tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51404066299930586492024-02-08T00:14:46.035+00:00Severn Valley AuthorsRoberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14179276687488472916noreply@blogger.comBlogger135125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-74006600900080459762016-05-17T13:24:00.000+01:002016-05-17T13:24:12.663+01:00Something in the Water?This blog should be about our last meeting on 25th April but it's more important to report that, sadly, SVA has lost another member. Izzie is unable to commit to attend meetings for a while and has decided to leave . We shall miss her insightful critiques, her advice regarding blogging and the mysteries of the Interweb and, most of all, her lively presence at our meetings. So now we are four.<div>
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It was three of the four – Annie, Linda and Rob – who, at the last meeting, heard Tony's news that he has had a proposal for a book on mental health accepted and that the publisher will issue it in hardback and e-book formats. Brilliant, Tony, well done.</div>
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Tony read a short story called <i>My Manager's a Psychopath</i> that was greeted warmly. Annie has noticed that many of Tony's short stories have links with water – canals and rivers – and wondered if there is any significance in this. She suggested that this could be the theme for an anthology. She complimented Tony on his work and offered an alternative ending for him to consider.</div>
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Linda recognised that Tony's esoteric style means that he breaks some of the 'rules' of creative writing but generally she approved of his choices where they broke the conventions. Her summary was that, "it's a cracking story that needs tightening up a bit."</div>
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Rob echoed Linda's comments about Tony's style that always reminds him (Rob) of Garrison Keillor's 'voice' in <i>Lake Wobegone Days</i>. He praised its "charming cadence and rhythm". Luckily – and surprisingly for our group – nobody suggested that this was tautologous. </div>
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The question of the evening was whether the sentence: "I wonder where they go." should have ended with a question mark. Here is the answer according to GrammarBook.com in Rule 3a pertaining to question marks:</div>
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<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="blue" style="color: #19539b; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Rule 3a.</span></em></strong> Avoid the common trap of using question marks with <strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">indirect questions</strong>, which are statements that contain questions. Use a period after an indirect question.</div>
<div class="example" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 30px; padding: 0px;">
<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Incorrect:</em></strong> <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">I wonder if he would go with me?</em><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Correct:</em></strong><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">I wonder if he would go with me.</em><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">OR</strong><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">I wonder: Would he go with me?</em></div>
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So it appears that the answer is no. </div>
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Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14179276687488472916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-62418868208612175372016-04-15T20:36:00.000+01:002016-04-15T20:36:15.311+01:00Beauty in the detail of insignificant things<span style="text-indent: -24px;">by Tony Gillam</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: -24px;"><br /></span>
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Everyone seemed a bit battle-weary from their day-to-day
lives when we met at Annie's on Monday 11th April. It wasn't the writing that was getting us all
down - it was everything else ... and the lack of time left to immerse ourselves
in the creative process. Still, there
were some scraps of literary news. Rob's
scheme to give away 30 (slightly defective) copies of <i>Out of Such Darkness</i> via Good Reads had resulted in 857 people coming
forward, proving that, if you're willing to write for nothing, there is no shortage
of readers out there happy not to pay for a good book! Rob had also met for coffee with Chris - who,
intriguingly, had come to a radical decision about <i>Karl Marx and Careful Driving</i>.
But, reader, you will have to <i>buy</i>
that book when it becomes available to find out more. Annie had found some time for a little editing
and polishing of her works for children. Tony has a few things 'in press', as
they say, which he is hoping to see in print before too long. And Linda's computer keyboard had decided to
exchange letters for symbols, which might be a useful shortcut to writing
symbolist poetry, but is less helpful when you're working on a novel.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
We critiqued an extract from a chapter by Linda. Annie enjoyed the 'gossipyness' of the
story. The intrigue of
what's-Lorna-doing-next. We all admired
the sentence: "<i>Phoebe in her scruffy
coat and scraped shoes seemed somehow beautiful in the detail of insignificant
things."<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rob struggled to keep track of the cast of characters. For him, the brevity of the scenes made it
seem hurried and disjointed but he liked the phrase <i>"eyes the colour of aniseed balls".</i> I also found it a
little hard to follow but loved the Dylan Thomas-esque language ("The
girls ducked into the warmth of Divito's coffee shop, welcomed by the whirr of
the coffee machines and the smell of bacon.") Linda has a knack for stimulating
all the senses with tumbling phrases which are naturally rhythmic and alliterative. </div>
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And after that, in our rather chaotic way, we contrived to
plan the next few meetings, as follows:</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Next meeting:
Monday 25th April at Tony's (with Tony submitting)</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->No meeting on Monday 9th May, due to low numbers</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Monday 23rd May at Jayne's (with Chris to
submit) and </div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Monday 13th June at Rob's (with Annie to
submit.)</div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<h4>
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Tony Gillamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13687475010500909344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-42298697073826284492016-04-11T09:02:00.003+01:002016-04-11T09:03:19.544+01:00Wretched Snivelling<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Some
things happened during the course of the meeting but the only really important
thing was that Rob had a cold…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">We
met at Rob’s house on 14<sup>th</sup> March. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Before
the critique we discussed our news:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I
have now finished two picture book manuscripts as a result of attending an
on-line story-writing course.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Tony
has had a book proposal rejected but has been asked to write the introduction
to a Malcolm Saville book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Rob
took delivery of a set of his second novel ‘Out of Such Darkness’ and found a
blank page had been included within the text. This technical error meant he had
to order a new set. What to do with the imperfect copies though? Ever the ideas
man, Rob set up an on-line competition where people could ask to receive a book
for free. Rob is also editing his latest novel, ‘The Petrified Fountain.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">It
was a chapter from this novel that we critiqued. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The
chapter sees Cross still in Portugal with his cousin Luis. The pair listened to
traditional Portuguese ‘Fado’ singers at a local restaurant. This chapter was
slower-paced than previous ones but there was much to admire. Jane enjoyed the
description of Cross’ visit to a bookshop. I felt that Cross’ character was
being well-drawn; he appears to take every opportunity to compare himself with
others and in this chapter it is height comparisons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Tony
and Linda had concerns over Cross as the narrator and found his voice quite
intrusive. Rob explained that he wished to continue with it in the first person
and he felt that this best served the plot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDBgUXH6aY0jLpeEd2x9AXiTcYI1weEu3VbHB8mSTFVkMUoCD1BpccgQ_YyGWmn9icqVk4qscnHWfM4QeoQFRg8JHjzbbmrkdpY_eRPJ7jZJPXJF-DZTXXC0V5mIvaa4rJJAPyT8bScoGQ/s1600/fado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDBgUXH6aY0jLpeEd2x9AXiTcYI1weEu3VbHB8mSTFVkMUoCD1BpccgQ_YyGWmn9icqVk4qscnHWfM4QeoQFRg8JHjzbbmrkdpY_eRPJ7jZJPXJF-DZTXXC0V5mIvaa4rJJAPyT8bScoGQ/s200/fado.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">There
were some excellent descriptions of the ‘Fado’ singers who it seemed stopped at
nothing to perform, including being hooked up to an oxygen mask. We questioned
the likelihood of this but Rob assured us that this section was written from
his research trip to Portugal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved
Cross’ summing up of the musical experience: a fantastic oxymoron. ‘It’s very
emotional …powerful… and I understood every word even though I didn’t, if you
see what I mean.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">We
also enjoyed Luis’ use of a noun as a verb with ‘Let’s have a sherry to
nightcap.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our
next meeting is on Monday 11<sup>th</sup> April at my house. Linda is
submitting. </span><!--EndFragment--><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>(Written by Annie posted by Snivelling Rob.)</i></span></span>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14179276687488472916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-74036242103272928002016-01-22T10:10:00.005+00:002016-01-22T10:10:55.610+00:00The Trouble With Biscuits...<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tMC3PK4PmUA/VqH82b3OWoI/AAAAAAAAD9c/9XS9NuBYoWU/s1600/biscuits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tMC3PK4PmUA/VqH82b3OWoI/AAAAAAAAD9c/9XS9NuBYoWU/s1600/biscuits.jpg" /></a>The first SVA meeting for 2016 was held at Tony's on 11th January. Tony read chapter 7 from Nothing But A Phantom following a long stint in the kitchen finding alternative refreshments when several troublesome guests admitted that they weren't partial to white chocolate biscuits. Ever the gracious host, he had rustled up an alternative in no time.<br />
<br />
In news... <br />
Rob was away for the first meeting as he's on holiday in South Africa. Annie has started her course with an editor. This is going well and she is optimistic that by the end of week six, one or two books will be ready to submit. Linda has been working on her second book and is finding it easier to write than her previous one. Izzie is working on a couple of commissioned posts about sleep and also has a new job. Tony has had a couple of features published in Acksherley magazine, sent a couple of submissions to Popshot, entered a Writers' and Artists' book competition and also received an acknowledgement for his book proposal on mental health. <br />
<br />
Critique...<br />
Izzie liked the clever use of the chapter and book titles within the text of chapter 7. She also enjoyed the description of Aiden, the drama lecturer and was relieved that Tilman had been rescued. Linda enjoyed the natural, laid-back style of the chapter and felt that Aiden's character really stood out. She also loved the parallels between The Tempest and Tilman being tossed around on the sea. Annie thought that the chapter was a good read, but highlighted that quaint and polystyrene didn't go together at all well. She also liked Aiden's catchphrase, 'Kinda,' and the use of French when Tilman was rescued.<br />
<br />
Tony appreciated the comments and varied interpretations. He admitted that the story was unfurling accidentally as it isn't plotted. The use of The Tempest was accidental but appears to work well within the chapter.<br />
<br />
We look forward to reading chapter 8. <br />
<br />
Next meeting...<br />
The next meeting is scheduled for Monday 25th January at Rob's house, with Annie to submit.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-31780914862091578772015-12-18T12:05:00.001+00:002015-12-18T12:05:40.167+00:00Final Proper Meeting of 2015<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Written by Annie posted by Rob)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">We
met on 23rd November at Annie’s house. It was rather a select group as Tony was
not with us and Chris had sent his resignation via email since the previous
meeting. We were so sorry to hear that work commitments made it impossible for
Chris to attend any longer. We send him our warmest wishes and look forward to
an invitation to his book launch. It was also agreed that in the New Year we
would like to organise a meal to give Chris a proper send off.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">News:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Izzy
had reviewed some candles on her blog and organised and launched her first ever
blog competition the prize being some of the scented candle she was reviewing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Rob
has completed 36,000 words during National Novel Writing Month and is on track
to complete 50,000 words by the end of November.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Linda
had no news to report.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Annie
had taken part in ‘The Hook’ event at the SCBWI conference and had found it a
very useful process and had received plenty of feedback and ideas from five
different agents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Kj51hRQUkBJ2m35vGCGWcExrozlbpIznUSG8vr4zLa1NzgceOQUR2StBoJR3sC7Ej4vx32M_eqp3yhl-R5_8aX7A0mr9RXytATIeVZ7PJ-Ck75EGws82X51R_NsoiZsOjpC4Me9fKNFm/s1600/trio-viewing-art-720x570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Kj51hRQUkBJ2m35vGCGWcExrozlbpIznUSG8vr4zLa1NzgceOQUR2StBoJR3sC7Ej4vx32M_eqp3yhl-R5_8aX7A0mr9RXytATIeVZ7PJ-Ck75EGws82X51R_NsoiZsOjpC4Me9fKNFm/s320/trio-viewing-art-720x570.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Linda
was submitting a chapter from her novel, the working title being ‘Winchelsea
Beach’. The chapter was called ‘The Viewing’. Or to be more precise Linda
described it as only half a chapter that she had managed to throw onto the
page. As usual the quality of the writing was so high that no one had any
sympathy for how busy Linda had been.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The
chapter tells of how Lorna is showing her work at a swanky art exhibition and
has taken Bill, her rather down market and scruffy fisherman boyfriend along
with her. As soon as she arrives she can see that Bill is going to be something
of a fish out of water and so dismisses him for the evening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I
love the fact that the woman welcoming them at the gallery was called Jelly.
