Booktrust writes

Booktrust, the national reading and writing charity, will be posting a wide range of practical tips, inspirational advice, competitions, prizes, magazines to submit to, articles on writing from our own site and from other sources. We are not responsible for any content found on external sites. Use the submit button to send us things to post. This is a resource for every writer, from the aspiring to the established. There are tips on writing poetry and short stories, tips on creating characters, tips on getting motivated and tips on getting published.

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If you don't write when you don't have time for it, you won't write when you do have time for it.

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5 Ways To Keep Me Reading Your First Chapter

Camp NaNoWriMo 2014 has officially launched! Whether you’re writing a new novel, tackling a screenplay, or finishing an existing piece of work, Camp is a writing free-for-all. For those of you still on your publishing journey before Camp, Blair Thornburgh, assistant editor at Quirk Books, explains what makes her stop reading a manuscript:

I was recently at a conference where an editor detailed her method for critiquing a first draft. The complicated process was as follows:

Start reading it.

When it stops being compelling, stop reading it.

When you stop reading it, draw a line on the page and write “This is where I stopped reading”.

Brash. Ballsy. Take-no-prisoners.

But what specifically makes an editor grind to a halt and refuse to go on? Opinions differ, of course, but as far as I’m concerned there are some pretty basic “don’t”s that make me want to close a document while I’m reading a sample chapter:

Read More

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artist-versus-poet asked: What do you do when you have characters but no setting, plot, or antagonist? I have severe writers block.

The first thing I would do is try to figure out who my protagonist is. I would start by writing down...

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Maximum word count: 3000 Unthemed Closing Date: 31st March 2014 Fee: £5 per entry Prizes: 1st prize £200; 2nd prize £75; 3rd prize £50 The winners will also receive a critique from our final judge, Pam Weaver Pam Weaver is a former Chair and current member of West Sussex Writers. As well as having had considerable success as a short story writer, Pam is the author of several novels including There’s Always Tomorrow, Better Days Will come and Pack Up Your Troubles, all published by Avon.

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Have your work read and broadcast by Dylan Thomas fans such as Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens and be in with a chance to have your writing published. Literature Wales invites all of you budding writers aged between 7 and 25 to enter our Dylan Thomas international competition. Your entry can be a song lyric, a poem, a funny limerick – any form of creative writing as long as it has been inspired by the Welsh writer Dylan Thomas and is no longer than thirty lines. Deadline: Friday 27 June.

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"It's like a fingerprint of singing voice. There's something that belongs to you that just gets into your writing." Lorrie Moore

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Seven Quotes On Writing from Julia Cameron

We should write because it is human nature to write. Writing claims our world. It makes it directly and specifically our own. We should write because humans are spiritual beings and writing is a powerful form of prayer and meditation, connecting us both to our own insights and to a higher and deeper level of inner guidance.

We should write because writing brings clarity and passion to the act of living. Writing is sensual, experiential, grounding. We should write because writing is good for the soul. We should write because writing yields us a body of work, a felt path through the world we live in. 

We should write, above all, because we are writers, whether we call ourselves that or not.

Writing is like breathing, it’s possible to learn to do it well, but the point is to do it no matter what.

Just as a good rain clears the air, a good writing day clears the psyche.

Being in the mood to write, like being in the mood to make love, is a luxury that isn’t necessary in a long-term relationship. Just as the first caress can lead to a change of heart, the first sentence, however tentative and awkward, can lead to a desire to go just a little further.

Doing it all the time, whether or not we are in the mood, gives us ownership of our writing ability. It takes it out of the realm of conjuring where we stand on the rock of isolation, begging the winds for inspiration, and it makes it something as do-able as picking up a hammer and pounding a nail. Writing may be an art, but it is certainly a craft. It is a simple and workable thing that can be as steady and reliable as a chore—does that ruin the romance?

Cameron is an American teacher, author, artist, and poet. She is most famous for her books The Artist’s Way and The Right to Write.

Source for Image

by Amanda Patterson for Writers Write

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Khaled Hosseini's writing tips

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Nine Quotes

Nothing happens in a vacuum in life: every action has a series of consequences, and sometimes it takes a long time to fully understand the consequences of our actions.

Writing for me is largely about rewriting.

I don’t listen to music when I write - I find it distracting.

Reading is an active, imaginative act; it takes work.

The difficulty of writing a second novel is directly proportional to how successful the first novel was, it seems.

There’s nothing easy about writing. It’s always difficult. It’s always a struggle.

