More than Writers

  There are many reasons that I struggle with producing fiction.  1) It's very hard work. 2) I get people mixed up all the time in real life. There's no suggestion that I would find fiction any different, and I worry about accidentally marrying people off to their Mother-in-law. 3) There's a strong possibility that I may be rubbish at it. 4) Grammar. No one has a go at my grammar in my own blog, but I think that my use of the English language would make an editor faint. 5) Jeopardy. I'm not sure that I can do it. Anne Lamott says that jeopardy is essential for fiction, no matter how gentle. She says, quite reasonably, I think, that without jeopardy there is no story. Jeopardy can range from a woman tied up under a bridge waiting for her killer to come back (about 80% of TV output these days) to wondering if people in a tiny English village will sell enough books to keep their bookshop dream alive.  The Bible is obviously packed to the brim with jeopardy. Will Samson fal...

You know when you walk down by a river and hordes of ducks and geese are standing around, often fighting for a piece of bread being thrown by some poor, unsuspecting toddler. Don't they make a racket? The squawking and honking, chasing and biting, splashing and furious paddling below the surface. Yet, if you can tune your ears from the cacophony (to use one of my favourite words) you might still catch the gentle coo of a dove, or the trill of a songbird, high up in the treetops bordering the river. Photo by Pixabay from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/flock-of-geese-357169/ I've been thinking about this lately as I navigate my own writing journey. I wonder if the book marketplace can feel a bit like this. "Buy my book" signs vying for our attention, tips for this and that, plotting strategies, marketing strategies, coaches and experts galore. Honking geese and quacking ducks. How do we tune our ears to hear the gentle coo of the dove among such noise? R.T. Kendal...

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash In the UK, the end of the academic year is fast approaching. My daughters are eagerly awaiting the start of the long summer holidays and the prospect of new teachers and fresh challenges in the autumn. For me, it’s also an opportunity to look back.   My youngest started school last September, so has spent much of her time learning to read and write. The approach used to teach her is known as phonics, and - I’ll admit – I’ve found it baffling. Phonics has a whole  language of its own , but essentially children start by learning what sounds correspond to which letters. She then moved on to ‘blending’ sounds so, for example,  'c/a/t' becomes 'cat.'  This led to some mind-boggling conversations where she sounded out the component letters, but then took a wild guess at the resulting word. ‘r/e/d… errr… pineapple!!!’ was probably my favourite attempt.   I don’t know about you, but I can’t really remember learning to read and wri...

We looked out across the estuary, the tide was still high, water filled the tributaries, which stretched out into the marshy grassland like an arterial network, they flowed one to another from the main river. At low tide vast sand banks would be exposed and the tributaries emptied completely, leaving them exposed like muddy slashes on the landscape. As part of our holiday we were visiting the village of Penclawdd, situated on the northern edge of the Gower Peninsular in Wales. Most of the village sits around the Burry estuary. As we watched we saw a queue of small motorised dinghys being launched from the slipway. Each was crewed by a team of 3 or 4 men and women, feet clad in wellies and armed with large sieves and buckets. We learned that these were cockle gatherers, catching the high tide and travelling out to where the low tide exposes the rich cockle beds. The cockles would be harvested and sold worldwide. The cockle industry has been part of this village’s history since Roman ti...

‘Grandma, it's a tree tunnel’ said one of my five-year-old twin granddaughters, with great excitement, during a road trip to the coast. She is a teenager now and probably doesn't even remember saying it (and which of the two little girls said it first is still a mystery…), but I remember it well and with great affection. I find that being out in nature is where my mind can wander away from the day-to-day grind of my quite difficult life circumstances. A few years ago, I felt that in order to settle in our new home, I needed to plant a garden. Little did I know that our circumstances would change so much that I would spend a lot of time in my garden as my activities are now very restricted. Each morning offers a brief peaceful time enjoying the cool air, the perfume of lavender and mint, and appreciating the bountiful colour of my pots of roses, geraniums, petunias and marigolds.  Here, in God’s beautiful creation, I can feel the inspiration to write – even if only a few words...

  My most recent distraction from writing comes in the form of short videos, mostly from the USA, which chronicle the success or otherwise of trips to thrift stores.   Women with more time on their hands than myself record their trips to these outlets and allow the viewer to share their treasure-hunting expeditions. It so happens that I am a big fan of trawling the UK charity shops for bargains and gems.   Truth to tell, while there are treasures to be found, there is also a vast quantity of tat.   Nevertheless, it only takes one prize to make you forget all that other rubbish. In one particular ‘filmet’ (seems a reasonable term for a short reel), a lady claimed to have discovered her ‘white whale’.   I was intrigued, wondering how she would not only fit it in her trolley but how she would cram it into her car (granted these are significantly bigger across the pond), and where in the world she would put such a thing once she managed to drag it inside her house. ...

