incorporating writing

Issue 6 Vol 4 CREATIVE WRITING

Lisha Aquino Rooney - Andrew Biswell - Toby Litt

Incorporating Writing
(ISSN 1743-0380)

Contents
Editorial I did it my way
Page

Editorial Team
Managing Editor/Columns & Articles Andrew Oldham Deputy Editor/Interviews G.P. Kennedy Reviews Editor Janet Aspey Arts Editor Sara-Jayne Parsons Sales & Marketing Team marketing@incorporatingwriting.co.uk Columnists Christine Brandel, Sofie Fowler Contributors Caroline Drennan, Ben Felsenburg, Mary Mazzilli, Rodri Mogford, Toby Litt, Rebecca Richards, Natasha Smith Cover Art Lisha Aquino Rooney, didnt visit often enough Design Incorporating Writing Contact Details http://www.incorporatingwriting.co.uk editor@incorporatingwriting.co.uk

Andrew Oldham bows out after seven years.

Interviews Andrew Biswell

G.P.Kennedy climbs into an academic bed with Biswell.

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Articles The Fender Telecaster

Toby Litt shares his secret.

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Creating The Drive To Write Portrait of a Creative Writing Workshop Columns Notes from America

Rebecca Richards on why Creative Writing courses are not all beer.

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Nastasha Smith shares her views.

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Christine Brandel from stateside reveals why being crazy helps

Its Always the Quiet Ones

Sofie Fowler tackles the BAFTA night.

Writing with Light Lisha Aquino Rooney Reviews

Janet Aspey introduces the last reviews.

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Incorporating Writing is an imprint of The Incwriters Society (UK). The magazine is managed by an editorial team independent of The Societys Constitution. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or part without permission of the publishers. We cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, reproduction of articles, photographs or content. Incorporating Writing has endeavoured to ensure that all information inside the magazine is correct, however prices and details are subject to change. Individual contributors indemnify Incorporating Writing, The Incwriters Society (UK) against copyright claims, monetary claims, tax payments / NI contributions, or any other claims. This magazine is produced in the UK. The Incwriters Society (UK) 2005-2009

News and Opportunities

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I did it my way

Editorial by Andrew Oldham

And so the end is near. Flick to the end of this magazine and it will be. We have been down this road together for seven years, through twenty five issues and more writers and poets then you could feasibly beat up at a Literature Festival. But dont be sad, dont cry, dont cheer (critics, we know where you keep your dictionaries). The end brings something new. I dont know what that is yet but Ill think of something before the end of this editorial. We have had fun, gone through all the glorious shades of anger and used all our crayons, used primarily over the years by our columnists, starting in red crayon with the lovely Andrew ODonnell - his columns received so much hate mail that he moved to South Korea citing that the neighbours there were

easier to get on with to our newest face and final cyan crayon, Sofie Fowler. Sofie over the last two issues has given us an insight into youth that makes half of you say, lucky cow and the remaining half grateful they will never see puberty again or an educational institute. With that in mind, this final issue is devoted to the very heart of this magazine, writing. It looks at the face of writing, the creation of Creative Writing courses marching across the land and the effects it has on the landscape. If you look at the above photo, you will just make out a Creative Writing course in the far distance, before it came, this was all industrial. Now that Creative Writing Course is waiting at the crossroads and whistling the best tune. So it goes. Love or hate them, the Creative Writing Course is a staple of higher education. Now, your kids can

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4 4 really existed, the past gave us Vesta curries, the future gave us Simon Cowell. So it goes. So to the present. I have done this for seven years with the aid of like minded people. They supported the idea of a magazine that was free and critical. I want to thank them all, in no particular order. If I did put them in order, theyd hunt me down and kill me like the dog I am. All I will say is that they were the best team an editor could want, and whether I cried, shouted or turned off their electricty when they didnt meet deadlines, I have loved them all - I am contractually obliged to say that as they are all stood in this room , clutching their P45s with bloody fingers. Bixby Monk, Samantha Morton, Ian Parks, Andrew ODonnell, Dave Wood, Rennie Parker, Sarah Hesketh, George Wallace, Sharon Sadle, Fiona Ferguson, Dan McTiernan, G.P. Kennedy, Christine Brandel, Janet Aspey, Valeria Kogan, Sara-Jayne Parsons, Chaz Brenchley, Jay Clifton, Maura Kennedy and Sofie Fowler, thank you . Thank you goes to all our contributors over the last seven years. Thank you, to all the publishers, agents and readers who got on board with us. You are all wonderful. So, enjoy this final issue with Toby Litt, photography by Lisha Aquino Rooney and the interview with Andrew Biswell. Revel in the last critical reviews, the informative articles and the closing news and opportunities. Bye. See you around.

