chocanana muffins in Coney

Yesterday's chocanana muffins featured an extra banana to give Coney writers an extra boost! The sun shone on us at Coney Island when we returned yesterday morning to meet up, catch up, make writing plans and write.

Coffee and biscuits and chocanana muffins helped us focus on editing some of our work. It's always so much easier to edit someone else's work than your own, but practice helps.

Real writing

I had the pleasure of spending an hour with local writer Eoin McNamee this afternoon at Belfast Central Library. This was organised as part of Creativity Month. Eoin is one of Libraries NI's writers in residence and I was very lucky to get a slot at his writing clinic. He's written a number of novels, including a trilogy based around the local Curran family.


He had taken the time to review a piece I'm currently working on and was very encouraging and supportive. He gave me some good tips to think about how I can improve this piece. Now I just need to get on with it!

Creativity Month - writers in residence

It's that time of the year again - Creativity month

http://www.librariesni.org.uk/creativitymonth2017/Pages/Writers-in-Residence.aspx?src=WIR-CM2017

Tonight I was at a reading in Belfast Central Library given by Eoin McNamee as part of Creativity Month. It was fascinating listening to him talking about the inspiration for a number of his novels - local murders and the Curran family.

Fuel for Writers

We can't write on empty stomachs, hence the need for pear and ginger muffins, shortbread and chocolate ginger biscuits in Coney Island this morning to fuel our writing. It was good being back down at gorgeous Coney, even if a little windswept and damp today. It was good to be back with fellow writers Mairi, Rhonda, Moira and Maddie to exchange recent writing experiences, share our news and also hear some of the group's new writing.

longlisted haiku

Some good booky, reading, literary news on World Book Day - I'm quite delighted to hear one of my poems has been long-listed in 'Haikus for the NHS'

 https://nothingintherulebook.com/2017/03/01/haikus-for-the-nhs-read-the-poems-here/

Edit, edit, edit

Yesterday I attended an editing workshop at the Crescent Arts Centre run by the Irish Writers Centre. It was the first IWC workshop I've been on and was excellent. Ciara Considine, an editor at Hachette Ireland led the workshop. She packed tons of useful information and tips into the day. As well as sharing her experiences and advice, Ciara led us in a number of helpful writing exercises.
It was also an opportunity to meet with other writers and share our experiences and learning.

Some of the nuggets I came away with -

'in developing and re-writing your work, get it wrong as many times as necessary - you only have to get it right once'

'pick out the important moments'

'whose journey are you trying to explore?'

If you get the chance to attend this workshop, I'd recommend you do.

Now to let the advice percolate and put it into practice.....

A room with a view

 I didn't ask for or expect a room with a view, but I got one - and what a view? Just what would Lucy Honeychurch have made of this view?

 

I doubt she would have had any complaints. This has been the view from my room for the last few days and I have to admit it was even more amazing than the pictures convey.

 



 

Downhill Beach House's Space to Write event http://downhillbeachhouse.com/ takes place every year. Thanks to this facility, I've been away from it all to benefit from space and time to write - time away from normality, time to recharge the writing batteries, time to walk on a windswept beach, time to meet and chat with other writers, time to read and most importantly time to write.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'd thoroughly recommend this event to any writer. How could you fail to be inspired in such beautiful surroundings?