  This is the week of coming out of chaos into new things. I hope! I am sitting in my living room which has sofas pulled to the centre of the room and boxes and bags piled behind and between them. The kitchen is over-full with packaged possessions on the floor and the table, which has a small space clear at one end to eat our breakfast tomorrow. Glasses are wrapped in newspaper, trinkets carefully boxed and every bag, basket and specially bought cardboard box filled to overflowing with books, cushions, children’s toys, dog toys, audio tapes, video tapes, CD’s and good old vinyl records! Two old sofas, a large table with a wonky leg and a chest of drawers that is impossible to close have gone to the recycling centre. I know what you’re thinking, but no we are not moving! All this disruption and chaos is due to the imminent fitting of carpets in the dining room, hall, stairs and landing. A necessary activity to avoid falls from worn out rugs which slipped on the dining room floor and...

When you are preparing a piece to be shown to a wider public, one of the questions you need to consider is how much you want to edit your manuscript before submitting it to an agent or publisher. Many writers worry that, if they send out a draft that is too polished, agents and publishers may not see any potential for developing or changing the book to meet their stable or imprint. While there may be a little truth in this, an agent or publisher will definitely look for potential before they seek a perfectly polished piece. However, there is far more danger that, in working through a large pile of submissions, an agent or publisher will be distracted by superficial problems with your draft and therefore fail to see its best qualities. Should your draft suffer from repetition, too much description, or unrealistic dialogue, an agent or publisher may decide not to read further and thus fail to appreciate the strength of your novel. Edit your manuscript until you are really pleased with it...

In the winter of   2024 I went to the ACW committee annual retreat. It was cold and misty and   there was much fumbling to find the keypad to open the door. But there was a buzz amongst us; almost like rebels, we were breaking away from the time-honoured norms of how the committee had always worked and doing things our way. Armed with baskets of, pasta and basil, we gathered in an Airbnb, with a new agenda. Rather than interminably rehashing the old discussions and controversies we needed a new path. Cradling hot chocolate in our hands we huddled in the warmest room. Our intuitive new chair was seeking intimacy to encourage inspiration and hopefully innovation. With dynamic new members of the team and an ‘out of the box’ approach it felt like anything was possible. As the weekend progressed it became clear the old could not continue. Over washing up and glasses of red wine ideas were explored and formulated.   I had arrived conscious that my own time on the committee was ...

  Being a Christian writer comes with unique challenges. One of the most difficult things can be facing those who look down on you because of your faith or the perspective you bring to your work. Whether it’s criticism from peers, dismissive comments online, or scepticism from the publishing world, it can be tough not to take it personally. However, responding with maturity and grace not only reflects your values but can also influence others more powerfully than any argument. 1. Stay Rooted in Your Identity Remember that your worth is not determined by others' opinions. Your identity lies in Christ, not in the approval of readers, critics, or colleagues. When negative remarks come your way, pause and remind yourself of your purpose as a writer and who you ultimately serve. 2. Respond, Don’t React When you encounter disrespectful comments or condescension, it’s natural to feel upset. However, knee-jerk reactions rarely resolve anything. Take a deep breath before answering (if you c...

It’s a strange expression , if you slow to a stop and think through the words, ‘took my breath away’ it seems to have two meanings; something utterly shocking or beautiful that causes you to gasp – to breathe in, or to suddenly exhale.  Does anyone travel through life without having a few such moments? It seems unlikely. I’ve had a few.  One was a piece of music on a Radio 4 programme I was listening to whilst driving. It was so beautiful I had to stop, it wasn’t safe to continue through a blur of tears. Or a beautiful woman I had the honour of meeting and knowing. My socks were truly blown clean off and away. And two paintings. One, as far as I know, is still in the Bristol Museum, and the other (a relatively inexpensive print, not, alas, the original) hangs in my house. Both made me stand and stare. Then there’s mist in the hollows on an autumnal morning, a sunset across the ocean, the crash of a wave on shingle beach, or the particular blue of a cold January sky…I could go ...

Image by Jenneth from Pixabay This month I’m diving into Narnia, one of the crown jewels of children’s literature and a great example of fantastic fiction – ‘fantastic’ in the original meaning of the word, ‘imaginary’ or ‘related to fantasy’, hence the variation on the noun ‘fantastical.’ I imagine that most ACW members are aware of Narnia and have probably read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – or have read it to their children. Many Christians are fans of the fantasy worlds of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien, which is hardly surprising given the Christian themes in both. How many of you have read all seven Chronicles of Narnia? *shoots own hand up* I read them all as a child and am currently on a reread. I’m halfway through The Voyage of the Dawn Treader , one of my favourites. Reading Narnia as an adult hits differently. I can see what Lewis is doing with his story and his imaginary world, and where he’s going with it. I don’t mind that Prince Caspian sounds rather like an...

                                                                                  Picture Credit: Author's own  Not a headline I thought I’d ever write. Apologies if you've just choked on your cornflakes or sprayed your laptop with hot coffee. I know, and I'm with you.  Whenever I’m at the supermarket, my eyes get drawn to the selection of books their buyers choose to stock. I don’t know why I do this, because I’ve never bought a book there; I prefer to support bookshops. More than that, though, I’m always irritated by the relentless increase of celebrity authors. I’m not referring to those who have become famous by selling a ton of books, but to celebrities from other fields who suddenly ‘discover’ a hidden talent for casually knocking...