More than Writers

What do you do when the prevalent opinions at the time and place your historical novel/short is set story do not accord with what is acceptable today?   Some years ago, I wrote – and placed – a short story about a World War Two evacuee in which one of the characters said, “The only good German is a dead German”.  This is not my opinion but t his character (a schoolgirl) was repeating a saying  common at that time.  I wonder if that story, with that comment in it, would have been published in 2023.   Many of the opinions and ways of doing things are what we are now supposed to challenge.   People at the time you are writing about may have a very different world-view; they might be xenophobes, regard women as infernal gossips and believe in witchcraft.   Unless you are writing about the immediate past, all those are likely to apply.   In the Bible, the apostle Paul returns Onesimus to his slave-master, Philemon, admittedly with a plea that he...

  I’m not sure if it’s my age, or whether this year really goes faster than any other year. We’ve been homeschooling for a good number of years now, and usually go on our family holidays in September, making the summer feel longer. The trees turn before we get our swimsuits and bodyboards out, and we go away when others are lining up wellies and waterproofs. This year, as our daughter is in college, we’re having holidays at the same time as everyone else in the entire country, it seems. It also means my summer has shrunk by a month. This week, my last week of the summer, still has me in holiday mode, which means I have no idea of day, date or time. Which is why this blog comes out after lunch, as my children somehow knew the date... We have just returned from Northumberland, where I had never been, and I would happily go there any time of the year. The crowds at popular places made it harder to access those places, but we somehow managed, although the dog was as shattered as I ...

Image Credits:-   Some images from The Writers’ Summer School 2023 taken by Allison Symes. One photo taken on my behalf by Julia Pattison. Other images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. My annual writing event is to spend a few days at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick, which is held at The Hayes Conference Centre. Many of you will know the venue for other events.  At the school, I catch up with friends and make new ones. Outside of the school contact is via social media. Some of us meet regularly on Zoom but there is something special about getting together in person. Writers buzz creatively off each other. It was encouraging to see a good contingent from ACW at Swanwick. Let’s see more of you there next year! The school has a wide range of four part and two part courses and one hour workshops. The four parters are usually split into two sections and held over two days. The two parters are usually held either side of a break on the same day. The workshops a...

  I can’t believe this day crept upon me without my knowing! It has been a hectic August.   6 of my grandchildren spent the first10 days of August with me. On the 12 th , I had my first open mic poetry event. Two days later, I went to Cumbria and spent another ten days with an ill sister, returning on the 26 th . I attended a family wedding all day yesterday   the 27 th and spent today, the 28th entertaining my senior sister from Nigeria and other family members. Then I heard my hubby say, ‘Today is the 28 th ’ -   That Was God using the Holy Spirit to remind me of my MTW post. So sorry it’s late but it is better than never. I share a poem this month   from a place where I have spent 43 years of my life. It is an issue that keeps me on my knees to God in prayer. Let me share it with you:   Victims of Persecution   The suffering church in Nigeria The North of Nigeria Facing persecution for Jesus And rejection for Jesus The young m...

In just 7 days on Sat 2nd Sept, I will be launching my new book Unashamed.  It seems hard to believe it is now finally at that moment of release as it's taken me two years and 2 extended deadlines to get to this point.   Unashamed has, more than all my other books, come out of the core of who I am and reflects the journey that we are all on, to know ourselves and to live as God's beloved children and in that process to see His love transforming and healing those life wounds and scars we all carry.   I grew up with many such scars, the trauma of the illness at age 2 that caused my deafness and sight loss and my first exposure to human violence;  the years of teasing and bullying at school because of my deafness not being diagnosed.  The loss of my dad when I was just seven; the years of living with an abusive stepfather and the resulting denial and burial of all my dreams, longings and talents.  I was told repeatedly that I was a nothing person and...

What is life like for you?   Do you use words like, ‘crazy, chaotic and hectic?’   Do you struggle to find the time to write?   I think that there are times when we can all say, ‘Yes’ to these questions. This blog is inspired by comments that I heard from two other writers recently.  I do hope that they don’t mind me mentioning them.  Keren Dibbens-Wyatt, struggles with M.E. and posted recently, “ Amazing that the 20mins here and there when my brain co-operates can get these things done. ” Natasha Woodcraft, in her recent MTW blog, said, “I might get 15 minutes at the laptop.   Finding creative corners can be difficult when life is chaotic.   Yet these precious moments are what keep us going, are what define the difference between existing and living.” My wife and I are currently making plans to move house after living in our home for 26 years.   For the last month, we have been ridding ourselves of unneeded and no longer-wanted clutter, jun...