become writers. As writers have always been kids this is not much progress and one wonders if Darwin had studied writers and poets whether he would have put forth a theory of devolution. Kids become writers, writers are kids, kids become writers and so and so on until the sun collapses and the BBC cover the apocalyspe by asking its viewers to send in their funny emails and their funny photos.

I have loved them all - I am contractually obliged to say that as they are all stood in this room, clutching their P45s with bloody fingers.
Creative Writing is on the rise and I say, go for it! Lets beat some imagination back into our youth. Beat them until they break away from plot driven TV episodes. Beat them until they stop regurgitating the same formats time after time but with a new protagonist (just a little bit more unsocialable, zany or crippled). Beat them with great novels, beat them with SF, show them what imagination gave to the nineteenth and twentieth century and what TV has done to the twenty-first. Beat them until they boycott the digital age and demand a simpler time when TV had only three channels and you could find something to watch on a Saturday night that didnt make you feel like going out with a nail gun and killing the neighbourhood cats. Beat them, and if you cant do that, join them. Remember I told you I would find something to look forward to!Embrace the new world of Creative Writing, the digital age of the book, the world of celebrity, the cult of crap. Yes, roll in it and be nostalgic for an age that never

Andrew Oldham is the Managing Editor/Columns for Incorporating Writing. He is an award winning writer and academic.

A Writers Secret Passion The Fender Telecaster

Short Article by Toby Litt

And when Bob Dylan went electrically out on the 1966 tour...he did so brandishing a black and white Telecaster

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To start with, Id have settled for any electric guitar. I remember looking, week after week, in the For Sale section of the Beds on Sunday, where one such instrument described as shaped like a handgun was perpetually, forlornly on sale for 60. I didnt have 60. I had a Spanish guitar. I was twelve years old. A couple of birthdays later, my parents took pity, and bought me that standard for beginning rock gods: the Les Paul copy. I liked it well enough. With my tinny little amp, I was lead guitarist in a dozen bands Senator, Mujaki, Space Band all of whose line-ups consisted of me, Luke Roberts (keyboards) and Mark Hammond (drums), plus one or two other friends. I played different styles as well as I was able. But the Les Paul never felt like my guitar; something about it just wasnt right. You see, Id started becoming clued-in to guitar culture. To outsiders, this is probably meaningless. But to guitarists particularly wannabe guitarists the axe you choose (and whether you choose to call it an axe (I dont (except just now))) is of total importance. Its not just about sound, its about an ethic a coherent system of values by which to live. In the 80s, the Les Paul was identified with players like Gary Moore (Parisian Walkways) and Jimmy Page (Stairway to Heaven). It was the emblematic guitar of bloat blues. This was not something I wanted to be associated with. This was not my ethic. It took until I was about fifteen, and all the dozen bands had broken up, before I got the guitar I really wanted. Almost. It was a Squier Telecaster copy, black with a white pickguard. There were two reasons for me desiring a Tele: Syd Barrett and Bob Dylan. Going back to the ethic of electric guitars, the Tele meant something exactly opposite to the

Gibson Les Paul. Where the Les Paul was bloat, the Tele was bone. The Telecaster was the thinking guitarists choice. It wasnt showy. It wasnt about heaviness. It even had famous faults a low E-string that always buzzed, however you set the thing up. But Syd Barrett played a Tele on the first couple of Pink Floyd albums all Cambridge genius and tinny charm. And when Bob Dylan went electrically out on the 1966 tour with the as-yet-unnamed The Band (Judas!), he did so brandishing a black and white Telecaster. And he was, at this point, certifiably the coolest man who has ever lived. In 1995, when I got my first book deal, I took my advance straight to Denmark Street (aka Tin Pan Alley) and bought a genuine Telecaster in tobacco sunburst. Finally.

