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T H E U K ’ S
B E S T S E L L I N G
W R I T I N G M AG A Z I N E
NOVEMBER
2016
COMPETITION
EXCLUSIVE
WIN A
BOOK
DEAL!
tart
S ite
wr
d
How to get startes ,
enjoy new style
& create a solid
foundation for
your novel
Win a 5-day
trip to
ICELAND
WRITERS
RETREAT
The £1m-a-year
self-publisher
ADAM
CROFT
INCLUDING
Study
the short story masters
Katie Fforde’s
style and technique
How to
write reportage
THE BEST
Learn from
20 PACKED PAGES OF
• Insider know-how • Opportunities
• Competitions and much more...
2
JUNE 2016
www.writers-online.co.uk
E D I TO R ’ S L E T T E R
T H E U K ’ S
B E S T S E L L I N G
W R I T I N G M AG A Z I N E
NOVEMBER
2016
COMPETITION
EXCLUSIVE
WIN A
BOOK
DEAL!
r
Staitte
wr
How to get started,
enjoy new styles
& create a solid
foundation for
your novel
Win a 5-day
trip to
ICELAND
WRITERS
RETREAT
The £1m-a-year
self-publisher
ADAM
CROFT
De r Read r
W lc m ...
A WELCOME FROM
THE EDITOR
INCLUDING
Study
the short story masters
Katie Fforde’s
style and technique
How to
write reportage
THE BEST
Learn from
Faced with a blank page, or the prospect of finally giving in to your urges
and putting your work out there for the world to see, many of us struggle
one way or another to get started with writing. But there’s nothing to it.
There’s no magic formula. You just start.
Strip away all the psychological obstacles and there really is nothing
stopping you, and one of the best things about being your writer is that
you truly are in charge of your own projects, but a little planning can go a
long way to help you build walls, instead of running headlong into them. If
you’re struggling to get started, Patsy Collins encourages you this month
to just get on with it (p12), and Simon Hall offers valuable advice on casting
your net wide to find the writing style and approach that suits you (p14),
worth considering by all of us, however experienced, to find new ideas
and approaches. Further down the writing line (or for the very ambitious
beginners!), James McCreet helps you lay a solid foundation for your novel
(p16) and Simon Whaley explores how, when and why to get an agent (p28).
So don’t delay. Get off the starting line and we’ll help you to The End. But
do bear in mind a much more widespread problem than the fear of getting
started: you won’t want to stop.
And that’s the only writing-related problem we can’t help you with.
20 PACKED PAGES OF
11
9 770964 916259
• Insider know-how • Opportunities
• Competitions and much more...
p001_wmagNov.indd 1
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Jonathan Telfer
Editor
DR CLIVE BROOKS
has been writing since
1985. Over a long career,
he has had several hundred
articles published in a wide
variety of magazines, and is
the author of twelve books
that span fiction and non-
fiction genres. His recent
PhD examined the effects
of technology on modern
life. Having concluded his
business interests, he now
writes full time.
HELEN WALTERS
writes short stories for
magazines including
Woman’s
Weekly, My Weekly, The
Weekly News, The People’s
Friend, Best, Yours
and
Take A
Break Fiction Feast.
She also
writes short non-fiction pieces,
mostly real-life or nostalgia
inspired, and on writing-related
subjects, and teaches writing to
adults in a number of different
settings. Her website is:
www.helenmhunt.co.uk
SIMON HALL
is a crime fiction author
and a BBC Television news
correspondent. His novels are
about a TV reporter who covers
crimes. He has contributed
short stories to a range of
magazines and is also a tutor
in creative writing, teaching
at writers’ schools such as
Swanwick, Fishguard and
Winchester, on cruise ships
and overseas. His website is:
www.thetvdetective.com
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© Copyright Warners Group Publications plc. ISSN 0964-9166
Warners Group Publications plc are not able to investigate the products or services provided by the advertisers in Writing Magazine nor to make recommendations about them. Readers
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thousands of pounds) and readers should remember there can be no guarantees such publishing arrangements will prove profitable. There have been cases in which subsidy publishers
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When you have finished with
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www.writers-online.co.uk
NOVEMBER 2016
3
In this issue ...
INTERVIEWS AND
PROFILES
11 On writing: William Golding
26 How I got published
Debut children’s author Martin Stewart
See page
IN!
