I know that received wisdom says that you should be ruthless in editing your work, slashing and burning until you’ve deleted every last adverb and replaced the related verb with something more appropriate. But next time you’re going through your work think of Janice’s advice from last week and consider letting some of those adverbs survive your crusading red pen!

Top prize money is the best medicine

If you get your skates on, you’ve just time to enter the Hippocrates Prize for a poem on a broad medical theme. There are two categories – the first open to the general public, the second restricted to employees and students in the NHS. Each category has a 1st prize of £5000, , 2nd prize of £1000, 3rd prize of £500 and 20 prizes of £50 for poems that are commended. But time is tight as the closing date is 31st January.

And while we’re on the subject of competitions, there’s still time to enter The Writers Bureau’s ‘First Line’ competition with the chance to win a Novel and Short Story Course. As usual, entry is free but your first lines have to reach us by 31st January.

Brain trainer

For me, one of the joys of reading is following up on references and finding out about things I didn’t previously know. I’ve recently read C J Sanson’s Revelation – a serial killer mystery set in the reign of Henry VIII. It sent me to my long-neglected Bible to read the Book of Revelation – what an eye-opener that was. And if you want another author that has you Googling all the time, try Barbara Kingsolver. The Lacuna, which covers the life of artists Diego Rivera, his wife, Frida Khalo, and their involvement with Leon Trotsky during his stay in Mexico is a great read as is The Poisonwood Bible, an ironic tale of missionaries working in the Belgian Congo in the late ‘50s.

Some people are dismissive of novels, but to me they’re the perfect ‘brain trainer’ – increasing your knowledge at the same time as they stretch your imagination. And, personally, I think it beats Sudoku any day when it comes to preventing us over-fifties from slipping into senility.

My guest next week is Bev Morley who will be returning to impart more wisdom – in the meantime, happy reading!

I’m going to say something that will shock you. Adverbs aren’t the enemy. (I know!) It’s even okay to use them in your writing. The trick is in using them well. But even when you don’t, they can serve a very useful purpose.

As bad a reputation as adverbs have, they’re helpful red flags that tell you, “here’s where you have an opportunity to flesh out what your character is doing.” They’re like your brain telling you about the emotional state of your character, and pointing out a place you might want to examine further. Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to Helen for last week’s blog. What she had to say about improving your chances of success is spot on – as I’ve found from years of working with would-be writers. So ignore it at your peril! Read the rest of this entry »

Writing is a scary business. Showing or reading your work to others is exposing in lots of ways but for those of us who want to be published, inviting judgement is the only way. Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to Vanessa for last week’s blog. I think we’re all guilty of procrastination to a greater or lesser degree. The run-up to Christmas is probably one of the worst times for writers. We’re all feeling tired and frazzled after fighting the crowds in shops, battling the elements and trying to keep everyone around us happy. It’s so easy to slump in front of the TV or computer screen… and do nothing.

Is a Writers’ Group right for you?

But with Christmas behind us and 2012 nearly here, it’s time to take a reality check. If you’re not already a member of a writers’ group, why not give it a try? The NAWG has a directory where you can track down your nearest writing group. Or, pif you live in London, you could consider the London Writers Café which provides ‘a place for creative writers to read out their work for constructive feedback in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere’.

The Costa Book Awards

January 4th sees the announcement of the winners of the Costa Book Awards in the usual five categories: novel, first novel, biography, poetry and children’s book. The shortlists always provide me with ideas for good books to read during the dark days of January and February. All the ‘first novel’ contenders sound interesting and I hope that Andrew Pain will be successful in the ‘novel’ category with Pure. If you’ve not read his first novel, Ingenious Pain, I’d recommend it.

Closing Date for Competition

If you have already forced yourself to stop procrastinating, there’s just time to enter the Writers Bureau Poetry Competition. It was due to close on 31st December but we’ve extended the deadline until 6th January to take account of entries delayed by the Christmas post. But if you prefer to enter online we’ll accept your entries, too, until the new closing date. And if you want some inspiration in the New Year, why not try Freelance Market News which is packed with markets to write for, competitions to enter and general advice on writing.

Next week my guest will be Helen Yendall with some tips on improving your chances of success – but you’ve got to take the plunge and get your writing out there.

Happy New Year to you all!