Toby Litt grew up in Ampthill, Bedfordshire. He is a Granta Best of Young British Novelist and a regular on Radio 3s The Verb. He is currently working on the film version of King Death. His website is at www.tobylitt.com.

Notes from America: The Crazy Liar

Column by Christine Brandel

Being able to develop a convincing voice is probably one of the greatest gifts of being a creative writer. Its also one of the best tricks up a liars sleeve, and it sure makes going insane a hell of a lot easier to tolerate. Trust me, I know, Im a writer. Im also a crazy liar.

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Sometimes I tell stories about funny things that have happened to me. But they havent really happened to me; they happened to a friend of mine. Is that lying? Actually the friend of mine isnt really a friend at all and the funny things didnt really happen at all. Now am I a liar? Or am I just mad? One thing (besides Baron Mnchhausen) that ties deceit, madness and great storytelling together is a strong voice. I believe the most important lesson of creative writing courses Ive both taken and taught is that voice is key to good writing, the solid gold band which binds the reader to the writer. By all means seduce me with an exciting plot, beautiful imagery and a moving theme. But without a solid voice, youre going to force me to stray. As a student, I was taught that voice was most important when it came to dialogue writing and it is true that dialogue is a great place to build voice. When it comes to the words your characters are going to say, they have got to sound like something your characters would say. While this remark may appear obvious, it isnt always put into practice. I once took a few lines of young characters dialogue out of some teen novels and asked my secondary school students to guess the age of the person saying (not writing) the lines. If they felt the voice was not authentically teenaged, I knew it was going to be a struggle to get them to buy the rest of the book. So dialogue is important. But all writing has a speaker in it, regardless of whether or not characters actually talk to each other. Someone is telling the story, the poem, the essay, and, whether its a first person narrator or an all knowing one, that speakers voice must be solid and believable. It doesnt have to be likeable or reliable. It just needs to sound real. And, of course, it doesnt even have to be real. I, like

most literary-minded young women who grew up in America, am a fan of Sylvia Plath. Her poems speak to me, they sound real. But theres no way for me to know that the voice I find so true actually was Sylvia Plaths true voice (despite her being a confessional poet, her life was clearly more complicated than simply I rise with my red hair and eat men like air). You dont have to be pouring out your own life to use voice effectively. Thats where the art of voice really shines: tell me something in a voice that rings true, and it wont matter if what youre saying is actually true or not. (Please note: this advice applies to creative writing only, not to conversations with partners, bank managers or the police.) In fact, Im not even convinced that speaking in our own voice is always the most effective for writers. Sometimes its easier (or more interesting) to use a completely different voice. Ive led workshops for people with chronic pain and have found that they often thrive when they can write as someone else. They step away from their own voices and live (and speak) vicariously through the characters they create. One woman wrote a short piece about divorce, which was achingly heartbreaking. Her classmates responded to it as if it were true, but she confessed that not only had she never been married but she had actually enjoyed writing it because she found an escape from her own pain in someone elses. Ive often wished I had some pithy suggestion (for my students or myself) about how to master voice. Im afraid the best Ive been able to come up with is to really know your speaker. If your speaker is you, well, youre probably a bit ahead of the game (if not, sign up for a year of therapy and get your editor to foot the bill). Otherwise, decide who the speaker is and really get to know her. This may mean doing research, particularly in three aspects.

incorporating writing

Firstly, you need to know your characters background. Who is she and what has she lived through? Find out as many specifics as possible and dont make assumptions about the universality of certain experiences. You may have come out during last years Pride London parade, but coming out was probably a much different experience in 1960 (or this year in Iran). Research so you know. Secondly, you may need to learn about the language or dialect your character uses, the time period in which she lived or the country she calls home. Avoid insulting an entire nation by winging a Russian accent or presuming all Americans sound like George W (come on, yall, that there assumption stings like the dickens!). Lastly, step out of the library for the final trick to a strong voice. Ive read so many works that get all those practical things right but still dont ring true. You must get to know your speaker as a person: what makes her afraid, what makes her blush? You may never make reference to her earliest memory in your writing, but if you know it, youll know her and it will be easier to write in her voice. Being able to develop a convincing voice is probably one of the greatest gifts of being a creative writer. Its also one of the best tricks up a liars sleeve, and it sure makes going insane a hell of a lot easier to tolerate. Trust me, I know, Im a writer. Im also a crazy liar. Christine Brandel is a British-American teacher and writer, whose work has appeared in journals on both sides of the Atlantic. She regularly tells lies at http://everyoneneeds analgonquin.wordpress.com. She thanks Incorporating Writing for their inspiration and friendship.