I have met so many people who say they’ve got a book in them, but they’ve never written a word. To be a writer - this may seem trite, I realise - you have to actually write.

The experience of writing ‘The Kite Runner’ is one I will always think back on with fondness. There is an energy, a romance in writing the first novel that can never be duplicated again.

You write because you have an idea in your mind that feels so genuine, so important, so true. And yet, by the time this idea passes through the different filters of your mind, and into your hand, and onto the page or computer screen - it becomes distorted, and it’s been diminished.

Khaled Hosseini: On learning to read at a little bookshop in Kabul

by Amanda Patterson

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"There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories," Ursula K Le Guin

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Free-to-register online community where writers, photographers and artists can post responses to a monthly stimulus.

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Do you teach writing in the classroom but never get the time for your own creative writing? This week, exclusively for teachers, will help you discover your inner writer, and transform the way you teach creative writing back in the classroom. You’ll experience an inspirational mixture of workshops and individual tutorials with highly regarded authors, the support of your fellow writers, and plenty of time and space to write. Whilst the focus of the week is on developing your own writing, you will also have the opportunity to reflect on how you can use new approaches to creative writing in your teaching. Whether you want to write poetry or prose, we will create a safe and welcoming environment for you to find your voice and refine your technique. These five days will give you the creative momentum to continue writing long after the course is over. Tutors Steve Voake Alicia Stubbersfield’s Guest: Jacob Sam-La Rose

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A series of monthly flexible-attendance workshops focusing on techniques and development of radio drama, stage, sit-com, TV and screen plays A series of monthly flexible-attendance workshops focusing on techniques and development of radio drama, stage, sit-com, TV and screen plays including series and episode writing with feedback from BBC script-editor Jonathan Wolfman, TV writer Gillian Corderoy, director and playwright Danusia Iwaszko and the Chalk team. The workshops take place 1 pm-4 pm, at Balham Bowls Club on the second Saturday of each month ongoing so you can join at any time. When you sign up we will ask you to pre-book 5 sessions over 8 months or 10 sessions over 14 months.

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Tue 25 Feb 2014 to Tue 16 Dec 2014 Participants can attend the entire series or pick and choose the classes most relevant to their work For writers who want to spend time developing their novel, Greg Mosse teaches a sequence of novel-writing workshops, building towards the challenge of National November Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) – 50,000 words in 30 days! All sessions take place in Sunley Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall at 6.30pm and last two hours. You can sign up individually for £15 per session, or take the whole course for £150.

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Join us for the children's and young people's book festival for Calderdale & Kirklees, March 7-15 2014, packed full of fun and entertainment including storytelling, street theatre and workshops from a range of artists. The first festival in Calderdale and Kirklees to celebrate children’s books will launch on Friday 7 March with a World Book Day Quiz, followed by the official launch at the Central Library, Halifax on Saturday 8 March and leading on to a week full of events in schools, libraries and town halls and culminating in a spectacular finale at the University of Huddersfield on 15 March to which all families are welcome!. The day will be packed full of fun and entertainment including storytelling, street theatre and workshops from a range of artists including: • Annabel Pitcher, local author of Ketchup Clouds, • Paul Dowswell, author of Auslander • Susanna Meese, storyteller, • Crafty Praxis, craft sessions.

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Calling all budding writers looking to work in TV comedy and drama. CIT offers a unique opportunity to meet some of the North’s most important current script producers Katherine Beacon, Head of Development for Jellylegs TV joins Ric Michael – former Head of Development at Baby Cow Manchester and experienced multi-platform producer for a discussion. More speakers to be announced shortly. This is a fantastic opportunity to meet current NW based producers to find out about: • Commissioning • What production companies are looking for from writers • How to approach them and work as a writer in television • The effect of MediaCityUK on production in the North West This will be a lively and informative event with some of the professionals developing scripted comedy and drama from page to screen in the region. The afternoon will comprise of short presentations to give an overview of current trends and on-screen developments followed by your chance to ask questions.

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AM Heath in association with The Writers’ Workshop are delighted to announce Criminal Lines 2014, a new crime writing prize open to unagented, debut authors, born or resident in the UK and Ireland If you’ve written a perfect murder, a psychological nail-biter, or a gripping procedural, why not enter it for the prize? We’re looking for anything that will chill or thrill, with characters we can’t walk away from. You can enter any kind of crime, suspense or thriller novel for the prize, with the proviso that any material previously submitted to AM Heath is ineligible. Your novel doesn’t have to be finished but the synopsis does need to show you have a clear vision for the book. Self-published authors are welcome to enter.