co Cork, Ireland

Vicky Daddo, Hazelwood South, Victoria, Australia

Jenny Lippmann, Stockport, England

Laura Roberts


June
The £100 first place prize went to a writer from Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia. The story was Next Time Do It Properly by Margaret Renshaw. The £25 highly commended prize went to Mandy Huggins, of Cleckheaton in England, for The View Through Rain.


The writers on the shortlist were:

Georgia Minoa, Cyprus

Stephanie Constans, Lille, France

Jacqueline Winn, Possum Brush, NSW, Australia

Jane Branson, Horsham, West Sussex, England


May
The £100 first place prize went to Kate Daellenbach, of Wellington, New Zealand with The Parcel. The £25 highly commended prize went to Alexandra Apuzzo, of Clintondale, NY, United States, for I met a girl at 3 a.m.

The writers on the shortlist were:

Vincent Chu, Cologne, Germany

Kieran Duddy, London, England

Maurice Said. Siggiewi, Malta

Kathryn Clark, Stroud, Gloucestershire, England

Miroslaw Henning, Radlin, Poland

Rebecca Dixon-Wright, Portsmouth, England

Mandy Huggins, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, England

Rob Hawke

Ceri Lowe-Petraske, Bristol, England


April
The £100 first place prize went to a writer from Richmond, Surrey, England; The Journey to Hereafter, or Two Lives, was written by Charlotte Soares. Our £25 highly commended story was Ummi by Mark Shadwell of Dubai, in the UAE.
The writers on the shortlist were:

Liz Berg, Cornwall, England

Mike Woodhouse, Mittagong, NSW, Australia

Alen Kapidzic, Rijeka, Croatia

Gillian Brown, France

Dannielle Hedlund, Elbert, Colorado, United States


March
The £100 first place prize went to Lucy Bignall, of Pullenvale, Queensland, Australia, for Three Little Girls. The £25 highly commended prize went to Libby Thompson, of Darlington in County Durham, England, for Dreaming of White Sliced.
The writers on the shortlist were:
Annette Abraminko, Baden Wurtemburg, Germany

Maria Cray, Bergamo, Italy

Sue Dawes, Wivenhoe, Colchester, England

Virginie Tozzo, France







Six word competition winner named



The team at Inscribe judged our free six-word competition also run on our Facebook site (the set-up was ‘It’s the year 2013, add 2, 1 and 3 and you get six, six is the number of words in supposedly the finest flash fiction story ever written For Sale. Baby Shoes. Never Worn (attributed to Hemingway but probably not by him). The challenge is a short story in six words).



The standard was high but in the end the £50 prize went to Mark Shadwell for

‘Facebook - daughter found. Friend request rejected’

We also particularly liked

‘Sale. Coffin . Due to time waster’ by Amanda Huggins

‘She waits patiently at his grave’ by Erin Gaven

Two from Anita Goodfellow. ‘Congratulations, Mrs Kray. Healthy twin boys’ and ‘Doesn’t Hannah look like her uncle’



Nurturing new talent through our e-books



A reminder that we have published seven e-books. All can be obtained by keying their titles into the search field of the Kindle shop at www.amazon.co.uk Australian readers will have to purchase via Amazon US at www.amazon.com



You can find more about the books on our website. They include the two latest to be published:

Lost Souls by Roger Barnes When young women start to go missing in Africa, an International Strike Force is assembled to rescue them and ensure the kidnappers are stopped.

Harry’s Torment by Michael Beck Set in the fictional east coast port of Thirlston and centred on investigators tackling the heroin trade.


Previously published were:
Cyber Rules by Myra King. The novel by Australian writer Myra tells the story of a farmer’s wife in isolated rural Australia. Caught up on the addictive side of the Internet, she holds a secret which may prove to be deadly.

Global Shorts - an anthology of short stories taken from the early years of the Global Short Competition.

Vegemite Whiskers - a selection of some of the finest writing from Australian authors who have entered the Global Short Story Competition.

White Gold by Roger Barnes A thriller by first-time author Roger Barnes taking the reader into a world of intrigue and danger set amid the poachers of Africa.

Haghir the Dragon Finder by John Dean, a comic fantasy for older children. Haghir

and his hopeless comrades are dragon slayers seeking a new challenge.

