Back at the MAC with Coney Writers

Coney Writers at the MAC

Lovely relaxing afternoon in the Writers Room at the MAC with Jo and Fionnuala. Much catching up, chat and a little bit of writing. Also discussion and planning for our writers' retreat planned for 11-13 August. Venue still to be confirmed.  Very Exciting!

 

Aside from the retreat we're planning to meet up again next month - hopefully with more writing done.

 

 

Judging

We're all familiar with the saying 'Don't judge a book by its cover', but how should we judge which writing competition to enter?

There are so many writing competitions around at the moment - online and otherwise, and unless you're a professional competition entrant you just wouldn't have the time to enter all of them. And unless you have another source of income, you couldn't afford to either. The entry fees to some competitions are quite hefty which can be off-putting. In some cases the entry fees make up the prize money.

So it can be down to the writing genre - is the competition in your preferred genre? Or perhaps its in a different genre, which gives you the opportunity to try something new eg poetry, script-writing. It's worth a try as you might discover that you have a flair in another genre you haven't yet explored.

It's also worth investigating who is organising the competition - are they a reputable organisation? Or is it someone trying to make a fast buck from their garage?

One issue which influences me in deciding on whether to enter a competition or not is who is on the judging panel. Some questions you might want to consider are - Have you heard of them? What do they know about writing? Is their writing opinion respected?

But then, it's all a matter of judgement.

Good luck with your next competition entry.

What a writing week!

What a writing week it has been! An amazing, inspiring, encouraging week. I feel humbled to know that in the past week I have had a BAFTA winner (Damian Gorman) and a Whitbread winning author  (Geraldine McCaughrean) reading my work! Not only did they read it, Damian gave me constructive Face to face feedback on it and Geraldine judged it to be among the best received in a national competition! It feels like I'm definitely moving forward with my writing. Here's the prize winning poem:

CHERISHED FRIEND

Queen of all ‘pick-me-ups’
We have been lifelong friends.
You have turned up, faithfully
At all my celebrations,
Birthdays, Christmas,
Anniversaries, Easter.
Always welcome, though
Your visits are short.
I seek you out
On dark days.
Always comforting,
You have never let me down.

Queen of all harvests
We have been lifelong friends.
You have turned up, faithfully
For seasons of celebrations,
Planting, Growing,
Harvesting, Selling.
Always welcome as
Your presence nourishes.
We work with you
Every day.
Always sustaining,
You have never let us down.

Cherished Friend

Very excited! This has definitely been a good writing week and it all started last Saturday in the Writers' Room. I found out today that I'm joint runner up in the Divine chocolate national poetry competition! 

Off to celebrate with some chocolate! 

My winning poem! 

http://www.divinechocolate.com/uk/poetry/runners-up

Back at the MAC - meeting Damian Gorman

I had a very useful meeting with Damian Gorman today at lunchtime. He is currently writer in residence at the MAC and as part of his residency is offering feedback to aspiring writers.
What a wonderful experience!
He read over some of my stories and offered useful, constructive advice that rings true. He seemed genuinely interested in my work and in offering to help. It was a very worthwhile use of my time. Feeling highly motivated now to act on his advice and work at improving my stories!
Thank you Damian!

Belfast Book festival

http://www.belfastbookfestival.com/

Worth taking a peek.....

Back at the MAC

Great morning yesterday at the Writers' Room in the MAC- with Fiona, Rhonda, Jo and Mairi -  and we actually did some writing (in between the coffees!).

Yummy cinnamon Danish swirls, lattes, sunshine streaming in through the windows as we wrote.

Research is underway for a writing retreat for us later in the year.  Very exciting!

Writers at the MAC

This morning Pat, Fionnuala, Mairi, Rhonda, Jo & I met up at the Canteen at the MAC and enjoyed lovely coffee and pastries while we shared our stories. Well, they weren't actual 'stories', rather what we've all been up to since we last met up -  and while we haven't done much writing, we still have been busy.
Afterwards we had a look at the 'Northern Ireland - 30 years of photography exhibition'. Not exactly stunning views of the Mournes or the causeway coast - some stark, gruesome photos. The camera never lies.
Then we made a wonderful discovery! - the Writers' Room at the MAC! Its a space set aside for writers. We made a few inquiries and discovered its free to use, so guess where we'll be going!