Bill didn’t believe her and told her so. She then revealed it was short for Angelica
and shortly afterwards Lorna made it clear she had enough of him for one night.
The descriptions of the people at the viewing were well-drawn - ‘a coven of
elderly women grouped in one corner… heavily made up, they gave the impression
they were in a theatrical production, which in a way they were.’ It was also
easy to imagine the ‘fashionably dishevelled men scrutinising the paintings and
dropping ash from their cigarettes onto the Paisley carpet’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Jane
felt that the characterisation was good and she felt sorry for Bill and could tell
that Lorna was charming yet devious. When Bill falls in love with Lorna it says
that he had considered changing his boat’s name. I thought this to be an
excellent way of showing rather than telling how Bill feels about her. In the
next paragraph though Rob thought that there was a little bit too much tell. A
handsome French stranger has caught Lorna’s eye by buying one of her expensive
paintings as he is supported by his wealthy parents. Rob thought it better to
let these details come out more slowly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">For
the ending of the chapter Bill has spent the evening back at Lorna’s house but
leaves before she arrives home. As he leaves he sees a 2CV with Lorna in the
passenger seat heading in the opposite direction. We thought it might work out
best if Lorna wasn’t mentioned at this stage as it does rather give away what
happens in the next chapter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">An
excellent piece of writing that really moved the story forward in terms of plot
and character. It was a fabulous read that had us all gripped.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Next meetings:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Tuesday,
15 December is our Christmas outing to Stourport for a curry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Our
first meetings in 2016 are:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">January
11th at Tony’s house and Tony will be submitting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">January
25th at Rob’s house and Annie will be submitting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">February
8th at Izzy’s house and Izzy will be submitting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I
wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and productive 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14179276687488472916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-43927753023441052012015-11-18T19:56:00.002+00:002015-11-18T19:57:29.332+00:00Get your coati, you've pulled!<div class="MsoNormal">
Our preliminary discussion turned once again to the
difficulties of a writer’s life. Christmas is coming which means lots of
sponsored writing opportunities for Izzie but the PR companies that approach her expect her to write for peanuts. Tony is reeling from the blow of a magazine
rejection but undaunted has entered a short story competition. He's also drafting a
mental health non-fiction book proposal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rob performed his <i><a href="http://bit.ly/YSUx09" target="_blank">Rattling the Family Skeleton</a></i> talk to a group of 70
people and sold only three books.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxnvNU0OuCZ1L3_ssAT5fJ_7k196IjOJbUZ47MBGZwfCSWpPWmlL8IvUPLYHlG_DxjrfQnXSFei02yTRNLZ0ovp17yVv9D5oz1vCY7appEgnSdE84nTZ7ov0GDz1YZBnvJK66LhyuysZ5/s1600/1417072939_3a8e641608_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhxnvNU0OuCZ1L3_ssAT5fJ_7k196IjOJbUZ47MBGZwfCSWpPWmlL8IvUPLYHlG_DxjrfQnXSFei02yTRNLZ0ovp17yVv9D5oz1vCY7appEgnSdE84nTZ7ov0GDz1YZBnvJK66LhyuysZ5/s320/1417072939_3a8e641608_b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Izzie's coati buddy</td></tr>
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Izzie read her blog post entitled <i>Two Weeks in Mexico</i>.
This was received enthusiastically with the overall comment being ‘pretty
damn-near perfect’. Okay, we maybe would have liked to get to know the animals
better – what sort of personality does a coati have? (Annie’s was the
dissenting voice here. She didn’t like the idea of ‘rodents’ roaming the
pathways and attacking the guests.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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There was some debate about whether ‘sugary-white sand’
created a picture of sublime Pacific bliss or a sticky mass that stuck to the
soles of your feet like bubble gum on a pavement. The majority opinion was
positive.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In summary, all agreed that, as the piece was more a
review than personal travel writing, this required disinterest and impartiality. However, the
most interesting parts for the reader were Izzie’s personal reactions to the
various elements of an all-inclusive resort and we asked for more of them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the planning<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>section, it was agreed that the next meeting will be Monday 23<sup>rd</sup>
November at Annie’s at 8pm when Linda will read. The only meeting in December
is going to be the Christmas social in the week commencing 14<sup>th</sup>
December.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_i6fDqY1-BmQnZyI8X94cEb7isSXkrNuciOe-DesIRNxqlUbrb_JW6v38w2zvF9BiSJpCkgjKzTpBkknMQfEaVI26KWu9go95tnyewYHB88dPjCjIg-j_67oaud_Y7X1_NaZ23V8lycu5/s1600/Chris-smith1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_i6fDqY1-BmQnZyI8X94cEb7isSXkrNuciOe-DesIRNxqlUbrb_JW6v38w2zvF9BiSJpCkgjKzTpBkknMQfEaVI26KWu9go95tnyewYHB88dPjCjIg-j_67oaud_Y7X1_NaZ23V8lycu5/s320/Chris-smith1.jpg" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christopher J Smith</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In a sad postscript, it is this scribe’s duty
to report that one of the founder members of SVA, Chris Smith, has decided to
resign from the group because his work commitments preclude him from attending
meetings. We shall all miss Chris’s wise counsel, particularly his knowledge of
punctuation. Chris can parse a sentence with the precision of a brain surgeon
wielding a scalpel. Our work will be poorer for his absence and we all hope he
stays in touch if only to remind us of where to stick our commas.</span><!--EndFragment-->
<br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We wish him luck with his magnum opus, <i><a href="http://karlmarxandcarefuldriving.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Karl Marx and Careful Driving</a></i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "cambria";"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "cambria";"><i>Best wishes for the festive season to all our readers from SVA!</i></span>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14179276687488472916noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-613868300056349442015-10-31T19:58:00.000+00:002015-10-31T19:58:20.026+00:00A spooky Severn Valley Authors' gathering to discuss small-scale tyranny and deleted expletives <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeRKNVxftt-qlwrO0PzZLi6TI_rnkX1iWcjxAkofOoF0tZQrlGBrR3VHICUYLhqAjTJ229M6AKTOfk-h0Ck5gzbUSw1hy52o3eCrxjVvc3B91sBBBGlySxPI_vcxdiI-x2_hohENuNtVw/s1600/halloween+bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeRKNVxftt-qlwrO0PzZLi6TI_rnkX1iWcjxAkofOoF0tZQrlGBrR3VHICUYLhqAjTJ229M6AKTOfk-h0Ck5gzbUSw1hy52o3eCrxjVvc3B91sBBBGlySxPI_vcxdiI-x2_hohENuNtVw/s1600/halloween+bike.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The SVA met at my
place for an (almost) Halloween meeting. Spookily, Chris (whose extract we had gathered
to discuss) emerged via the dark alleyway that runs alongside the house. To park his bike round the back he had to
contend with dustbins heavy with garden rubbish, so ominous rumblings of wheelie
bins and mysterious flashes of LED lights presaged his apparition. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Annie was unable to join us this week and the remaining five
of us had little news to share. There
was talk of taking part in National Novel Writing Month (see nanowrimo.org)
from Rob, and of helpful advice received from an editor (Linda), of ongoing
bloggery (Izzie), submissions to short story magazines (Tony) and a finalising
rewrite (Chris). There was also a lot of
debate about a mutually convenient meeting time. The consensus seems to be to stick with <b>the second and fourth Monday in each month,
starting at 8pm but ending promptly at 10pm. </b>We agreed we would need to be brisker in both
our sharing of news and our giving of feedback, avoiding repetition of comments
and generally being pithier. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4zz0aC_4Q2TAR68wE6qKpewh2Y_Y_NZ7TIagAOvhEQO7YL_C2j8EEL6G360HZWZXRLG1YkGdG9m61HF4AlvQs4TckvXIv00soiKCfuPlA3Frsl01xuKkJrelviV_nEcRISGTCr56deN0/s1600/expletives.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4zz0aC_4Q2TAR68wE6qKpewh2Y_Y_NZ7TIagAOvhEQO7YL_C2j8EEL6G360HZWZXRLG1YkGdG9m61HF4AlvQs4TckvXIv00soiKCfuPlA3Frsl01xuKkJrelviV_nEcRISGTCr56deN0/s1600/expletives.jpg" /></a>And, in this spirit, Chris read us an extract from Chapter
13 of his <i>Karl Marx and Careful Driving</i>. The text was full of profundity and
humour. In one section, Chris observes
that road users are "alienated both from their humanity and from each
other by the state's partition of time and space because only the surrender of
time and space <i>without direction from
another</i> can bring a smile from a grateful stranger." Elsewhere, Chris describes a manager who
"might easily be dismissed as a buffoon, but even small-scale tyranny is
no joke for those subjected to it."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Izzie found Chris had
a gift for making "complex theories
palatable" while Linda appreciated the improved balance between personal
experiences and the history and philosophy sections. Rob also liked the balance between 'theory'
and 'driving' but suggested each chapter could end with a short summary of
where the narrator had got to, so far, in his thinking ... and where this might
be leading us next. I also enjoyed the frequent
switches from macrocosm to microcosm, from the sublime to the mundane and, sometimes,
ridiculous. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nhDDOqivEhIV3k5I5_P98vkHW0GGJewn3tgLdcm-hxFJHu7UM6eAsB6cyrPoSc0wgiT-J-imbju81rG98tQdv2LF8CLHAQisUuw20oMDU8Cwbz8GRQeOs2h1eW1aQZ6UnOI7UTMnqgo/s1600/lawrence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nhDDOqivEhIV3k5I5_P98vkHW0GGJewn3tgLdcm-hxFJHu7UM6eAsB6cyrPoSc0wgiT-J-imbju81rG98tQdv2LF8CLHAQisUuw20oMDU8Cwbz8GRQeOs2h1eW1aQZ6UnOI7UTMnqgo/s200/lawrence.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was a lot of discussion about the use of deleted
expletives, or rather the inconsistent use of, or expurgation of, expletives. Chris's rationale was that some obscene
language was admissible, and some was just too obscene to spell out, but the
group felt, if you're going to include some obscenities, you can't be this
selective. D H Lawrence paved the way
for authors to use such language more freely, although sometimes, in print, it
still has the power to shock.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The meeting ended with a brief discussion planning Christmas
