My front windows are now installed and look great. The first one was relatively straightforward and completed with little mess by the end of the first day. Day two dawned and they started on the second one full of optimism. I was working upstairs when there was a crash and the air turned blue – and no, it wasn’t dust! I’m usually quite nosey, but decided that in this case ignorance was bliss. Needless to say, it took them a bit longer than originally anticipated.
Thanks to Elizabeth for last week’s blog and her comments on the question ‘Where do you get ideas from?’ For many writers, getting the ideas isn’t a problem. It’s where to sell those ideas once they’ve been crafted into fiction.
Recently, students have been complaining that the number of markets taking short stories is falling away. If you’re struggling, have a look at The Short Story website . They currently list 79 outlets for short stories (though, as usual, check that they pay before sending anything off to them). So you should be able to find a home there for some of your work.
This year’s Writers Bureau annual Poetry and Short Story Competition closed a couple of weeks ago and we’ve been preparing the entries ready to send off to the adjudicators (Alison Chisholm – poetry and Iain Pattison – short stories ). I can’t help looking through a fair selection and I’m always amazed by the quality of some of them. There really are some talented writers out there! By the same token, there are some absolute ‘stinkers’ – boring, badly written and lacking any kind of plot. You’re lucky – you only get to read the best ones on our website. We should have them posted there, for your delectation, by mid-September.
Thanks to Rachel for last week’s blog and her very practical advice on how to find work as a freelance copywriter.
This week I’ve been interviewing to fill a vacancy in our Student Services department. As you can imagine, we need someone with a good command of English, who is interested in writing and can empathise with students. The six people that we chose to interview were all great and any one of them could have done the job to a high standard. Choosing between them was far from easy but I think we’ve made the right decision.
What did worry – and depress – me was the fact that we had in the region of 350 applicants for the job! Many were graduates leaving university this year with good degrees, or graduates who had left last year and been unable to find a job. Others were highly qualified people who had been made redundant. It’s being faced with such stark reality that makes you realise that times are still difficult in this country – and our young people are taking the brunt of it.
OK, onto a more cheerful topic. Phaebus Media Group, who produced the videos on the Writers Bureau site, are in the process of producing a mini-drama aimed at introducing new learners, aged 16 to30, to the English language. They’ve asked The Writers Bureau to run a competition to come up with story outlines. The drama will consist of 12 episodes, each lasting five minutes. Your job is to write the story and character outlines and suggest the location or setting for the drama. If possible, the winning idea will be put into production, you’ll be credited on the final product and invited along to see the filming of some of the episodes. Full details of the competition are here . It’s a great way to break into TV, so why not give it a try?
Finally, don’t forget our latest 21st Birthday Competition which gives you the opportunity to win an Article Writing course
First, thanks to Sue for last week’s guest blog. I was away for a few days walking in Pembrokeshire. The weather was great and the combination of sweeping headlands, masses of wild flowers and some of the best beaches in Europe was unbeatable. Still a bit cold for swimming but I got plenty of paddling in! I have a love/hate relationship with seagulls (predominantly hate) after one nearly ripped my finger off attempting to steal my hard-earned sandwich. As my husband pointed out, only the very brave – or foolhardy – would attempt to get food away from me after a seven-mile hike.
It’s surprising how much more up-beat you feel when you’ve had a break. And, as I’ve said before, one of the most optimistic freelancers that I know is Nick Daws. His blog is always full of interesting and useful information, plus he’s an excellent example of someone ‘juggling plates’ to ensure that he has enough projects on the go to provide a healthy living as a freelance writer.
Two things to remind you of this week. First, this month’s Writers Bureau 21st Birthday competition. You could win a copy of our Novel and Short Story Course by sending in the first sentence of your novel. Sounds easy! But remember, it has to grab the reader’s attention whilst still giving some indication of the genre and content of the novel.
And finally, don’t forget our annual Novel and Short Story Competition closes on 30th June. So you’ve still time to enter and win up to £1000 in cash.