Reviews
There are more and more of us wanting to do it. Go on Creative Writing courses, I mean. All of us do so, me included, with the hope that this will help us, one day, get one of those ever so elusive book deals. Personally, Im tired of all the celebrity memoirs that seem to be everywhere, and I am perturbed by the rise in ghost-written novels which lessen the novel as an art form. I want to read something that an author has clearly toiled over, taken care with, thought about. I have always been in admiration for those that see writing as a craft, who want to challenge the boundaries already set, who want to take up the gauntlet and do something fresh. For that reason the section is a mixture of wellestablished writers at the top of the game, and young writers who have graduated from, and are even now teaching on Creative Writing Courses. Our Recommended Read this time round is A S Byatts latest, The Childrens Book. Caroline Drennan takes a look inside Penelope Livelys Family Album, and Ben Felsenburg takes a step inside the darkly comic world of Dan Rhodes Gold. Mary Mazzilli ponders the rising trend in outsider fiction with Sana Krasikovs collection of short stories One More Year, and Rhodri Mogford looks at one of our freshest new writers, Trevor Byrnes Ghosts and Lightning. Enjoy.

Janet Aspey is a recent MA Creative Writing graduate. She is particularly interested in feminist history and literature, and is currently working on her second novel.

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Featured Review Recommended Read The Childrens Book A S Byatt Chatto & Windus, 2009 18.99 ISBN 9780701183899 615pp
And because of this I was not disappointed, as perhaps I might have been if I did not implicitly understand the compulsion that overtakes one to write: the sleepless nights, the overtaking grip of inspiration and the tireless toil to find it, the self-doubt and the need for acclaim, all of which Byatt explores so brilliantly here. The Childrens Book is a novel of epic scope, and one that takes a great deal of time to fully digest upon its closing. One expects Byatt to produce reams of intelligent prose that challenges, and this novel certainly delivers. The lengthy descriptive set pieces in each chapter bring to mind many a passage in the great Victorian novels, and as such this novel in its historical setting seems to sit easily with our expectations. Like in Middlemarch there are a great many characters in which we must invest, and slowly we do, inter-weaving between their stories with the omnipresent third person narrator. My only criticism, and it is minor, is that these descriptive pieces sometimes go on too long, particularly in the passages that provide a necessary historical backdrop to the unfolding narrative of the characters. These passages were disappointingly oldfashioned, felt dusty. We begin with a working-class boy, Phillip Warren, who has fled the potteries and is hiding in the crypt of the newly build V&A museum. Two boys, Tom Wellwood (the

Byatts Possession has become a landmark book in my writing subconscious: one that upon its reading both inspired and overwhelmed me. It has stayed with me every-bit-as-much as Eliots Middlemarch, Austens Pride and Prejudice, Hardys Far From The Madding Crowd, Bronts Wuthering Heights and Atwoods The Handmaids Tale. Each one of these novels wormed inside my impressionable mind; layered my imagination with their textures, and have coloured and shaded my writing ever since. So it was with eagerness and expectant joy that I picked up Byatts The Childrens Book. This was not a novel which could now be read with the pure eyes of a reader, but one to be read with the far more sceptical and cynical eyes of a young writer striving to succeed in my craft; hone my skills and satisfy the severest of critics, myself.