celebrations. And so - though it's
eminently subject to change - the plan for now is as follows:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Forthcoming meetings:</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Monday 9 November </b>Venue: Izzie's Izzie
to submit</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Monday 23 November </b>Venue: Annie's Linda
to submit</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Monday 14 December or
Thursday 17 December: </b>Christmas
meal (Venue to be confirmed)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Tony Gillam</i></div>
Tony Gillamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13687475010500909344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-55082869737623783022015-10-22T14:25:00.001+01:002015-10-22T14:55:14.400+01:00Rejection and Inspiration<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-D69QeLyO0IypL5Lmrqgegy-ERLwAi34YDOVrsx4dBpUROM-1HRrdXwJK7Xx6M2Pc3LLioHz75JMhgb6p1Puz3MGnnsANW0RZDRqqC56C0wDOxf5dLtmutRew3cTMDUq5MhCDmEcqWOU/s1600/rej-22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-D69QeLyO0IypL5Lmrqgegy-ERLwAi34YDOVrsx4dBpUROM-1HRrdXwJK7Xx6M2Pc3LLioHz75JMhgb6p1Puz3MGnnsANW0RZDRqqC56C0wDOxf5dLtmutRew3cTMDUq5MhCDmEcqWOU/s400/rej-22.jpg" width="387" /></a></div>
<br />
On Monday 28 September we met at Rob's to discuss the latest development in his novel-in-progress <i>The Petrified Fountain</i>. Izzie and Tony were away on holiday and unable to attend.<br />
<br />
Linda reported that the Guardian Master Class 'How to find a literary agent', hosted by the literary agent Juliet Mushens and Jessie Burton (author of <i>The Miniaturist</i>), had been worth every penny of the fee and the return train fare to London. Among the useful tips she gleaned was that a submission to a literary agent should be 90 per cent about the book and 10 per cent about the author; that the synopsis is a technical document limited to a formal summary of the manuscript's content and that the introductory letter is the place for the promotional 'elevator pitch'; and that authors shouldn't be disappointed that the name at the bottom of a standard rejection slip isn't that of the editor you sent it to: readers appointed by agents and publishers are extremely well qualified and know exactly what they are doing.<br />
<br />
Hmmm. A quick Google search reveals that<br />
<br />
Agatha Christie (book sales in excess of $ 2 billion) suffered five years of continual rejection;<br />
<br />
J.K. Rowling's agent received 12 rejections from publishers for <i>Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone </i>(I assume that J.K. Rowling would have previously received several rejections from agents)<br />
<br />
C.S. Lewis suffered years of rejections for his <i>Chronicles of Narnia </i>(over 100 million copies sold);<br />
<br />
<i>The Tale of Peter Rabbit </i>(sales of 45 million) received so many rejections that Beatrix Potter self-published 250 copies;<br />
<br />
<i>Gone with the Wind </i>received 38 rejections from publishers before going on to sell in excess of 30 million copies;<br />
<br />
<i>Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance </i>is in <i>The Guiness Book of Records </i>for receiving 121 rejections - more than any other best seller.<br />
<br />
There are umpteen more examples of spectacularly poor judgement by literary agents and publishers listed on <a href="http://www.litrejections.com/">www.litrejections.com</a> but the following is my favourite:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">'</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To prove how hard it is for new writers to break in, Jerzy Kosinski uses a pen name to submit his best seller <i>Steps</i> to 13 literary agents and 14 publishers. All of them reject it, including Random House, who had published it.' </span><br />
<i><br /></i>
Jerzy Kosinski's experiment seems to confirm the worst of our fears: that for many agents and publishers what you write matters a great deal less than who you are, in which case we unknowns might as well give up. The lesson to be drawn from the examples listed on <a href="http://www.litrejections.com/">www.litrejections.com</a>, is that <i>the authors never gave up. </i>Never stop believing in your talent (despite the advice of the 'experts') and above all, <i>persevere</i>. It only takes one person to see what all the others have missed.<br />
<br />
Linda brought along two introductory letters handed out by Juliet Mushens. They were sent to her by authors who subsequently went on to have their books published.<br />
<i><br /></i>
And so to <i>The Petrified Fountain. </i>The central character, Mr Cross, has discovered that he has a cousin living in Lisbon. The previous chapter dealt with Cross's flight to Lisbon and his initial meeting with his cousin, Luis Fonseca, at which they agree to meet for dinner. Rob's submission begins with their meeting in a small restaurant, in which Cross learns from Fonseca something of the family's history. They return to Louis's apartment and agree to meet the following morning to visit Cross's grandfather's grave in one of the city's cemeteries. The narrative continues at a good pace with authentic descriptions of Lisbon, well-handled dialogue, further insights into the personalities of the two men, and some humour in the battle for space at the restaurant's tiny table 'the size of a tea tray'. I noted that there were occasional problems with tense: the narrative is set in the present tense, which works well for me, but occasionally slips into the past or even the pluperfect tense (which has no place in a narrative set in the present).<br />
<br />
Annie stated that the chapter had a good pace and the she wanted to know what happens next. She enjoyed Rob's development of Cross's fussy personality but also had issues with the tense.<br />
<br />
Linda felt that the story moved along well, with strong characterisation, good dialogue and a good sense of place.<br />
<br />
Linda and I both had problems with the punctuation in the following sentence(s):<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'Of course, you have not been let down by your powers of <i>deduction - </i>' We bow heads in unison saluting the word's correctness. ' - I do like to be on time. It's an important courtesy.'</span><br />
<i><br /></i>
I suggested the following change:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'Of course, you have not been let down by your powers of <i>deduction;' </i>(we bow heads in unison saluting the word's correctness) 'I do like to be on time. It's an important courtesy.'</span><br />
<i><br /></i>
Rob prefers his version and I'm not sure if mine works any better. One of the blog's legions of followers might like to suggest a solution.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFk-y4zJeFZMtrNpfPCUipJllNDI9DOx81R9_-HIJLdgvBmYHk37eghntvWdMEeqWM1LOE6JKEFkUd3ckPrf9g3hAYkMEWENPuG1VyiHyrE90sxD-JkM-H3bGCwa-C0h2MXxeaB-rGCQ/s1600/KelliesCastle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFk-y4zJeFZMtrNpfPCUipJllNDI9DOx81R9_-HIJLdgvBmYHk37eghntvWdMEeqWM1LOE6JKEFkUd3ckPrf9g3hAYkMEWENPuG1VyiHyrE90sxD-JkM-H3bGCwa-C0h2MXxeaB-rGCQ/s200/KelliesCastle.jpg" width="200" /></a>Rob said that he'd probably address the problems of the tense by transferring the whole narrative into the past tense, which he feels more comfortable with. He added that William Kellie Smith, Cross's grandfather, was a real person, a Scottish expat who built a castle in the middle of a palm-oil plantation in Malaya. He died in Lisbon from pneumonia in 1956. Rob's visit to the castle in 1990 was the inspiration for <i>The Petrified Fountain</i>.<br />
<br />
Next meeting will be at Tony's at 7.30 pm. Chris will be submitting.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619829671018379390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-9098882333328803322015-09-16T12:43:00.000+01:002015-09-21T17:08:24.272+01:00Mea Culpa! Mea Culpa!<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<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/AVvXsEgrxRczxCjMhTaVuvb4Lt1hQmygUEV24OsHe1z6HemhZbDQMz0DQ32zHPr-BZ4Nnt6jSv2JMJNPFlUNm03xv0eQSr-wFntueSUf2AV0FMxtfmLQW7r5wD1d3bSYSkTbBPUU8f4BXgsEZfj7/s1600/urine-sample.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrxRczxCjMhTaVuvb4Lt1hQmygUEV24OsHe1z6HemhZbDQMz0DQ32zHPr-BZ4Nnt6jSv2JMJNPFlUNm03xv0eQSr-wFntueSUf2AV0FMxtfmLQW7r5wD1d3bSYSkTbBPUU8f4BXgsEZfj7/s200/urine-sample.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Smells good too!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Regular readers of this blog will know that it’s our
practice to appoint a scribe for each meeting and she or he tries to capture
the spirit of each meeting in a few lines before we collect together again. Our
meeting on August 24<sup>th</sup> remains unrecorded and this grave omission is
down to me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Here’s what I remember:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Izzie, once again, proved that the Internet is
where it’s at. She cleverly contrived to come second in a design-a-room
competition and thereby avoided the winner’s prize, which she didn’t want, and
collected the runner-up’s that she did.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Linda is entering A Headful of Budgerigars in
the <a href="https://mslexia.co.uk/competition/novel-competition/" target="_blank">Myslexia novel-writing competition</a>. It deserves to win.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; text-indent: -18pt;">Tony is toying with a concept for a new mental
health primer.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Tony read a chapter from his novel-in-progress: </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">We all agreed that Tony has a unique, relaxed style and that this extract built
the suspense well. Some of us were concerned about Tilman’s naivety and
Angland’s complicated ‘banishment’ process. At one stage Linda admitted that she
was so transported by Tony’s description that she could smell Tilman’s urine.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<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/AVvXsEjhKW_8dezBuETcmWg1PB9lE-DvNKFIsimEr7UM4P7E7z6y9V6C-G9slGgYXbKq7p6ApgcKMufd6IJaDr_6hxxtPYDZhNdimEFBUA7TS7AuZhQrd7GGZxv-9F4yeAOGkkbXh7suKp8Edb_a/s1600/headless-chickens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhKW_8dezBuETcmWg1PB9lE-DvNKFIsimEr7UM4P7E7z6y9V6C-G9slGgYXbKq7p6ApgcKMufd6IJaDr_6hxxtPYDZhNdimEFBUA7TS7AuZhQrd7GGZxv-9F4yeAOGkkbXh7suKp8Edb_a/s320/headless-chickens.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I can't see the blog! When's the next meeting?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Had the blog been written in a timely fashion it would have
stated that the next meeting would be on 14 September. Apparently, members are
unable to use a calendar or diary to determine which are the second and fourth
Mondays in a month and you can imagine the confusion that was caused by not
being able to refer to the blog for this vital information.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And on that note I’ll move on to the most recent meeting: 14<sup>th</sup>
September. We were down in numbers because Izzie and Linda were both in London.