* If you don’t have a Kindle, there is a free Kindle reading app for your PC at

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771





Mentoring and courses
You can also check out our new online writing courses and mentoring packages at http://www.inscribemedia.co.uk/writing-courses---bespoke-mentoring.html


Contacting us



You can contact us as deangriss@btinternet.com




Thank you for all your support

John Dean

Inscribe Media

Indian storytelling

One of the things revealed in the latest stats for our website is that we get plenty of Indian writers reading the blog.

For me, Indian storytelling blends some beguiling elements. On the one side is the ability of the Indian writers to use the rich and bustling surroundings of the country’s cities and villages as backdrops for their stories.

I have always valued a strong sense of place as an important part of writing - I know there are debates about how much detail you give - and Indian writers have plenty to work with in the country’s crowded streets, vibrant cities and stunning landscapes.

They can also draw on a host of remarkable characters, men and women who provide rich material for authors seeking inspiration.

Indian storytelling is also noted for its sense of the mystical and the spiritual. Of course, not every Indian writer takes advantage of this but those that do use it to give their stories an added frisson.

So, all in all, delighted to have India on board with us.


John Dean 





 

In praise of Australian writers

Our latest stats tell us that a lot of Australian writers read this blog and we regularly receive entries to the Global Short Story Competition so it’s worth a few words on writing Down Under.

The overall quality of our Australian entries is testament, I think, to the emphasis placed on creative writing in that country.

During our work promoting this competition, we have come across a number of excellent writing centres in Australia, which clearly help local writers in every way they can. I guess that includes telling them about competitions from the number of entries we receive! We thank all those centres that have helped us, makes the world feel a smaller place somehow.

What is notable about Australian entries is the writers’ strong sense of place and how to use it to create atmosphere, allied to strong characterisation.

Many of our Australian entries have also exhibited a very clear understanding of how a short story works: how to write in mini episodes, how a short story can sometimes cover but a fleeting moment in time, how it needs to have pace and balance so that it gives you enough information but not too much.

Short story writing is an art form in itself and Australian writers, through their success in our competition (winners, commendeds and shortlistings) have shown that they know how to get it right.

* Incidentally, we celebrate Australian writing in three of our ebooks:

Global Shorts - an anthology of short stories taken from the early years of the Global Short Competition, including Australian writers

Vegemite Whiskers - a selection of some of the finest writing from Australian authors who have entered the Global Short Story Competition

Cyber Rules by Myra King. The novel by Australian writer Myra tells the story of a farmer’s wife in isolated rural Australia. Caught up on the addictive side of the Internet, she holds a secret which may prove to be deadly.
 More details on our home page at www.inscribemedia.co.uk




John Dean

A question of structure

Quite a few entries have come into the Global Short Story Competition in recent months which seek to do things differently.

One which came in this weekend was a case in point, telling the story in a series of dispassionate reports. Very effective.

The challenge of structure is a fascinating one and I love to see how the writers sending in stories address the problem.

Many of you go for the traditional idea of a beginning, middle and an end told in simple narrative form but a significant number opt for flashback.

Both are effective although flashback does carry the gamble with it that you know what happens at the end of the story. Nevertheless, flashback can work very well. Just look at the Colombo television detective show to see how knowing the end does not ruin the enjoyment of the rest of the story.

A number of you opt for diary entries, taking the story day by day. I think this is a terrific way to do it because it gives your story a natural structure right from the off.

Diaries were hugely popular as a fictional tool in the 19^th and 20^th Centuries and had started to die off a little before Bridget Jones returned the genre to mass appeal in the Nineties.

I think that another reason why diaries are so popular is the Net and the many writers are increasingly using the structure and language of blogs and emails to tell their stories.

You can enter this month's competition at www.inscribemedia.co.uk

John Dean.

Short and sweet

Short story writing is a real art form and we get some crackers into the monthly Global Short Story Competition at www.inscribemedia.co.uk

Here’s some thoughts on how to get it right

1. Have a clear theme. What is the story about? That doesn't mean what is the plot line, the sequence of events or the character's actions, it means what is the underlying message or statement behind the words? What do you want to say? Get this right and your story will have more resonance in the minds of your readers.
2 Focus. The best stories are the ones that follow a narrow subject line. Keep it simple otherwise you end up with a novel!

3. An effective short story often covers a very short time span. It may be one single event that proves pivotal in the life of the character. If you go for a long period of time, make it pass quickly ie ‘The next year...’