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son of a famous writer of magical tales, Olive Wellwood), and Julian Cain (the son of the museums Special Keeper of Precious Metals, Prosper Cain), catch him sketching one of the exhibits. It is Phillips introduction to their respective parents that provides the catalyst for the narrative. Olive is enchanted by the boys story, which is so like her own well-hidden beginnings, and Prosper Cain with his evident artistic talent. As well-meaning Fabians they make the decision to assist the boy. And so Phillip joins the large family of Olive Wellwood, in the Wellwood magical country home Todefright, just in time for their annual Midsummer Party. The reenactment at the party of Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream, is not an accidental placement in the narratives establishment. For behind the magic and the comedy and the confusion in the play, lies the importance we place on dreams and stories in the establishment of our own identities and ambitions. As children we are all brought up on fairytales, and we only have to look at the success of Harry Potter and the Twilight series of vampire tales, to see that we still have this need to confront the dark, need the framework of a story to learn the difference between rightand-wrong. Not accidental then that Byatt should choose as the setting this particular time in history, the late Victorian Edwardian era, when stories for children were the most popular forms of fiction for adult and child alike. This theme becomes even more powerful because of our knowledge of what comes after. The shadow of World War 2 looms over the idyllic scenes, and the growing children, like any ogre or evil monster in a tale, and movingly intrudes upon the narratives conclusion, as it must. Perhaps this is why Olives fairytales are dark and menacing, the puppet-shows of the visiting German puppeteer magical and frightening, and the pots made by

the potter Benedict Fludd, to which Phillip is apprenticed, fantastical and gruesome. Upon completion of the novel they seem more innocent and childlike, naive even, than they do upon their first reading; as if they too belong to an idyllic time we have greatly romanticised, perhaps wrongly, after the unimaginable loss of two world wars, and the now on-going threat of terrorism that almost daily reaches our newspapers and television screens. Visions and shadows of people can be re-arranged like stained-glass pieces in a window, or chessman on a board. I found myself caring a great deal for these visions and shadows of people that Byatt creates; their flaws are not shirked from, no one is the obvious protagonist, and I think this is what made the book so powerful and moving at its close. We are given realisitc glimpses of characters in moments of hope, of doubt, of insecurity, of blinding ambition, of foolishness, of kindness, of cruelty, of happiness, of despair always coloured and textured with what has gone before, of the secrets that are hidden, and the promise of what is to come. The Childrens Book is a powerful and moving read, all the more so for it demanding a great deal from its reader. It is also a hopeful book; in Byatts reflectiveness, and in the resilience of human nature that it shows. Read this book, and savour every word, every moment, for we are such stuff as dreams are made on. Janet Aspey is a recent MA Creative Writing graduate. She is particularly interested in feminist history and literature, and is currently working on her second novel.

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Family Album Penelope Lively Penguin Fig Tree, 2009 16.99 ISBN: 978-1-905-49045-5 261pp
course the ecstatic, absorbed, untroubled childhood preserved in a myriad of photographs will be undermined; the interest lies in how it is done. Family Album covers the best part of half a century in the life of the Harper family, through a variety of viewpoints and snapshots, which can, because this is narrative, become more like home videos; they are both funny and moving. Inevitably, they give us more information about events, relationships and the family history while still underlining how incomplete such accounts can be, and how selectively observant we are of the core events and details in our own lives. Key questions are raised; How did Gina get the scar on her forehead? Who shredded the painstaking notes for Charless new book? How is it that Rogers amazing summer is seen by Katie as one commotion after another? Why is it that Allisons fertility and devotion to family life results in her childrens Diaspora and the absence of a single grandchild as her children approach their forties? Why is the Au pair still living in the family house? What is particularly striking about the novel is the way in which Lively manages her many perspectives. The first few short paragraphs set the tone: Philip...saw,Gina saw, Philip saw It seems quite natural that Gina, the second child, is the first and leading Harper voice. She has grown away from

This book is aptly titled, and jacketed too: a comfortingly shabby still life of coats, bags and shoes on hooks, six pairs of wellies arranged by size, the smallest in bright colours. A family, then, the makeup of which we begin to piece together; and if the book is to be worth reading, happy snaps are bound to be papering over inevitable cracks. All a little too obvious perhaps? Of course it is obvious, Penelope Lively might say. After all, in the opening sentences, Gina, visiting her family home after a years absence, senses her whole life flash by, As the drowning are said to do. Within a page she experiences nostalgia, exasperation and a passionate desire to be with her partner in their flat in Camden. Of