Linda was attending a Guardian writing masterclass and it will be interesting
to hear how it went. As far as news went, it was good to hear that some of us
enjoyed events in Bewdley Book Week. Tony has submitted an article to the
Malcolm Saville Society magazine. (Tony is a fully paid member of the Lone Pine
Club <a href="http://www.witchend.com/">http://www.witchend.com</a>.) Rob has talked about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No Mean Affair </i>to Dorridge U3A and Chris will talk to Newport
(Shropshire) U3A about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why Don’t You Fly?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It was Annie who submitted for this week and we discussed a
very nearly final draft of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Polly Poodle’s
Pamperina</i>. Because of Chris’s extended absence this was his first exposure
to this text for an illustrated children’s book and he commended Annie on the
originality of the story and its rhymes. His main concern was whether and when
Polly’s ‘speech’ should be in quotation marks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I suggested that the work was much improved by the changes
that Annie made following advice from her ‘proper’ writing group because it now
has a recognisable story arc structure. The rhymes and rhythm are almost
perfect with some verses working stunningly well. However, I expressed concern
that the couplet that was used as a refrain was not as smooth as it needed to
be to bear repetition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Tony was also very positive about the rhyming and rhythm and
suggested improvements where he thought they were called for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Annie circulated a pitch that she’d written for a ‘Hook’
event at the next conference of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and
Illustrators <a href="https://britishisles.scbwi.org/">https://britishisles.scbwi.org</a>
and this was met with approval from all – subject to some very minor
amendments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">After a brief discussion of whether we have to
start building bomb shelters in our gardens and prepare for dystopian future
now that Jeremy Corbyn is leader of the Labour Party, we went our separate
ways. But not before we had agreed arrangements for the next few meetings, as follows: </span><!--EndFragment--></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></span>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: content-box; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px; margin-bottom: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="line-height: 19.6px;">28.9.15</b><span style="line-height: 19.6px;">: Rob to submit </span><em style="box-sizing: content-box; line-height: 1.4em;">and</em><span style="line-height: 19.6px;"> to host</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: content-box; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px; margin-bottom: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="line-height: 19.6px;">12.10.15</b><span style="line-height: 19.6px;">: Chris to submit; Tony to host </span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: content-box; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px; margin-bottom: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>26.10.15</b>: Jayne to submit <em style="box-sizing: content-box; line-height: 1.4em;">and</em> to host</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: content-box; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px; margin-bottom: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>9.11.15</b>: Linda to submit; Annie to host.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: content-box; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px; margin-bottom: 14px;">
<span style="line-height: 19.6px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">(And all meetings to start at 8pm.)</span></span></div>
Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14179276687488472916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-10909918066831410072015-07-29T11:49:00.002+01:002015-07-29T11:49:59.104+01:00The Trouble With Cats...<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g59Ok5qSDxI/Vbil-0SM2hI/AAAAAAAADV0/BIy2qDUg9O4/s1600/cats2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g59Ok5qSDxI/Vbil-0SM2hI/AAAAAAAADV0/BIy2qDUg9O4/s1600/cats2.jpg" /></a>Chris was on a downward spiral, but keeping going anyway because it's the only way to go after spending so many years on what is going to be a brilliant read.<br />
<br />
Rob is to attend two writing groups who have read his latest release and has been notified that 'Out of Such Darkness' has been longlisted for The Guardian's Not the Booker Prize. Here's the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/27/the-magnificent-70-guardian-not-the-booker-prize-longlist-announced">link</a> if you'd like to read more.<br />
<br />
Having seen a play about The Lone Pine Club, Tony went on to write a review. This was spotted by the Malcom Saville Society and after they promoted the post via social media, Tony has seen a spike in traffic to his blog. The review is to be published in the Malcolm Saville magazine.<br />
<br />
Annie plans to run her own website after posting lots of entries on her school's blog and being inspired to write her own website. Based on writing techniques for children, the site is called 'Write There.' She also continues to work on Polly Poodle.<br />
<br />
Linda has finished a submission for this year's Myslexia Women's Novel competition and has registered for a Guardian Masterclass on submissions.<br />
<br />
Linda read Chapter Four from 'Chelsea Beach.' The general consensus, as always, was that Linda's writing was atmospheric, emotional, descriptive and poetic. The opening paragraph with its description of a house filled with cats set the scene for family mayhem. As the chapter unfurled, we were treated to an emotional read about Phoebe's sixteenth birthday celebrations organised by her grandparents. <br />
<br />
Annie thought the chapter revealing about life at home through the eyes of sixteen-year-old, Phoebe. Izzie loved the descriptions of Phoebe as someone having to be grown-up before her time. Tony thought it a comforting read and imagined the book being selected for Radio Four's 'Book of the Week.' Rob thought it quite brilliant, but possibly offensive to cat lovers. While Chris thought it was descriptive and the dialogue, 'expert.' <br />
<br />
In Linda's right to reply, she revealed that she'd not had much time to devote to writing the chapter. As we were all so taken with it, this came as quite a surprise. <br />
<br />
The next meeting is to be a summer social event held at Rob's on the 10th August at 7:45pm.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-79510506245958313002015-07-20T10:25:00.000+01:002015-07-27T19:35:52.737+01:00A local writing group for local people<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: center;">We met at Tony's on Monday 13 July.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEito29r2nMFeLz_teAY5GkA4CBLETw1iQnc2nxMysjfLhE355JftLVLo_Z9CLkJeLuro3VrCINoVnDoDpywiCyPasDxWf6m639xx1Z1RMoSeb0p4qxMnylWjzE1RqWlB4skHqQzNRJWpU0/s1600/Edward+and+Tubbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEito29r2nMFeLz_teAY5GkA4CBLETw1iQnc2nxMysjfLhE355JftLVLo_Z9CLkJeLuro3VrCINoVnDoDpywiCyPasDxWf6m639xx1Z1RMoSeb0p4qxMnylWjzE1RqWlB4skHqQzNRJWpU0/s1600/Edward+and+Tubbs.jpg" /></a></div>
Annie is continuing to work on her children's poetry and has spent a picture-book-writing day with her Proper Writing Group.<br />
<br />
Tony has been invited by Persephone Books to review one of their books on his <a href="http://passengersintime.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">blog</a>. He has submitted three short stories to <i>Popshot </i>magazine and he's also planning to write a proposal for a book based on his research on wellbeing and mental health.<br />
<br />
I have been revising the final two chapters of <i>Karl Marx and Careful Driving</i>.<i> </i>I was able to report that I have done two talks on the cycle-ride to Beijing: to <a href="http://www.bromsgrovemotorcycleclub.co.uk/" target="_blank">Bromsgrove Motorcycle Club</a> (Monday 7 July) and to Leominster Vintage Club (Wednesday 9 July), selling respectively thirteen and seven copies of '<i>Why Don't You Fly?' </i><br />
<br />
Linda has been working on a new book, provisionally titled <i>Chelsea Beach</i>. She will be entering <i>A Head Full of Budgerigars </i>in Mslexia's women's novel-writing competition.<br />
<br />
Rob, who has been heavily involved in organising <a href="http://bewdleybookweek.org.uk/" target="_blank">Bewdley Book Week</a>, test-reading the manuscript of <i>Karl Marx and Careful Driving</i> and landscaping his garden, has been invited to three local reading groups to talk about his latest novel <i>Out of such Darkness</i>. I don't know how he finds the time, even in retirement.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjha4TlJev_ngfFwtkkcVypEMpblEc7OCjDVr8eGMHsMHlhGYN1sqkRGfisru_VXD_b8tYch1C95N3OygP9KBE9hXZZZFmHPOvOq3CVeV6D8NnBAGz1z4zOBmBcJyAQ9_7OiCfXMAaqSd8/s1600/Humphrey+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjha4TlJev_ngfFwtkkcVypEMpblEc7OCjDVr8eGMHsMHlhGYN1sqkRGfisru_VXD_b8tYch1C95N3OygP9KBE9hXZZZFmHPOvOq3CVeV6D8NnBAGz1z4zOBmBcJyAQ9_7OiCfXMAaqSd8/s200/Humphrey+1.jpg" width="160" /></a></div>
The submission was from Rob's novel-in-progress <i>The Petrified Fountain</i>. Our hero flies out to Lisbon to meet a cousin he has traced through a private investigator. The descriptions of the city are testimony to the week the author spent wandering Lisbon's streets earlier this year specifically for the purposes of research. We all enjoyed Rob's development of the fastidious narrator (a man, he assured us, who would <i>absolutely</i> have said 'quotidian' rather than 'daily') and the introduction of Luis Fonseca, the chain-smoking cousin who happens to be a private investigator himself. Tony remarked that Cross's meeting with his cousin in a dingy, smoke-filled office was evocative of Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe and wondered if it was for real or a parody.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9D_AFRJoEhdYiS1Zv5bwoj9PEv_VPod4Rg4p87Hh3N3y4Fq2zhlB3hG1OHYVBfAlWiA_mw-vy8dkrMvfdZ5wMz8qXAhg-fXh9IQd1zDN8HZbUNbIig8BxyBz5rppGiHlLM9PHBM7cbJg/s1600/Mines+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9D_AFRJoEhdYiS1Zv5bwoj9PEv_VPod4Rg4p87Hh3N3y4Fq2zhlB3hG1OHYVBfAlWiA_mw-vy8dkrMvfdZ5wMz8qXAhg-fXh9IQd1zDN8HZbUNbIig8BxyBz5rppGiHlLM9PHBM7cbJg/s200/Mines+1.jpg" width="190" /></a></div>
As with all first drafts there was the odd typo to point out and the syntax was occasionally a little clumsy. Annie felt occasionally that the descriptions of Lisbon sounded a little too like a guide book and Linda was of the opinion that Rob might have added more of the city's sounds and smells. Writing convincing dialogue spoken by foreigners is a minefield. Given that Fonseca professed himself to be bi-lingual, I was concerned that Rob's efforts to make him sound foreign in the passages of dialogue might be misconstrued by some readers as poor writing. Rob countered that since the claim to be bilingual was Fonseca's alone, the faintly stilted English was a joke - but in my opinion one a little too subtle for the majority of readers to pick up (had the English been truly awful we'd have got it).<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FcxYayEzfZuiDFiI77WtAS4Ra_SLGBld6rlbTnTDoW2PrLZ889MmKmm8gsgmcp4KEu8zCpgX1xQ2jjZaW_8pOPz8bb4QTBx5O4V_ZliPB6YhoWmLNxRTB3hrAs4oWzUJ0DdHb5npse4/s1600/Plain+Hawaiian+Shirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FcxYayEzfZuiDFiI77WtAS4Ra_SLGBld6rlbTnTDoW2PrLZ889MmKmm8gsgmcp4KEu8zCpgX1xQ2jjZaW_8pOPz8bb4QTBx5O4V_ZliPB6YhoWmLNxRTB3hrAs4oWzUJ0DdHb5npse4/s200/Plain+Hawaiian+Shirt.jpg" width="149" /></a></div>
Cross dons neatly-pressed tan chinos and a plain Hawaiian shirt for the meeting with Fonseca. 'Plain Hawaiian shirt? Oxymoron!' we jeered, almost in unison. Not so. Plain Hwaiian shirts, we were reliably informed, can be bought on the internet.<br />
<br />
Finally we discussed whether to use further or farther and complexion or complection. All spellings are permissible but farther is used exclusively for distances.<br />
<br />
The next meeting is at 7.45 pm on Monday 27 July at Annie's. Linda will be submitting. Now I really must go and book those tickets for Bewdley Book Week.<br />
<br />
Blog posted by Chris.Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619829671018379390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-55346806554956426852015-07-06T08:21:00.000+01:002015-07-06T08:21:06.105+01:00Remember: It’s always sunny above the clouds!<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijAnYuci3BRBvrrg8cb3SQAO1Sq3rKCsLQMOl8Y4OrpSSk1HChguTCXTPRpFbP-8G2ATpMY28kckSORLzsTo0Rfj3gNuIhP1N4hcWy0ulKTmmD-UO1ZPMRZEAjUBWvhXAJwApcrYOpncto/s1600/Cumulonimbus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijAnYuci3BRBvrrg8cb3SQAO1Sq3rKCsLQMOl8Y4OrpSSk1HChguTCXTPRpFbP-8G2ATpMY28kckSORLzsTo0Rfj3gNuIhP1N4hcWy0ulKTmmD-UO1ZPMRZEAjUBWvhXAJwApcrYOpncto/s400/Cumulonimbus.jpg" width="400" /></a>We met at Izzy’s house. There were only the four of us, as
Rob was otherwise engaged with some old friends and Tony was in Bournemouth. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Linda and Izzy have both been busy with life in general and
so had no writerly news to report. Chris had given a talk and sold nine books.
