Hi everyone!
In this Issue:
Last night on #SJsTwitterBookClub
The Writers’ Lodge
Latest News
#SJsTwitterBookClub
This week’s #SJsTwitterBookClub featured author Wendy Erskine (@WednesdayErskin), who popped in to talk about her brilliant collection of short stories “Dance Move”.
Usually I’d ask our guest for a spoiler-free introduction to the book, but this time I asked Wendy if she had a favourite story from the collection. “I think my favourite might be Mathematics,” she said. “Golem was a lot of fun to write though.” Which of course made me want to read both these stories again!
We talked about how the book came about. I asked whether Wendy set out to write a series of stories that would hang together as one collection, or if it was more a case of her writing whatever stories came to mind and then choosing the ones that fit. “Well basically after my previous book,’ she said, “I didn't know what to do. And then Declan from Stinging Fly asked me if I wanted to do another book of short stories and I thought, yes, I do. So I just started writing. Because everything was fairly geographically circumscribed, there was a good chance that things would hang together. Also I think that my way of looking at things, the world or whatever, is fairly constant, so possibly if I wrote stories set on Mars, there would still be similar sorts of people.” We implored Wendy to write stories set on Mars, but she made no promises…
We talked about what Wendy likes to read.
(Click on the above tweet to be taken to the discussion on Twitter)
Another fascinating discussion about a fantastic book. If you haven’t read it yet, do so now!
The next #SJsTwitterBookClub will be on Thursday April 7th at 7pm (UK time). We'll be talking about Rowan Coleman’s brilliant “The Summer of Impossible Things”, and Rowan herself will join us! Just follow us both on Twitter to join in, and keep an eye on the hashtag.
Happy reading!
The Writers’ Lodge
Are you a writer? Do you want to write?
The Writers’ Lodge is a nurturing and supportive newsletter for anyone who is writing, or who is considering embarking on a writing project and wondering whether they have what it takes, or may even just be considering their first tentative steps into writing fiction.
Each month we’ll consider different aspects of the process of writing and editing a long piece of fiction, with articles and exercises designed to help the writer establish whether they’re on track or in need of course correction. The newsletters will include:
How to determine if your idea is good enough
How to navigate that tricky first draft
Dealing with difficult feedback from first readers
How to go about finding the perfect agent
Interviews with top authors and publishing professionals
Share your work in interactive Q&As with the group
My hope is that together we will create a supportive environment, with opportunity for subscribers to share their doubts, fears and (if they wish) their work, for the group to discuss.
The goal is to make the process of writing just that little bit less daunting, and the process of publishing a little bit less opaque...
How to sign up
I’ll be sending The Writer’s Lodge updates to all those with a paid subscription to this newsletter. I’ve kept the price affordable, so for less than the cost of a weekly coffee you’ll receive the updates and full access to the archive, plus you’ll be able to leave comments and be part of the growing community.
For a limited time I’m also offering the opportunity to become a ‘Founding Member’ of the community. Sign up at this level and I will read and give feedback on up to 5000 words of your work (either written or via Zoom, spaces limited).
I do hope you’ll join us to help build The Writers’ Lodge into an interactive resource for all those who want to write fiction, or improve their work.
Happy writing!
Latest News
There are still some places left on the writing retreat I’ll be leading at Chez Castillon in the south of France in May of this year. Take a look and do join us!