W
21 A publishing deal with The Book
Guild and a £1,000 advance in our
exclusive competition
27 A place at Iceland Writers Retreat
including flights and accommodation
worth £1,500
39 £500 in cash prizes and
publication in our latest open short
story competitions
61 £250 in cash prizes and
publication in or latest subscriber-
only short story competitions
ON THE COVER
30 Beat the bestsellers
The style and technique of Katie Fforde
44 Shelf life: Dinah Jefferies
The bestselling novelist shares her five favourite reads
74 Crime file: Laura McHugh
Setting is vital for the mystery author
86 Author profile: Robert Bryndza
The million-selling
WM
subscriber discusses what’s
behind the success of his thrillers
108 My writing day: Victoria Fox
The bestselling bonkbuster author conjures sultry
scenarios as an antidote to domesticity
WRITING LIFE
23 Beginners: Burning up with ideas
A radical
clear-out can be just the thing to generate fresh ideas
24 Writing life: Unplugged
Check out these hardware
and software options for distraction-free writing
34 Talk it over: Food for thought
Bad eating habits and snacking are constant risks for home
writers, so follow our advice to stay healthy in body and mind
STAR INTERVIEW
THE £1M
SELF-PUBLISHER
PUBLISHING
38 Get writing: And now for something
completely different
Step back to see things in a
different way and reinvigorate your writing
46 Writing life:
Hell is other people
Some writers’ groups
are better than others
but most (hopefully!)
manage to avoid what
Lora Bishop found at
her local session
110 Notes from the margin
Researching online romance puts our columnist in a
murderous mood
Teaching himself the process from scratch,
Adam Croft has grown to be one of the
UK’s most successful self-publishers
10 Grumpy Old Bookman
Our champion of wired writing is delighted to discover something
of a renaissance in the world of printed literary magazines
12 From the other side of the desk
It’s time writers took off the rose-tinted spectacles, says literary
agent Piers Blofeld
28 The business of writing: Agent attraction
Attracting an agent can be the start of a long business relationship,
so learn more about the wooing process
78 Technology for writers: Write your own adventure
A runaway success in the early days of home computing, the
text-based adventure game is enjoying a resurgence on modern
mobile devices. Here’s how to get started
4
NOVEMBER 2016
WRITERS’ NEWS
88
Your essential
monthly round-up of
competitions, paying
markets, opportunities
to get into print and
publishing industry news
www.writers-online.co.uk
e 11
CONTENTS
ON THE COVER
12 The starting line
How to get yourself off to a great start as a writer
t rti
o
ng
S
u
t
FICTION
48 Under the microscope
The first 300 words of a reader’s
manuscript are subjected to a
forensic micro-critique
50 Fiction focus:
The big picture
Planning an epic? Then you need
to start thinking on a grand scale
70 Writing for children:
Mistakes to avoid
Part two of our mini-series
looks at how not to scupper
your children’s book with its
submission package
76 Fantastic realms:
Feel the fear
Understand how fear works
to keep readers on the edge of
their seats
14 Pick and mix
Help yourself at the writer’s buffet and find the flavour
that most suits you
16 Novel foundations
Start solidly or your story will collapse later, says James
McCreet, revealing the planning process of his current
novel-in-progress
ON THE COVER
NON-FICTION
ON THE COVER
72 Feature writing: The front line
Writing reportage requires dedication and rock-solid
narrative skills
83 Going to market
85 Research tips: Take note
Make your research easier with note-taking software
103 Travel writing know-how
68 Short story masterclass:
The masters’ point of view
Handle narrative viewpoint
in your fiction by learning
from the best
Back soon!
OUT AND ABOUT
32 Get away from
your desk
Forthcoming events to
inspire your writing life
POETRY
42 Poetry winners:
Read the winning entries in our
Midsummer Night’s Dream
poetry competition
64 Poetry workshop: Skeletons in the cupboard
Explore two poems – one classic, one sent by a reader – that
illustrate the power of the dramatic monologue
65 Poetry workout
Pay careful attention to how your punctuation affects your poetry
66 Poetry from A-Z
An alphabetic guide through the language of poetry
COMPETITION WINNERS
AND EXERCISES
36 Pen pushers:
What you don’t say
Try these exercises to discover
that what you leave out of your
writing can be as effective as
what you put in
37 Train your brain:
Red editing pen
40 Competition winner:
Read the winning entry in our
crime story competition
Game, set
and match
59 Circles’ roundup:
Game, set and match
Playing board games can enhance
group members’ writing skills
62 Competition winner
Read the winning entry in our
nostalgia writing competition
AUTHOR EXPERIENCES
52 Subscriber spotlight
WM
subscribers share their publishing success stories
58 Circles’ roundup
Writing groups share their interests and activities
67 Time shift
Shifting her setting by just a decade brought subscriber Fiona
Veitch Smith’s historical crime novels to life
6 Miscellany
8 Letters
RESOURCES
81 Computer clinic
82 Helpline
Your writing problems solved
22 Editorial calendar
35 Novel ideas
80 Writer’s web watch
www.writers-online.co.uk
OCTOBER 2016
5

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