I (Annie) have totally reworked Polly Poodle and am pleased with the way it is
progressing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Chris read an extract from ‘Karl Marx and Careful Driving’.
Izzy was astounded by the depth of Chris’s knowledge of periods of history that
are not mainstream or even in our psyche. Izzy also enjoyed the playlist that
punctuates the story with the switch from Abba’s ‘Dancing Queen’ to Mozart’s
clarinet concerto as Chris and his armed security guard take it in turns to
hear their preferred music during the trip. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Linda thought it a brilliant read and was absorbed by it.
She found the history parts fascinating and enjoyed the punctuation provided by
Chris’s lighter observations about life on the road. Linda also paid homage to
Tony. At SVA we each have our part to play. Rob is the patriarch, Linda the
matriarch, Izzy the techno queen and Chris the brains. But Tony is the hyphen
police. Stitching words together where they have been pulled apart. But something
exciting happened in his absence! Linda spotted a hyphen that had been included
and needed to be removed! Cumulo-nimbus to cumulonimbus. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For me the piece was a good balance of history and more
mundane, trivial matters such as how to avoid getting shot by armed bandits.
The relationship between Chris and Vladimir is developing well for the reader
if not in their reality. The links between sections were subtle with Chris
stopping at a bakery to buy bread shortly after musing about bread rationing in
the Soviet Union in 1934. I did challenge Chris when he asserted that ‘everyone
has common sense.’<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Keep going, Chris! I remember how mentally exhausted I was
once with a 10,000 thesis so I can only begin to imagine the magnitude of this
project! <o:p></o:p></div>
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The next meeting is July 13th at Tony's house. Rob is submitting.</div>
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Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14179276687488472916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-28931336085659908062015-06-09T22:33:00.002+01:002015-06-09T22:40:42.362+01:00Drinking Cup-a-Soup with William Morris (and Judy Tzuke)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqli3_rfzTomKpQjCj7jID9cc2IddMvk-q7D44HByokLh8Ioy66NMiJyE09FKtzb9CIWrgOfIaV4z0CkJWV23eDZLSYtnO-ABrg4Q984a2AovQW8TTbZIEMn2EmTPIl3y2hz45xR1jXNE/s1600/Cup-a-Soup-2-300x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqli3_rfzTomKpQjCj7jID9cc2IddMvk-q7D44HByokLh8Ioy66NMiJyE09FKtzb9CIWrgOfIaV4z0CkJWV23eDZLSYtnO-ABrg4Q984a2AovQW8TTbZIEMn2EmTPIl3y2hz45xR1jXNE/s200/Cup-a-Soup-2-300x300.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since time immemorial
- or at least as long as I can recall - SVA meetings have been held on a Tuesday. But, as Take That so memorably rendered it, everything
changes, and so we have switched the meeting to Monday nights. The change is to accommodate Chris's new work
pattern, facilitated by Annie who has sportingly agreed to combine writing with
running by doing both activities on a Monday evening. And so it was that Annie arrived, almost literally
hotfoot (and hardly late at all.) A quick
change and a Golden Vegetable Cup-a-Soup later, she was able to join us in critiquing
Izzie's submission. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Linda has just
got back from Portugal where she perfected the art of writing while her friends
enjoyed a lie-in. Chris was welcomed
back into the fold to tell us about his talk at Bewdley Bike Week and the fact
that his book was now being stocked (alongside titles by fellow SVA members) at
Bewdley's newest and quirkiest shop - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bewdleyemporium?ref=aymt_homepage_panel">Bewdley Emporium</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0S1rJEttVLdAY9_ntqD54ZKxdOjjSnuCxIFvdE3FncM2En0YaHbs5m0ZW1vSMt-qfrsRqBUCRrnXM4j7Wx94jnTMTryAwQSlLttk1h4_vLJch6CS2pyXVteS1tkKGtJcuzp_gpLMnw4/s1600/Judie-Tzuke-Portfolio---A-Mes-301576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr0S1rJEttVLdAY9_ntqD54ZKxdOjjSnuCxIFvdE3FncM2En0YaHbs5m0ZW1vSMt-qfrsRqBUCRrnXM4j7Wx94jnTMTryAwQSlLttk1h4_vLJch6CS2pyXVteS1tkKGtJcuzp_gpLMnw4/s200/Judie-Tzuke-Portfolio---A-Mes-301576.jpg" width="190" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rob had been spending
more time gardening than writing but had paused between horticultural tasks long
enough to note that Amazon sales of <i>Out
of Such Darkness</i> were gratifyingly high.
Annie, now suitably victualled, told us of her plans to submit her
recent work directly to publishers and Izzie had been busy posting pieces on
her blog about Eurovision and Judy Tzuke (of <i>Stay With Me Till Dawn</i> fame) (<span style="background: white; color: #252525;">number 16 on the UK Singles Chart back in 1979, if you're
struggling.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #252525;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4e8xdaDraDsYdxbqM3MqTvX2z83BlkrVvKYJSh2I-K_pCENuf198uTBCW2bNkY2bCqL4fw6L2N_9MNO-uDmbPMe5SSnnTEIsvqCDjZHIff_pIY39-eLUj96a9wnYZ_wZ_UanaBVHqWDI/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4e8xdaDraDsYdxbqM3MqTvX2z83BlkrVvKYJSh2I-K_pCENuf198uTBCW2bNkY2bCqL4fw6L2N_9MNO-uDmbPMe5SSnnTEIsvqCDjZHIff_pIY39-eLUj96a9wnYZ_wZ_UanaBVHqWDI/s200/images.jpg" width="153" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #252525;">Izzie read her piece with the intriguing title <i>Life in an (almost) empty nest. </i>Linda
felt she would like to have heard a bit more about how it <i>feels </i>to live in an (almost) empty nest. Everyone seemed to like the William Morris
quote: "</span><span style="background: white;">Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful,
or believe to be beautiful.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">"
Chris said he might have been inclined
to put this quote upfront. Rob and Tony both detected a certain transatlantic
tinge to some of Izzie's writing and Rob found the tone occasionally a little bossy
while Annie focussed more on the ideas Izzie had dreamt up, rather than the style
or tone. Izzie is certainly enjoying success in the world of blogging and
that's an encouragement to us all, whether we're writing blogs, children books,
short stories, articles, non-fiction or novels.
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;">But what would the great William Morris have had to say about our
little gathering? Well, he once
observed, "It took me years to understand that words are often as
important as experience, because words make experience last." Or, as Judy
Tzuke put it: "It's the same old
situation</span>/Every word so finely placed</span><span style="outline: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
..."</span></span><br />
<span style="outline: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Next meeting:</b> Monday 22nd June at Izzie's, Rob to submit.</i></span></span></div>
Tony Gillamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13687475010500909344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-42125095675200960492015-06-02T10:24:00.000+01:002015-06-02T10:24:44.426+01:00What do the Boomtown Rats know that we don't?<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<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/AVvXsEiLe-k3P-z9h7d0-cqqzEkqXFtZSFJ6RMJd-RuLcbxa9f23APeHNrdfiuGdBprl74EnbJ9sDWPjmgybOWvcbBoT5Qd7wUgAoAKM7_ouxUpTAc4EjmpmyYsLqJ-8gBElEWh6WqAubKZkUR0U/s1600/Boomtown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLe-k3P-z9h7d0-cqqzEkqXFtZSFJ6RMJd-RuLcbxa9f23APeHNrdfiuGdBprl74EnbJ9sDWPjmgybOWvcbBoT5Qd7wUgAoAKM7_ouxUpTAc4EjmpmyYsLqJ-8gBElEWh6WqAubKZkUR0U/s200/Boomtown.jpg" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We don't like 'em.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Severn Valley Authors has been meeting on Tuesdays since its
inception but now in the first radical change in our format (we’re nothing if
we’re not flexible) we’re considering changing to Monday evenings. Our next
meeting will be on Monday 8th June at Rob’s with Jayne submitting.