4. Don't have too many characters. Each new character will bring a new dimension to the story, and for an effective short story too many diverse dimensions will dilute the theme. Have only enough characters to effectively illustrate the theme.
5 Write in episodes - short chapters in effect.

6. Make every word count. There is no room for unnecessary expansion in a short story. If a word is not working, delete it.
John Dean

Open mic nights to begin new season

 The Open Mic nights for authors, which are supported by Darlington for Culture, will open their 2013/14 season on Thursday September 26.



The nights, which offer a forum for writers to read their material and audiences to enjoy it, run at Voodoo Café/Cantina, 84 Skinnergate, on the last Thursday of the month. Each session starts at 7pm and the cost of entry is £3 paid on the door.

John Dean, of Darlington business Inscribe Media, which runs the sessions, said: “The open mic nights give a great opportunity for writers to be heard and for audiences to hear work which is often being read in public for the first time. It is a beguiling mix.”

More information is available from Inscribe Media Limited at deangriss@btinternet.com

Pulling the trigger

Key to good writing is making the experience feel real for the reader, a major part of my teaching of authors.
You need to evoke a reaction in your reader and this is done through triggers, using your reader’s associations to evoke a reaction. How do you do that?
Well, why not start by playing on:
Their memories
Their connections to places and people
Their prejudices and preconceptions?
Their response to weather conditions - snow, rain, heat etc
Their deeply felt fears and phobias?
John Dean

You've got to laugh - but what if they don't?

We get the odd comic short story submitted to the Global Short Story Competition so I thought some musings on the subject would be useful.

Writing humour is very tough: people can listen to your short story without a sound and at the end they can say ‘that was terrific’ - with humour, if they ‘aint laughing or smiling at all you have failed!

First ask yourself, what makes people laugh, which writers and why? What makes you laugh? What would make your reader laugh?

There is also an argument that if you are not a humorous person, you cannot write good humour. May be true, may not.

Here’s some golden rules.

* Humorous characters needs just as much characterisation as others. Look at your character, work out where the humour lies. Do you have a character who is egotistical, vain, clumsy, stupid? Whatever the strong character trait is, play on it.

* Observe, write down funny things, quips, things people say etc

* Develop humour within situations - maybe take a sideways glance at life and situations

* Dialogue is crucial - keep it sharp

* Whatever you do, a light touch usually needed - sledgehammers not required. If a joke needs explaining, it has not worked

* Use pace - move on from gag to gag

* Try out your jokes - if you laugh, others may not. I always reckon if I laughed first time, it was good.
* Be brutal, if a gag does not work - or is in the wrong story - ditch it!
John Dean

Honours go to UK in writing competition

Judge Fiona Cooper has selected her winners for the July Global Short Story Competition and writers from the UK have taken the honours.
The £100 first place prize goes to Ruth Simpson, for Running Away, of which Fiona says: “This is a lovely story with very pleasing and gentle humour running all the way through it. It is very difficult to capture how seriously children take themselves, and how their parents deal with this, without becoming twee or annoying. This writer has portrayed a convincing and touching episode in a way that makes me confident that they are capable of sustaining a novel. Well done.”
Our highly commended runner up is Temptin' Bison by Dianne Bown-Wilson, of Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England, who wins £25.
Fiona says: “This story has a wonderfully sinister twist, and I re-read it several times since it was very disturbing. Having said this, I was seriously impressed by both style and content and how brave the writer was to tackle such a controversial episode. Here is another writer who could produce a very readable and challenging novel. Fantastic.”The writers on the shortlist are:
Mike Woodhouse, Mittagong, Australia
Elaine Desmond, Mallow, Co Cork, Ireland
Vicky Daddo, Hazelwood South, Victoria, Australia
Jenny Lippmann, Stockport, EnglandLaura Roberts
Winning stories will be posted on www.inscribemedia.co.uk Well done to our successful writers.  You can enter the September competition at the same address.



　

　

　

　

　

It's all in the layering

I always say that I write quickly and edit slowly, a process that is all about layering, which very often happens when you go back over something you have written. For me, it comes as I re-write and edit. Suddenly something becomes important that was not important before or was not even there before so I add in layers of information/emotion to emphasis my points.

I very often write the story or the chapter then go back and construct it by layers. For instance, in my novel The Long Dead, I wrote a scene when an old man recalls his relationship with a German POW in a British camp (now found murdered). The old man is the only one who the detectives have interviewed who actually met the dead victim.

