The UK-based Crime Writers’ Association has asked book lovers across the nation to nominate their favourite crime authors for the 2016 Dagger In The Library award.
This literary prize is a unique part of the Dagger Awards because the nominations are made by crime readers and are in celebration of an author’s entire body of work, not just one individual book.
The CWA continues to be inspired by readers, who flock to libraries to devour crime books. The Dagger In The Library was introduced to give them a voice in the Dagger Awards, which endeavour to showcase the best of the best in the genre.
To nominate readers should go to
http://cwadaggers.co.uk/cwa-daggers/nominate-dagger-in-the-library/
where after completing their ballot, they will be automatically entered into a prize draw to win £200 in National Book Tokens. Not only that, but they will also be asked to nominate their favourite library and the library that receives the most votes will be awarded some great CWA Dagger prizes
too.
The CWA believes that with funding cuts threatening the future of our libraries it’s even more important than ever to support them and celebrate the service they provide communities.
Wednesday, 11 November 2015
Monday, 9 November 2015
Now that sounds familiar
The use of words is something dear to all
our hearts. They are, after all, our tools and we should polish them with the
care taken by an artisan when polishing a chisel.
I came across a web page published by the Now York Times saying that the titles of every British book published in English in and around the 19th Century — 1,681,161 of them — were electronically scoured for key words and phrases that might offer fresh insight into the minds of the Victorians.
The article reckoned that among words cropping up regularly were “God” “love,” “work,” “science” and “industrial”.
Makes you wonder which words we use a lot or maybe too often. I do know there are some words I use too often in my writing - murmured, chuckled to name but two - and my favourite poet Barry MacSweeney, with whom I used to work on an evening newspaper, had a thing about the word ‘argent’. And I know another writer who slips the word ‘obsidian’ into every piece she ever produced.
John Dean
I came across a web page published by the Now York Times saying that the titles of every British book published in English in and around the 19th Century — 1,681,161 of them — were electronically scoured for key words and phrases that might offer fresh insight into the minds of the Victorians.
The article reckoned that among words cropping up regularly were “God” “love,” “work,” “science” and “industrial”.
Makes you wonder which words we use a lot or maybe too often. I do know there are some words I use too often in my writing - murmured, chuckled to name but two - and my favourite poet Barry MacSweeney, with whom I used to work on an evening newspaper, had a thing about the word ‘argent’. And I know another writer who slips the word ‘obsidian’ into every piece she ever produced.
Creative writing course to run
Keen to be a writer? Then this could be
your big chance
Creative writing tutor John Dean is taking bookings
for the Spring 2016 term of his popular courses at the Friends’ Meeting House
in Skinnergate, Darlington.
The adult learning courses deal with all aspects of
creative writing, focusing primarily on prose, including short stories, novels
and other forms of writing as well as occasional forays into the world of
stage, theatre and radio.
Each course is different and deals with everything
from characterisation to plotting, creating strong sense of place to how to
edit. Each session runs between 7
and 9pm.
John said: “The courses have
proved very popular over the years and many class members have enjoyed success
with their writing, breaking into print and winning competitions.
“It’s not all about getting
into print, though. Many of the students attend out of the sheer pleasure of
writing. From experienced authors to beginners, these courses help people to
explore their creativity.”
The courses start:
Spring Term 2016 (10 weeks)
The courses start:
Spring Term 2016 (10 weeks)
Tuesday
First session Jan 12
Half term no class Feb 16
Final session March 22
Wednesday
First session Jan 13
Half term no class Feb 17
Final session March 23
Fee £46 (Concessions £37)
More
information is available from John on 01325 463813 or email
deangriss@btinternet.com
Tuesday, 3 November 2015
Writing in second person
Very occasionally you come across an
author telling their story through a second person viewpoint.
We are all familiar with first person (I have had a really good day) and third person (she had had a really good day) but many writers will be unaware about second person.
In short, in second person point of view, the narrator tells the story using ‘you‘ as in ‘You pick up the phone because you feel scared‘. Footballers, those great bastions of language, tend to use it quite a lot (‘In games like this, you go out on the field and leap like a salmon sandwich and nod the ball into the old onion bag.’) If that’s not a mixed metaphor.
So which one to choose? Well, often the first-person narrative is used as a way to directly convey deeply internal, otherwise unspoken, thoughts. It allows story to directly revolve round one person and can allow the character to be further developed through his/her own style in telling the story. That style is often chatty and informal, always deeply personal.
There are drawbacks: in third person you can tell the reader what is round the corner to create tension; you can’t do that in first person because the character simply does not know. That is third person’s biggest advantage; the way it allows the narrator to be all-seeing. And yes, it can also be used to delve deep into the character’s mind but many writers feel happier doing that with first person.