Will we end up agreeing with the BTs? Watch this space.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our ranks were depleted once again with Linda being en-route
back from a break in Lisbon and Chris having work commitments. We whizzed
through news, focusing mostly on Izzie’s success with her blog. She’s been
commissioned to write more pieces. She’s way ahead of the rest of us when it
comes to earnings from writing. Rob appeared on a panel of three novelists at a
Readers Event in Dudley which was very enjoyable.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Annie read two pieces of work. We all thought that <i>The Big
Little Book of Opposites</i> was a brilliant and original idea. The group commented
favourably on the sillier rhyme choices: "As hot as mosquitos’ burritos; as cold
as midges’ fridges", but felt that the more sensible choices: "As prickly as
Porcupine’s spines", would not appeal to children as much.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We were also treated to the prequel to <i>Polly
Poodle’s Pamperina</i> where we learned how Polly came to own a beauty salon for
pooches. Annie is acting on advice from another writing group that specialises
in writing for children who have suggested that she needs the first Polly book
to have a story arc that ends with Polly opening her shop. This group can see
the sense of this but feels that one of Annie’s strengths - and her greatest
appeal to children - is her anarchic writing. We like and admire her zany ideas
and feel that the storyline straitjacket is cramping her natural style. There
were lots of positives in terms of the way she has created a backstory for
Polly but we’d like to see more mayhem!</span><!--EndFragment-->
<br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">See you next Monday!</span>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14179276687488472916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-7672830792280900482015-04-29T09:19:00.000+01:002015-04-29T09:20:35.973+01:00That which goes out the window<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGtznEHejQ9KU4GL6SzSO9Mxhohru6GaHYI38C5SyLfmLeGetMyraTOZuS3qLXdmt_NJwPX6H9xgWXAVropzjL4rdiRLCwmNt-KCLlCuNHMeah595Xxslda1Qf6aPs4Ui98yXmyc9vMl9/s1600/il_570xN.652203471_rvhe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGtznEHejQ9KU4GL6SzSO9Mxhohru6GaHYI38C5SyLfmLeGetMyraTOZuS3qLXdmt_NJwPX6H9xgWXAVropzjL4rdiRLCwmNt-KCLlCuNHMeah595Xxslda1Qf6aPs4Ui98yXmyc9vMl9/s1600/il_570xN.652203471_rvhe.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
We met at Tony's to discuss the latest instalment of his work-in-progress, a novel provisionally titled <i>Nothing but a Phantom</i>, which he told us is a nod to a quote by Herman Hesse: "Was all that we called culture, spirit, soul, all that we called beautiful and sacred, nothing but a ghost long dead, which only a few fools like us took for true and living? Had it perhaps indeed never been true and living? Had all that we poor fools bothered our heads about never been anything but a phantom?" The more of the book that Tony reveals the more apt this quote appears to be. But more of this later.<br />
<br />
In our updates: Rob mentioned that his two novels are now on sale in Phil Richard's new outlet <i>Bewdley Emporium</i> in Lax Lane; Linda gave news of Chris's talk during Bewdley Bike Week (details <a href="http://www.bewdleybikeweek.info/main-programme.html" target="_blank">here</a>); Annie is pleased with her <i>Polly Poodle</i> progress; and Tony was delighted to have received a royalty cheque for sales of a non-fiction book on mental health nursing that was published 15 years ago. Sadly, Izzie was unable to give her news because she was unable to come to the meeting. Get well soon, Izzie, from all of us.<br />
<br />
We agreed that our next meeting on May 12th should not be a formal one since Annie and Linda are both away. The rest of us - including Chris, we hope - will get together for a chinwag over a drink somewhere. Details to be sorted.<br />
<br />
So to Tony's extract - Chapter 5 <i>At the Guards Station</i>. It's a testament to the quality of Tony's writing that there was hardly any comment about the technical side. Although Linda and Annie both thought that the pace could be improved we all agreed that Tony was building the tension well and that the totalitarian nature of the imagined kingdom of 'Angland' is becoming apparent in a controlled way.<br />
The book's protagonist, Tilman Birchwood, is a 19 year-old university student and we all wondered whether he would be more aware of the true nature of the state and therefore less naive about his first visit to a Guards Station. We all praised the chapter's finale that introduced the concept of 'banishment'. What does this mean for Tilman? Read on!<br />
<br />
Annie was troubled by the word 'defenestration'. (OED definition: verb [with object] <i>rare </i>Throw (someone) out of a window.) As she teased out why, she realised that in Angland - a parallel country to ours that retained its Anglo-Saxon nature - the Norman influence on our language wouldn't have happened and therefore French-rooted words (fenetre = window) wouldn't have happened. As Annie put it: "If 1066 and all that never happened Angland wouldn't have French words."<br />
<br />
Whether this means that Tony is going to have to go through his final manuscript and root out all the words that have Norman roots only he can decide. If he does, his work would be worthy of inclusion in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo" target="_blank">Oulipo</a> portfolio. It would be a nice irony if this French group were forced to admit a work on this basis.<br />
<br />
The meeting closed with a customarily inconclusive discussion on when to use 'which' and 'that'. Next meeting informal on 12th May - venue tba. On 26th May we'll meet at Annie's and consider work by her. <br />
<h3 class="partOfSpeechTitle" style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; color: #707070; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px;">
</h3>
Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14179276687488472916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-78775031692377588642015-04-17T15:27:00.001+01:002015-04-17T15:27:19.957+01:00Moonbeams and Madness<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x55PBaZb-SI/VTEVIPY3zhI/AAAAAAAAC3o/sx9ENRAn6I4/s1600/Toads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x55PBaZb-SI/VTEVIPY3zhI/AAAAAAAAC3o/sx9ENRAn6I4/s1600/Toads.jpg" /></a>Rob was a little late to the meeting having been at a pilates class - we may have just chatted among ourselves about the frustrations of modern life and all its complexities in his absence.<br />
<br />
In news, Linda shared details of a short story competition over at the <a href="http://pindropstudio.tictail.com/product/royal-academy-pin-drop-short-story-award">Royal Academy</a> and we were thrilled to learn that Chris has finally <b>FINISHED</b> his book. Tony's had a letter published in Songlines magazine and Rob is back after a recent trip to Lisbon researching his latest novel. He has also sold more copies of <i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Out-Such-Darkness-Robert-Ronsson-ebook/dp/B00SK2ADVG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429273726&sr=8-1&keywords=out+of+such+darkness">Out Of Such Darkness</a></i> which is excellent news. Annie enjoyed her writing trip in Yorkshire and reported a busy, but productive week. And Izzie has been working on a couple of promotional posts.<br />
<br />
<br />
Linda read a short story called, 'Winchelsea Beach.' This was filled with beautiful descriptions and created fabulous imagery of life by the sea. Izzie loved the story but was a little confused as to whether or not picnics would be enjoyed on a beach in November. She also loved the cure for madness during Victorian times, 'They would capture moonbeams in a jar, add some sugar of milk and a tiny drop of brandy and shake it all together.' Annie loved the overall feel, but admitted to being a little bewildered as to the ages of the children. She loved the description of Lorna in her dress and the use of, 'a glassy flat sea veneered with mist.' Rob was a little confused about the narrative throughout the story but loved the line, 'no amount of kisses would turn that toad into the man of her dreams.' Tony thought the story engaging and could imagine listening to it on the radio. It reminded him of <i>The Greengage Summer </i>by Rumer Godden as it had an innocent, but turbulent feel to it. Everyone loved Linda's fabulous descriptions which created vivid images of disordered family life in an idyllic location. We all look forward to reading more.<br />
<br />
The next meeting is to be held at Tony's on 28th April with Tony to submit.<br />
<br />
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<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-24931008059783897132015-04-01T17:25:00.003+01:002015-04-01T17:26:40.098+01:00SVA Hasn't a Clue<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Written by Linda and posted by Rob) </span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9u7Vc_XSmw5EM2ewpk1L5RpGfO7oMrW-6jipmfFmThL3WbbNflyvObuD-UQj8hxvEwK4iH61NrW89jOtMudI75fJScEieK-KHEmo-sBcRgfSVg_rmztswJnRbgyCPCyD9UOEjlNOdKvF/s1600/SVA+Blog+Linda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC9u7Vc_XSmw5EM2ewpk1L5RpGfO7oMrW-6jipmfFmThL3WbbNflyvObuD-UQj8hxvEwK4iH61NrW89jOtMudI75fJScEieK-KHEmo-sBcRgfSVg_rmztswJnRbgyCPCyD9UOEjlNOdKvF/s1600/SVA+Blog+Linda.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While Rob
was scouring Worcestershire for the correct venue for last Tuesday’s meeting,
the group, in the most writerly fashion, discussed Tony’s search for a plumber
that really would get back to him, the merits (or not) of the 1968 hit <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Macarthur Park</i> and our relief that Annie
hadn’t left her delicious chocolate cake in the rain.</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: proxnov-reg; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Someone left the cake out in the rain<br />
I don't think that I can take it<br />
'Cause it took so long to bake it<br />
And I'll never have that recipe again, oh noooooo</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Rob arrived
and regaled us with yet more plumbing talk. On the previous Sunday he had been
discussing plumbers with Tony on the telephone whilst trying to concentrate on
the rugby when the fire brigade arrived to put out a fire in his back garden.
We couldn’t take much more excitement and returned to our ‘writing news’
update. Rob is going to Lisbon at Easter to gather research for his latest
oeuvre <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Petrified Fountain</i> and
Annie is off to Bronte Country for a writers’ week. And don’t forget to vote
for Izzie in this year’s Brit Mums Brilliance in Blogging Awards!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 12.0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: proxnov-reg; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Out of Such
Darkness</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Congratulations
to Rob on the launch of Out of Such Darkness on March 13th. The event was very
well attended and Rob sold so many books that he ran out – a sure sign of
success. The whole event was really enjoyable. St Georges Hall is an excellent
venue and the cabaret-style entertainment by The Trio Project (who include
Rob’s daughter Charlotte) was fabulous.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Out of Such Darkness</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> is published by <a href="http://www.patricianpress.com/" target="_blank">Patrician Press</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Trio
Project - <a href="mailto:thetrioprojectsingers@gmail.com"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">thetrioprojectsingers@gmail.com</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Click <a href="http://www.robertronsson.co.uk/" target="_blank">here</a> for more
information about Rob and his work.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 12.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: proxnov-reg; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Petrified Fountain</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We all
enjoyed the fifth chapter of Rob’s latest book. The characters of Cross and
Nicholson (think Jack Nicholson in Chinatown) are strongly portrayed and there
is a real sense of tension between them. Cross is a complex and sinister
character and we all felt that there would be chilling events to come.
