Striking gold!

Woohoo! I heard late yesterday that my story 'Stepping Out' was chosen for the 'Gold' issue of Sixteen magazine

shortlisted poet

I was delighted to pick up my certificate from the 5th Bangor Poetry competition on Friday. Thanks to Amy and Paul for organising this great event again this year.

chocanana muffins

Chocanana muffins on a Saturday morning can only mean one thing - writing fuel for Coney writers! It was good to be back at a writing workshop yesterday with Maddie, Rhonda and Fionnuala.  It's always exciting to catch up on our writing news (and other news!). We had a productive discussion around dialogue, while we ate shortbread and muffins. Altogether a fruitful morning - especially when it was rounded off by some retail therapy!

Writing goals

I set myself a number of writing goals for 2017 at the beginning of this year. This week I achieved one of them, but is it really an achievement to celebrate?

I've read in a number of articles, when sending out your best work to publishers, to aim for 100 rejections. The premise is that it's tough getting any writing accepted and in aiming to receive 100 rejections, it's likely that there may be a success or two where work is accepted amidst the rejections.

I've defined a 'rejection' as a letter, compliments slip or email saying 'thanks, but no thanks' or an unsuccessful competition entry, or the absence of any response after what's deemed by the publisher/ agent to be a reasonable time.

This week I hit a century and achieved the goal.

So what does it really mean and what have I learned?

• It's confirmed it is indeed tough and difficult getting work accepted.
• It's highlighted to me which publishers and agents actually take the time to read and respond and a few who claim they will - and don't
• It's confirmed I am indeed persistent and resilient. I'm not getting put off when I see the brown SAE tucked through the letterbox, or the 'with regret' email popping into my inbox. I'm pleased they took the time to respond. If anything, it makes me more determined to keep writing and keep submitting.
• I've developed a habit of submitting work on a very regular basis.
• The year is not over yet - there are still three months to keep submitting!

 There have been a few acceptances along the way so far this year - longlisted, shortlisted, published online and in a journal

So all in all it's been a worthwhile goal to achieve - so where is that fizzy pop?????

Writing Retreat

It was lovely to be back down in Coney Island again - this time for a bit longer than normal.

It was our Writing Retreat - a relaxing and productive way to spend the bank holiday weekend.

How could you not be inspired to write in such beautiful surroundings?

Even in the cloud and rain it's a beautiful spot.

I'm pleased to say I've progressed a number of pieces I was working on.

It was great getting time to focus on them without the normal distractions of everyday life.

And of course, as always, we needed lots of writing fuel to keep the creative juices flowing!

Bangor Poetry Competition - launch night

Get down to Bangor tonight to the launch of this year's Poetry Competition - and don't forget to vote for my poem on display 'Are we nearly there?'  

https://www.facebook.com/events/278587519286816/?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A3%2C%22source_newsfeed_story_type%22%3A%22regular%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22[%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22newsfeed%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22feed_story%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A[]%7D]%22%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%7D&source=3&source_newsfeed_story_type=regular&action_history=[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22newsfeed%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22feed_story%22%2C%22extra_data%22%3A[]%7D]&has_source=1&hc_ref=ARTKb-419Mh-hjN4uv_F15a3KK0DqouCv69i-GNlQeRJd95aJOYWMlme67pmsS2nP_M


http://aspectsfestival.com/programme/

Fearless Fergus, King of the Castle

Here's a link to one of my children's stories. If you like it, please give it a 'Like' via Facebook - so that its considered in the Fairytalez competition. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks

http://fairytalez.com/user-tales/fearless-fergus-king-of-the-castle/