 I am a writer. I guess if you are reading this, you can say the same. I love writing. I communicate best, and express myself best, through writing. My writing serves both as a creative release and a way of processing my thoughts and often my prayers. It is only in the last couple of years that I have found joy in writing historical fiction, and the blessing of writing for publication. But for as long as I can remember I have been a writer – long before I was an author. I still prefer to refer to myself as a writer, and I am not alone. We are an Association of Christian Writers, not an Association of Christian Authors! This last week I have been writing all week. It wasn’t fiction, even though the ideas for Book #4 are buzzing and I am desperate to find the time and space to put them into words on the screen. No, the last week has been taken up with rewriting our church Safeguarding Policy. And actually there was enjoyment in it. In doing it to the best of my ability, and using s...

  This spoof is for the silly season, which I believe we are now in. It will only make sense to you if you know the speech by Jaques ‘All the World’s a Stage’ in Shakespeare’s As you Like It , Act ii, Scene vii. All the world’s a book fair And all the men and women merely writers. They have their launches and their out-of-prints. And one person in their time plays many parts, Their acts being seven stages. At first the wannabe, Mewling and posing about getting published. And then the whining plotter, with Moleskine closed And steaming morning coffee, creeping like snail Unwillingly to screen. Then the procrastinator, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful alibi Made to their agent’s eyebrow. Then the author, Flaunting their covers, and boasting of awards, Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in Amazon’s mouth. Then the much-published, Their fair high ratings with KDP linked, With eyes severe and clothes of formal cut, Full of wise hints an...

  Learning from Lionesses by Rebecca Seaton     I’ve been hooked on the Football World Cup this summer and it’s provided lessons that applied equally well to writing. Resilience Resilience is key. However, it really is something we only get better at by doing. More than once, England had to come back from a problem to achieve what they wanted. The path to writing success (whatever that is) is also beset by obstacles. We need the ability to bounce back from rejection. One way to do this is by being objective: if we learn something from the knocks, we can take that to the next submission or edit. This means becoming increasingly self-aware, not just being dismayed at others not appreciating our work but trying to see their input objectively.   Communication The people we are pitching our work to may not understand it because it’s not their type of thing. However, more often than not, we haven’t sold the idea well. A publisher once said to me, ‘It’s not ...

  "Will you read my story?" my seven-year-old niece asked me last week. As she asked the question, she was already leading me to the sofa. She knew I’d say yes. And so we curled up together and I began to read aloud the story she’d written. Will you read my story? It’s a simple question. I need to learn from my niece, I think. Jesus did say become like children! (Matthew 18:3) My version of ‘will you read my story?’ when I’m at events, or meeting people, or anytime books crop up, really, goes something like: “Well, um yes, those are my books over there. Feel free to have a look, but no pressure. And if you’re not interested in them, that’s fine.” All said with a vaguely apologetic air. Note that I’m often so stumbly that I forget to even mention genre. Not so my niece: will you read my story ? Look and learn, Emily. I don’t have any quick-fix answers to those of us who struggle with marketing. Sorry to those who thought – or hoped - this blog might h...

  From: submissions@patmospublishers.gr To: john.thunderson@theway Dear Elder Thunderson, I have read your latest submission. It seems a clear departure from earlier works of yours, and certainly provoked quite a stir here in the office. On reading it, our work experience student - the 'expert' on apocalyptic fantasy literature - found it highly absorbing. However, some of our older staff could not understand much of the symbolism and complained that it was too opaque. The marketing team here have asked that you choose a genre and stick to it . Is ‘Revelation’ a vision, a prophecy or an extended letter? If the latter, we are concerned that giving the real names of the churches might result in a libel case or two being brought. Would you consider using alias names please?  Would you also look at the line near the beginning where you promise blessings to all who read the words; don’t you think this is a little presumptuous ? Perhaps we can find some famous faces to write...