Nicholson seems to enjoy capitalising on Cross’s insecurities and ‘drips’ the
information on his research into Crosse’s family background ‘at his pace’.<br />
Izzie pointed out discrepancies in place and time which we had all missed and
Tony said that the dialogue seemed a bit stilted at times. Everyone agreed that
Rob had done an excellent job in portraying Cross as a nasty dysfunctional
character. Linda found it interesting that Cross did seem to have insight into
his own weaknesses, in particular his obsession with tidiness:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘But I am distracted by my desk. The
rectangle of clean blotter that Tracy has brought in is cluttering up one side…
It always takes time to make sure it’s aligned symmetrically and I anticipate
that she would regard me as a bit weird if she witnesses the whole
performance.’<br />
We are all looking forward to the next instalment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 12.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: proxnov-reg; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Next Meeting</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">April 14th
at Izzie’s house. Linda to read.</span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: proxnov-reg; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14179276687488472916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-3230165193833718602015-03-25T12:44:00.000+00:002015-03-25T12:44:02.005+00:00One In, One Out!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Written by Annie posted by Rob.) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We met at Rob’s
house. Tony had sent his apologies but we were still five because Chris had
been able to join us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>News</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Izzy: has been
working on a blog commission with More Than car insurance and what it is like
to teach teenagers to drive. One teenager must be bad enough but to have to
teach twins to drive must have been nightmarish. Well done Izzy on the blog and
on the driving tests!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Annie: I talked to
the group about my recent visit to Crufts and also on how I have decided to
loosen the structure of my picture book.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Linda: is starting
her second novel and although much is undecided Linda feels that she has
decided upon a setting, Winchelsea Beach.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chris: gave a talk
to the U3A and proved to be very popular. He sold 19 books but then ran out of
stock. Chris has also been invited to speak during Bewdley Bike Week and event
being run by Bewdley Outdoors. It is scheduled during June at St George’s Hall.
I for one am very much looking forward to it as I have never had the
opportunity to see Chris speak about his journey to Beijing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Chris’s Reading</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chris’s reading was
an extract from’ Karl Marx and Careful Driving.’ Chris’s sharp prose sparkled
as ever and all members of the group had found the piece enjoyable and
entertaining. Izzy commented several times on Chris’s subtle use of humour. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The piece started
with a reference to ‘the British wanting their garden sheds’ which we found
amusing. Soon after, the piece contained 4 asterisks to blank out an expletive,
there was much discussion as to whether some of the letters should have been
left in as there were two possible choices as to the insult being used. Another
area that caused amusement was Chris’s reference to shaving between pimples
during adolescence.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was concerned
about the lack of a hyphen in nosedived but as you can see it doesn’t have one
although Izzy had also felt it looked strange and had also had to check. Rob
was excited to be introduced to a new word: Integument. </div>
<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/AVvXsEh2ie0T7I6XnWMu9ggDYrTl-ogKSzcOn4QQtGK3N7r5HTe-Oo460TVoyrROpSaOeKjAmVbhTQkRbJNLwSSEljJ5YtZujxGpMkq-v3EeJkWPaZP4Q_gMt3P-WSo51i3h9hjxqe3UWiXyo25B/s1600/Tortoise.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/AVvXsEh2ie0T7I6XnWMu9ggDYrTl-ogKSzcOn4QQtGK3N7r5HTe-Oo460TVoyrROpSaOeKjAmVbhTQkRbJNLwSSEljJ5YtZujxGpMkq-v3EeJkWPaZP4Q_gMt3P-WSo51i3h9hjxqe3UWiXyo25B/s1600/Tortoise.jpg" height="124" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A tortoise showing off its integument.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In biology, <b>integument</b> is the natural covering of an
organism or an organ, such as its skin, husk, shell, or rind. It derives from
integumentum, which means "a covering" in Latin. <i>Wikepedia</i>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
I had to
confess to Chris that I did not always read the footnotes as I found the
Marxist theory quite heavy going but despite this I had managed to spot an
errant number three which had found its way into one of them. My confessions
didn’t stop there I also admitted that I found the chapter length long. This
led to a discussion on chapter length and what is expected. Chris has
structured his work around each chapter being a day in length and so each
chapter lasts as long as is needed to cover the ground. The others felt happier
to slip a bookmark in at whichever point they had reached rather than searching
for a natural break. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
It was
fantastic to see Chris again and to hear news that he is still pushing forward
with his non-fiction work ‘Karl Marx and Careful Driving.’ We look forward to
the next instalment and only hope that he is there to read it to us. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Next
meeting is 24 March at Annie’s house and Rob is reading.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our 14 April 14
meeting is at Izzy’s house and Linda is reading.</div>
Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14179276687488472916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-75055978358526935172015-03-03T17:38:00.000+00:002015-03-03T17:38:02.224+00:00Postcards from ... Kidder<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHZE-DEt8S2JFRh9LcgZhfd71i7zNrfXPggB0l0i8pzhJhwCnJ4kKjJugMHhueIHQYJLY_ZePk8E6s3c9BFXfHhR4hK_TdjTX91gAXPbYQ5p79FzNSamFnp-f-OrwVxvbmzBk1cePwTWgT/s1600/Halfords.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHZE-DEt8S2JFRh9LcgZhfd71i7zNrfXPggB0l0i8pzhJhwCnJ4kKjJugMHhueIHQYJLY_ZePk8E6s3c9BFXfHhR4hK_TdjTX91gAXPbYQ5p79FzNSamFnp-f-OrwVxvbmzBk1cePwTWgT/s1600/Halfords.gif" height="200" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sadly Chris was unable to join us because of work
commitments and we were feeling light in numbers come the appointed hour
because Annie had texted in to say that she was running late. She had gone to Halfords
to pick up a brake-light bulb and was entertaining two young men under her
bonnet. When she arrived, all of a fluster, she was able to give us the news
that the other members of her "proper writing group" had liked her
plan for a new Polly Poodle story and all she has to do make it into a rhyming
story.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By then we had already shared that Tony has entered another
competition and is halfway through a mental health dissertation; Linda has
submitted 'Budgerigars' to another agent; and Izzie is trying to ensure that her
work for the Internet, other than her personal blog, is remunerated.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rob shared details of his Pubslush crowdfunding campaign and
the other members were excited to learn that not only will they soon have an
opportunity to read his new novel <i>Out of Such Darkness</i> but, through becoming
Darkness Angels, they have a chance of sharing in its success. They all rushed
from the meeting and found their way to the <a href="http://bit.ly/CFdarkangels" target="_blank">website</a>
where they learned all about it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Izzie read from a blog review of her stay in an all-weather
holiday destination called Bluestone which is close to Tenby in Pembrokeshire.
We all responded with enthusiasm to the writing, the use of the postcard
visuals and her enthusiastic descriptions of the activities they had enjoyed.
We would have liked to have seen more descriptions of Izzie's personal
experience of some aspects of the holiday. It became clear that the areas where
we were looking for more detail were those she didn't enjoy so much and we
discussed approaches to overcome this.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Being a seasoned and successful blogger, Annie is a master
of the bullet-point summary and the list of hints and in this piece worked
really well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In summary:</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 65.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Annie arrived late but seemed to have had good
service at Halfords</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 65.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>The news highlight was Rob's <a href="http://bit.ly/CFdarkangels" target="_blank">crowdfundingcampaign</a><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 65.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>We all admired Izzie's work and gave
constructive feedback including Tony's idea that she should adopt
"Postcards from …" as her travel writing brand </div>
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</span></span></span>As always the meeting was a good mix of writerly
chat and nonsensical fun</div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">The next meeting is on Tuesday March 10th. It's at Rob's and Chris has
already submitted.</span>Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14179276687488472916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-87765479305738093422015-02-14T19:03:00.000+00:002015-02-14T19:03:05.368+00:00Picture books and straitjackets<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5WrKGMYxS45t1ZJ5XHT2FHJsxFi2AYaqN6MjSIKk7bhZfzsZd-_wc-8STnEazlDi7oGrCrYCBypCI8B70W5aGqI5rfMpw6IuIMvZ-m9wQOgAnamP8rq6-alUusqPHom9eNhtFtEJ_YA/s1600/constraint.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy5WrKGMYxS45t1ZJ5XHT2FHJsxFi2AYaqN6MjSIKk7bhZfzsZd-_wc-8STnEazlDi7oGrCrYCBypCI8B70W5aGqI5rfMpw6IuIMvZ-m9wQOgAnamP8rq6-alUusqPHom9eNhtFtEJ_YA/s1600/constraint.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We met at Izzie's house</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Izzie, Annie, Rob and I.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No Chris, because of work;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
no Linda, because of illness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Get well soon, Linda.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A small, writerly exchange of
news:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Izzie's blog is 42 in the lifestyle
blog charts;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rob has launched his crowd-funding
scheme;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Annie's organising a poetry
recital competition;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tony's just surviving.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The red velvet cake and white
wine for some and then the</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
business of the evening: the reading and critique of Annie's</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
submission to the group. And the tension felt between the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
need to have a narrative versus
the pure</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
fun with words, and Rob doubting whether
he was </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
qualified to judge poetry and yet
finding the rhythm of the words</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
inconsistent. When it works well,
he said, it really </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
works and Izzie liked the sweet
imagery of the characters having their </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
bath with suds and foam but
worried about two stories being </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
told at the same time and Tony
wondered if the rhyming couplets were a </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
straitjacket and whether Annie
might be better off </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
translating the whole thing into
free</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
verse so she wouldn't have to
worry about the</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
rhythm or the meter or where the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
stress fell or how many syllables
there were but could </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
concentrate on either moving the
story forward or just </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
revelling in the sheer joy of the
nonsense of it all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Plan for future meetings (subject to change)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Tuesday 24 February<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Izzie submitting</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tony hosting</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Tuesday 10 March<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rob submitting and hosting</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Tuesday 24 March<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Linda or Chris submitting</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Annie hosting</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Tony Gillamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13687475010500909344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-3560971486133786402015-02-03T10:34:00.002+00:002015-02-03T12:07:21.608+00:00Has Anyone seen Linda?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LeOXUh_gn9k/VNCii-SxGiI/AAAAAAAACeI/IZcbijfdcs8/s1600/Marbles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LeOXUh_gn9k/VNCii-SxGiI/AAAAAAAACeI/IZcbijfdcs8/s1600/Marbles.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Has anyone seen Linda? Did we even know
what week it was? Had the four members that turned up for the meeting got it
wrong? We blame Linda’s absence on Tony and decide that in future,
SVA members are to be monitored on performance, attendance and quality of cake.