The old man spoke of him fondly, said they played chess together. It started out as a scene as much about forgiveness in the heart of war. But I realised as I went on that I wanted an edge, I wanted the relationship to be less friendly. And I wanted the old man to utter a line which 150 pages later would come to my chief inspector and would set him thinking on a new line of inquiry.

So I went back and rewrote that first scene. It is virtually all the same but there is one passage that introduces a slight edge. Not enough to tip the reader off but enough for it come into sharp relief later.

Or you may want to go back to a scene you wrote and inject it with an emotion. Was it too bland, do you want it to have been sad, happy, whatever? Or as I have done on many occasions, to imbue a couple of scenes with a sense of mystery to create a sense of unease about a place.

John Dean

The rules of editing

Editing is crucial to a successful story. Here are some thoughts:

* When editing your own work, it is often easy to miss or overlook minor problems. This is usually because you are so familiar with your own work that your mind automatically replaces the tiny typo with the correct word.

* There are also times where your mind will completely overlook glaring holes in your plot line, because you know what your story is supposed to look like.
* To edit your own work properly, you will need to go back through your story remembering to read it as a reader would.

*This means stopping to analyse your choice of words, or phrases, or dialogue and taking particular notice of all the loose-ends being drawn neatly together before the resolution.

* Don't be afraid to cut whole sections out of your work. If there are any redundant scenes or descriptions, take them out, or perhaps rephrase them with stronger writing.

* Once you have ruthlessly skimmed all the fat out of your story, re-read it again. You will usually find that your tale is much easier to read than it was before you edited

Here are some things you should look for:

Plot
1. - Is there a believable main plot?
2. - Is your plot clearly explained, so that the reader understood the sequencing of events?

3 - Keep in mind that writing a short story is far different than a full novel. Squeezing six subplots into a short story will not only be difficult to resolve, but will also feel rushed.

Pacing
1. - Does the plot move fast enough to grab the reader's attention?
2. - Did the plot move so fast you're still trying to catch your breath?
3. - Have you glossed over important details in your hurry to get to a more interesting scene?
4. - Does the pacing match the style and genre of the story? i.e.: A melodrama should not be moving at the same pace an action/adventure story.
5. - Are action scenes written in a direct fashion, propelling the reader along? Are subtle scenes drawn out far enough for the reader to catch the nuances?

Setting
1. - Does the description of the setting transport you into the fictional world created by the author?
2. - Do the descriptions amble on for pages or are they interspersed throughout the story, via character's observations or through the effect each scene has on characters?
3. - Does the order of events remain consistent throughout the story?


Characterisation
1. - Are the characters 'real'? Are they well drawn enough to hold your interest?
2. - Does the protagonist undergo some sort of change in the story? If not, what is the purpose of the story? I do think that a story needs to see a major character develop in some way, although I do accept that there may be some stories when the fact that the character does not change is the key.

4. - Is the character's background given in one large lump or small manageable pieces? Was there too much information? Too little? Background needs to be unfolded, almost like showing the reader different layers of your character with each event, deepening the understanding and empathy.

John Dean

Endings

There is no single method of ending a story. Many writers don’t know how their story will end as they write the story and so the ending emerges as the story is revealed on the page. Other writers know how the story will end before they begin, and so they can focus on the resolution as they write. There is no right or wrong approach. Here’s some options:


Twist Ending
Readers are lead to believe that a story will end in a particular way, and then it ends in a different way.


Resolving Action
Sometimes the story ends with some final action that brings an end to the conflict, complete finality. A death etc


Ambiguous ending
Essentially, the writer crafts an ending in which the story ends, but the reader is left wondering what will happen next.

John Dean

New short story competition opens

The September Global Short Story Competition has opened for entries from authors across the planet.

Launched more than five years ago, the competition runs every month with a £100 first prize and a £25 prize for highly commended writers.

Currently approaching £10,000 in prize money handed out, the competition has had

entries from more than 50 countries.
Each month’s competition is judged by Fiona Cooper, an author in North-East England, where the competition’s organisers Inscribe Media are also based. The competition can be entered at www.inscribemedia.co.uk

August’s competition has gone for judging and July’s results will be announced on Monday September 9


* Inscribe Media is also running a free poetry competition at its Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inscribemedia/183385438479538 or accessed through www.inscribemedia.co.uk