Creative Writing workshop at the MAC with Lucy Caldwell

I spent yesterday afternoon with Fionnuala at Lucy Caldwell's creative writing workshop last the MAC in Belfast. Very encouraging and motivating. Some motivational quotes I liked were Calvin Coolidge's 'Nothing can take the place of persistence' and Samuel Beckett's 'Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.'
We did some writing exercises as well as thinking about where we get writing ideas, tense, point of view, finding your voice.
Outside in St. Anne's Square the Festival of Fools was getting underway, to the sound of brass bands playing. As we were contemplating why we need stories, 'Somewhere over the rainbow' wafted in the windows.
All in all an inspiring, motivating workshop. Now to get back to my writing......

Meeting fellow writers

Lovely morning at Maryville House tearoom with Fionnuala and Rhonda. We talked a lot, ate delicious fruity scones and drank tea and coffee from delicately painted vintage china cups! While I waited for the girls to arrive I took out my notebook and pen, sipped my coffee, soaked up the atmosphere and scribbled down a few words. I felt like I was a writer!

World Book Day

What better way
To spend World Book Day
Than having my way
On this wonderful day?

Won't you take a look?
Go to your favorite nook,
Get lost in your book,
Today all else forsook.

Or take out your favorite pen,
Smooth the page and then,
Wait and count to ten
Say a prayer, Amen.

Great intentions
Great expectations
Great beginnings
Great endings

Off now to indulge in Writers News, April edition and treat myself to some quality time with Alexander McCall Smith!

Happy World Book Day!

Coney Writers at Loughshore Park

Lovely to see everyone again on Saturday as Coney Writers continue their tour. We walked down to Loughshore Park and spent about 30 minutes observing and writing and then had a coffee in the cafe and listened to each others writing. Planning to meet again next month for some people watching - great for character and dialogue development.

Bliss

The March edition of Writers News, a mug of hot chocolate and a box of Marks and Spencer's cherry liqueurs......bliss!

Writing in Botanic Gardens

Lovely to see everyone  from our writing group yesterday on a cold but bright, frosty morning at the Ulster Museum and Belfast's Botanic Gardens.

 

And what an inspiring backdrop! It was good fun to try something new, being at one with nature to gather ideas for writing and to realise the importance of researching thoroughly when thinking of the setting.
 

And how fortunate that we were at the Palm House to see a most unusual plant - the Voodoo Arum which has never flowered in Belfast before and only flowers for 48 hours.

Such vibrant colours, delicate perfumes, exotic plants, differing temperatures and atmospheres, sounds, our senses were battered in a short space of time.

Lovely to see this poem by an old friend, Lindsay, hanging in the Palm House. We paused to read it.

There has to be time to stop and stare and soak everything in and to find inspiration throughout the palm houses.

Lovely coffee and cakes in the museum cafe followed by more coffee in the university library cafe. Looking forward to seeing what develops from the ideas we gathered and to seeing everyone again next month.

It is a truth universally acknowledged....,,

Happy 200th Birthday Pride and Prejudice! What a wonderful start to one of the greatest novels ever written. We owe so much to Jane Austen, a woman ahead of her time.

Reading

Books I'm currently reading:
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes and
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
So far I'm loving both of them

Back at Coney Island

Great to be back down at Coney Island with fellow writers yesterday. Good to see Maddie, Rhonda, Fionnuala, Yvonne and Charlie and to be inspired once again to get back to our writing after the Christmas break. The writing exercises were just what we needed to kick start our brains.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year. Hope 2013 is as happy, healthy and successful year and that the writing and publishing journey continues to be enjoyable and fun with writing colleagues. Haven't got the new writing year off to a good start as I can't find my special writing pen so am having to make do with a freebie biro from Marriott Hotels and Resorts. Loving my new tablet. Thanks Santa - it should make blogging even easier!