Luckily Annie was able to confirm that Linda had not succumbed to any
misfortune and had only forgotten the date. </span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
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short stories; we hope to read a revamped version at the next meeting. Meanwhile
Izzie is just back from a short break in Pembrokeshire, where she’s been
reviewing a popular holiday destination. Rob has tickets available for his book
launch on 13<sup>th</sup> March at St George’s Hall and at time of writing this p<span style="font-family: inherit;">ost,</span> his
books should have arrived – exciting news indeed. Tony continues to astound
fellow members of the group, with a dissertation on the go as well as full-time
work - it’s incredible that he finds the time to sleep, let alone write anything
and enter short story competitions.</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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</span></span><br />
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of the time traveller and thought that the horrors of war could be added to,
general consensus was - a deceptively simple story creating
great intrigue throughout. The title was especially clever as it linked to
Churchill’s famous wartime speech from 1940 and this created a sense of relief
for the main character. After suggested revisions and praise for the story,
Tony went on to explain that this was written for children and a previous short
story using the same characters had been published in Aquila Magazine.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">And so, after an interesting meeting we
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Please can everyone remind Linda.</span></span></span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-49502900915181381962015-01-21T11:29:00.001+00:002015-01-21T11:29:39.149+00:00The scent of cliché?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7BzlO5lusNGVZ-GWGapK9m8XLSoavespFOJI88N1lD_XqguJuP8EwehZocdG8fbSURBxxeKLHRLVutUJb-p-3VbmSdxZiZM_T-IbXU7jZYHHXB2t-4yHtVDHqLRt4kamfsfKwqZS_4BmQ/s1600/lilies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7BzlO5lusNGVZ-GWGapK9m8XLSoavespFOJI88N1lD_XqguJuP8EwehZocdG8fbSURBxxeKLHRLVutUJb-p-3VbmSdxZiZM_T-IbXU7jZYHHXB2t-4yHtVDHqLRt4kamfsfKwqZS_4BmQ/s1600/lilies.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
The life of a literary hopeful is beset with disappointments
and as we exchanged updates on our progress towards recognition of our efforts
in some format it would be easy to discourage each other. Okay so: Tony didn't
win any of the competitions that he entered; Izzie's radio interview didn't
materialise; Annie's brilliant childrens story idea has hit a setback, Rob's
latest novel is stalled and Linda has been flooded with 'proper' work which has
prevented her submitting her novel, but the camaraderie of being a member of this
group means that we avoid this pitfall. We encourage each other, look for the
positives and we press on in pursuit of elusive goals. It's what we do.<br />
Linda submitted a story, Peter's Funeral, for critique and, as is usual with her
writing there was much to admire, much to praise. We all agreed to being confused
about the exact relationship between the narrator and the person in the coffin.
We recognised that Linda didn't want to spoon-feed the reader but thought that
clearer signposting was necessary. Rob's assertion that 'lilies heavy with the scent of loss' also had the scent of<span style="color: #444444;"> <span style="font-weight: normal;">cliché</span> </span>was roundly condemned (see what I did there?) by the others. As far as other suggestions for improvement
were concerned a competitive element entered the missing-hyphen (see what I did
there too?) spotting and it was Tony who picked out a tautologous adverb, which is
usually Rob's job.<br />
The final discussion about the difficulty of writing allusive prose without it turning into elusive prose was difficult to grasp (!) so we arranged the next meeting: 27th January, at Annie's with Tony submitting - we're hoping for something in Anglish.<br />
<br />
<br />Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14179276687488472916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-54038093598569522032014-12-21T09:56:00.000+00:002014-12-21T09:56:41.245+00:00The Under-quoted Vladimir and Pictures of Puddings<div class="MsoNormal">
After missing November's sessions, I was pleased to be
reunited with Rob, Linda and Izzie on 9th December for a pre-Christmas SVA
meeting. Sadly, Chris and Annie couldn't
make it due to work and illness respectively.
As a result, Linda ventriloquised Chris's submission - the second half of
Chapter 13 of <i>Karl Marx and Careful
Driving</i>. We were short on news,
though Rob told us his book (and e-book) <i>No
Mean Affair</i> had sold well at, of all places, the Labour Party Christmas
Fair. His latest novel <i>Out of Such
Darkness</i> is 'in press' in readiness for a national launch (London on 27th February)
and a local launch (Bewdley on 13th March). (Contact Rob via <a href="http://robertronsson.co.uk/">his website</a> for details.) Linda is approaching agents with her book while Izzie's blog has
featured on <i><a href="http://post40bloggers.com/">Post40bloggers</a>.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, to Chris's submission-in-absentia ... The consensus was:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">we liked the personal observations which humanise
the philosophical ideas</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">we liked the unassuming sense of humour</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">the 'gear changes' between the inner and outer points
of view are very smooth</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">it will work as a travel book as well as a philosophy
book.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There wasn't much in the way of suggestions for improvements
other than perhaps there were some missed opportunities for dialogue, particularly
with the character of Vladimir. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<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/AVvXsEiSR_BTb4ug64qTPD6ZLdKz7eiZZ759KdaTmvi6muPLbywm0l1zMcDXTZfGb___PO8-K1fGse0h8mR6RKA2FkmNz5iqrKc1GJXT_h-Dbl4BuSSktEQ9HuHcZG7AOJ32XuMYpNvaAK5qzwU/s1600/WP_20141216_006.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/AVvXsEiSR_BTb4ug64qTPD6ZLdKz7eiZZ759KdaTmvi6muPLbywm0l1zMcDXTZfGb___PO8-K1fGse0h8mR6RKA2FkmNz5iqrKc1GJXT_h-Dbl4BuSSktEQ9HuHcZG7AOJ32XuMYpNvaAK5qzwU/s1600/WP_20141216_006.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Mind if I photograph your pudding, Madam?'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A week later, we convened at a local Italian restaurant for
a jovial (though somehow not particularly festive) Yuletide/end-of-year
celebration. Chris was in attendance and
Annie too, although the latter seemed still slightly delirious after her
illness, resulting in the threshold for hilarity being seriously compromised. As Izzie doesn't like having her picture
taken, I suggested taking a photo of her pudding ... which was, it appeared, the
funniest thing I have said all year. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let's hope we all continue to have as much fun in 2015. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Forthcoming meetings:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
13 January: Linda
submitting, meeting at Rob's</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
27 January: Tony submitting,
meeting at Annie's</div>
Tony Gillamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13687475010500909344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-85118133592764666942014-11-28T13:40:00.000+00:002014-11-28T13:40:48.077+00:00The Petrified Fountain<h2>
<b>The Day I Meet Mr Nicholson</b></h2>
We found ourselves at Annie's once again, after a quick change of venue, to hear Rob read the fourth chapter of The Petrified Fountain. <i>The Day I Meet Mr Nicholson</i> builds on the intrigue in the first three chapters and increases our sense of unease around the character of Mr Cross, the story's protagonist. The meeting between Cross and Nicholson, a private detective hired to investigate Cross's true parentage, has echoes of Raymond Chandler, the mastermind of that great detective Sam Spade. We all felt that Rob had created a wonderfully creepy character in a very show and not tell way. Cross's obsessive behaviour is demonstrated beautifully when the detective enters his office and places his bowler hat on Cross's desk: 'The symmetry between the unblemished blotting pad in front of me, the Trimphone in reach of my left hand and the set of company-crested coasters to my right is broken. The dome of his hat squats as if it's hiding something.'<br />
<br />
We all agreed that the pace was a little bit slow but excellent for a first draft. I look forward to hearing more of this story.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
<h3>
News</h3>
<div>
We were a very small group because Tony, Izzie and Chris were unable to attend.</div>
<div>
<b>Annie</b> has recently attended the SCBWI Conference where she made some good contacts and received positive feedback regarding her rhyming story books for children. She also gained some useful tips from an established children's writer after winning two critiques of her manuscripts.</div>
<div>
<b>Rob </b>recovered manfully from a dose of the flu to give a presentation to the Mistley Book Lovers Dining Club where he sold copies of 'No Mean Affair'.</div>
<div>
<b>Linda </b>has (since the meeting) received news from the agent who had shown some interest in her novel 'A Head Full of Budgerigars' that 7 months later she was no longer interested.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Meetings</h3>
<div>
December 9th at Rob's - Chris to submit</div>
<div>
December 16th at Pomodoros</div>
<div>
January 13th at Tony's - Linda to submit</div>
Linda http://www.blogger.com/profile/17206231088736170369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5140406629993058649.post-8375663795353953292014-11-05T10:32:00.001+00:002014-11-05T15:18:18.318+00:00Best-laid Plans...<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i5FFZq2D4aU/VFo_p2Jr66I/AAAAAAAACNg/y5YdH43jkfA/s1600/rob.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i5FFZq2D4aU/VFo_p2Jr66I/AAAAAAAACNg/y5YdH43jkfA/s1600/rob.jpg" /></a>The latest meeting of the Severn Valley Authors was held at Annie's on the 28th October. We were treated to Battenberg cake, wine and not one, but two of Annie's original stories for children - The Bed-Head and The Flea's Sneeze.<br />
<br />
Latest news<br />
<br />
As Tony's unable to attend November's meetings due to work commitments and Izzie has a birthday bash to attend on the 11th, the original plans for November and December's meeting(s) have changed. 11th November's meeting is now being held at Rob's with Rob to submit and, on the 25th we're over at Izzie's with Izzie to submit. Special note for Annie... please remember to turn up as Tony will be away! <br />
<br />
On 9th December Tony will be hosting, with Chris or Linda to submit. The 16th December is the only date that remains unchanged and members of the SVA will be out and about somewhere in Bewdley (venue to be confirmed) for their annual Christmas bash.<br />
<br />
Rob announced a date for our diaries - March 13th 2015 as the official
Bewdley launch date for Out of Such Darkness. This will be held at St
George's Hall and it's rumoured that Rob has also offered to cater. <br />
<br />
Izzie continues to blog and has recently become a member of Post 40 Bloggers.<br />
<br />
Linda is currently reading Chris's manuscript and taking baby steps towards submitting her own book.<br />
<br />
Annie is planning a follow-up to Polly Poodle's Pamperina and is attending a Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators where she will be doing a presentation on animation.<br />
<br />
The Bed-Head<br />
<br />
Linda wondered what the mischievous 'Bed-Head' character might look like and loved this highly original idea. Rob liked the concept of a creature visiting during the night and messing up hair while you sleep and as he's been reading a lot of children's stories recently, he announced that he'd happily share this tale with his granddaughter. Tony thought the idea was an amusing one and pictured the 'Bed-Head' as an imp-like character. He also thought that it contained some great couplets that worked well. Izzie hadn't read anything of a similar nature and thought the idea very amusing indeed.<br />
<br />
The Flea's Sneeze<br />
<br />
Linda thought the idea that two boys were going on an adventure and discovering lots of unusual things was a great concept. Rob liked the structure and loved that the disagreeable George got his comeuppance at the end. Tony liked the relationship between the two boys and thought that sarcasm might be the way to go to make George a more likeable character. He also suggested a great alternative ending. Izzie loved the idea of an outdoor adventure for the two boys, but much preferred Tony's ending. <br />
<br />
Until next time...<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0