So where does second person fit in? Well, it is rarely used but, as shown in the story submitted overnight, can be very effective in that it directly challenges the reader to step into the story by use of the word’ you’. If they feel so challenged then that will make the story so much more real.
John Dean
We are all familiar with first person (I have had a really good day) and third person (she had had a really good day) but many writers will be unaware about second person.
In short, in second person point of view, the narrator tells the story using ‘you‘ as in ‘You pick up the phone because you feel scared‘. Footballers, those great bastions of language, tend to use it quite a lot (‘In games like this, you go out on the field and leap like a salmon sandwich and nod the ball into the old onion bag.’) If that’s not a mixed metaphor.
So which one to choose? Well, often the first-person narrative is used as a way to directly convey deeply internal, otherwise unspoken, thoughts. It allows story to directly revolve round one person and can allow the character to be further developed through his/her own style in telling the story. That style is often chatty and informal, always deeply personal.
There are drawbacks: in third person you can tell the reader what is round the corner to create tension; you can’t do that in first person because the character simply does not know. That is third person’s biggest advantage; the way it allows the narrator to be all-seeing. And yes, it can also be used to delve deep into the character’s mind but many writers feel happier doing that with first person.
So where does second person fit in? Well, it is rarely used but, as shown in the story submitted overnight, can be very effective in that it directly challenges the reader to step into the story by use of the word’ you’. If they feel so challenged then that will make the story so much more real.
John Dean
Detail, detail, detail
Back in my student days, I
studied the works of the 17th/18th Century English writer
Jane Austen and recall one scholar praising the way she worked like a fine
artist painting on porcelain.
I know what he meant. I have
always believed that what differentiates good writing from less effective
writing is detail; a look here, a colour there, an observation, a vivid phrase,
they all lift the story of the page.
How do you do it? Well, for a
start:
* Create details about character. Ask questions about
your character. What does your character look like? How does he walk or talk?
Does she part her hair? What kind of clothes does he wear? What nasty habits
etc? And which facts are relevant? What matters, what does not?
* Create details about your
settings. What does your character's living room look like? Is it messy or is
it tidy? Are there paintings on the wall etc etc? Create details that bring the
settings to life. A story comes alive when the reader can see, smell, taste,
hear, and touch the world you’ve created. But if it does not matter that a
certain painting is on the wall, don’t mention it.
* Observe and recount - tell the reader what a character is doing,
what the weather is doing, if it’s getting dark.
Writing may have changed dramatically since Jane Austen’s day but
details made the story then and, used judiciously, they do now.
John Dean
The rules of dialogue
I am
thoroughly enjoying a novel at the moment. Its sense of place and people has
drawn me into the narrative and you can see why the writer is so celebrated.
Venerated, even. Except, for the dialogue, which is stilted and clunky.
It got
me thinking about the rules of dialogue. Dialogue is crucial to the success of
any story. Good dialogue can make a story, bad dialogue can wreck it, so it is
worth bearing in mind some of these rules of conversation and reflecting them
in the dialogue that you write. If people talk that way in real life then so
they should in your work.
* A
lot of the time, we do not speak in correct sentences/we often use short sharp
phrases.
* Keep
your dialogue crisp - we can tell a lot about a person in a short snap of
conversation.
* We
interrupt a lot.
* We
assume a lot. Not ‘Your brother has been murdered.’
‘What,
my brother Brian?’
‘Yes,
that’s him. Your only brother. The younger one.’ Keep it realistic.
*
Dialogue must take the story on. Only write small talk if you need to, ie
showing how tedious a person can be. If you don’t need it, don’t write it. Make
sure each word does a job.
* Do
not pack dialogue with extraneous information. Don’t write like this:
‘I saw William, although everyone
calls him Bill, my neighbour of ten years in Acacia Avenue, in Darlington, and
observed that he was his normal glum self, to which we - that is my wife,
Edith, and I - have grown accustomed in the weeks since his wife left him for a
younger man and filed for divorce. I assumed that the darkness which seems to
have assailed him since then has not lifted.’ If
you need to slot in that information, find a way of doing it more subtly: ie “Saw Bill this morning. His usual gloomy
self. The divorce really has knocked him backwards.’
John Dean
Monday, 2 November 2015
Celebrating your successes
A reminder that we have set out to
celebrate the achievements of the world’s aspiring writers.
Inscribe Media wants to celebrate success.
We will mention as many success stories as we can as part of our blog at www.inscribemedia.co.uk
and on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/inscribemedia/?fref=ts
Simply email us the details at
deangriss@btinternet.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)