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home as a journalist, is used to engaging critically with lifes oddities, and although as a child she did question more than her siblings, she is really prompted to review her perspective by Philip, her new partner, who is fascinated by the exotic nature of her family life. However, there are nine characters in the family, including the au pair. Lively often juggles several viewpoints at once, in a way that is reminiscent of Virginia Woolfs The Waves, although Livelys diction is appropriately modern and concise: Sandra will remember feeling sick. Charles will remember saying to Alison, get that bloody pond filled in. An important theme of the book is our tendency to see people as types. Allison distils her cookery students into a conglomerate kitchen greenhorn who keeps on bungling her hollandaise and collapsing her souffl whist sensing that she herself appears as some kind of subspecies. Sandra is classified by her father as a late-twentieth-century adolescent for whom appearance is of central significance. We are critical of him but then Lively has created a large number of characters in this relatively short novel. For example, Sandra is so often characterised through brief notes on her appearance that she is unconvincingly shallow in the early chapters. Nevertheless, in general, the combination of extended interior monologues, dreams, nocturnal voices, phone calls and ordinary conversations vividly recreates the complex nature of this family. The final inclusion of email, although aptly contemporary, brilliantly revives the flavour of childhood relationships despite the separation of continents. There are further layers of perspective. So whos right? says Roger. Who sees all of it? Much is seen by the house

itself: Allersmead, as it is evocatively named, has seen 43,000 days sitting out decade upon decade of springs but in these changing times, neither the house, nor the omniscient author will have the final word. The book is about this particular family, families in general, oppositions and recurring questions about ways of living. Is chaotic fecundity better than a childless cerebral existence? Is a deeply flawed, enduring marriage better than serial relationships? Is continuity better than flux? Novels of young centuries have explored these issues in the past, and Family Album has definite echoes of Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice and EM Forsters Howards End . Livelys twenty-first century novel shows that,increasingly, there are no easy answers.

Caroline Drennan is a writer and a teacher. Runner up in the Orange Short Story competition in 2005, she has recently gained an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia portraitsiberuttrek

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Gold Dan Rhodes Canongate, 2008 7.99 ISBN 978 1 84767 048 9 208pp
impatient reader, make me laugh. Two weak gags in succession and the book is flung across the room. Even the greatest stand-ups Richard Pryor, for example rarely went much over an hour in their performances. Read at a page a minute and the comic novel has to succeed for double that time. My copy of Dan Rhodess Gold remained resolutely unflung. It scores its successes like the well-paced century of a master batsman: the runs tick over nicely with smile-inducing phrases and images, and every few pages comes the well-struck boundary of an outright audible laugh. Dying is easy. Comedy is hard. The (possibly apocryphal) final words of the great British theatre actor, Sir Donald Wolfit, apply by a quantum leap of a degree to the prose writer. Should you be the author of, say, a novel of searing socio-political significance, or youve just turned out the third volume of your suffering-laden victim-lit autobiography, take heart that the reader is your accomplice. Having decided to pick up such serious material, they will endure every morbid or disgusting detail, or even outright boredom, telling themselves that wading through these pages is a worthy endeavour that will, ultimately, make them a better person. The comic writer, by contrast, has no such hiding place. Every paragraph is a challenge. Go on, demands the now Rhodess heroine is Miyuki, who puts herself among the eccentric characters of a Welsh coastal resort each year for a two-week break from her girlfriend Grindl, and the painting and decorating company they run together. Her holiday is made up of solitary walks, sustained by a diet of copious amounts of comfort junk food (I wonder if Flamin Hot Monster Munch has ever been before, or will ever be again named-checked in fiction). Shes a quiet type, and in the bar of The Anchor they know her from previous years, but only as Japanese Girl (she was fathered abroad but born in Wales, despite which, because of her physiognomy, they expect her to know everything about the country), under which name shes entered with short Mr Hughes, tall Mr Hughes and Mr Puw for two Monday quiz nights annually.

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The plot centres around the consequences of an early morning encounter by the sea between tall Mr Hughes and Miyuki, after hes found her gazing at the rock shes clandestinely spray-painted gold, but his disappearance and her anxious wait for his return is mostly a gossamer-thin thread of narrative on which to hang digression, diversion and detail. They say kill your darlings, but if you did that in Gold thered be little left which is emphatically not meant as a criticism. The sub-stories of Septic Barry, the caravan park lothario, and his band the Children from Previous Relationships (long-established but yet to actually play a gig), tall Mr Hughess involvement with the causes of the dwarf community, and how the landlord of The Boat managed to alienate his entire clientele with a misguided campaign of deliberate foul-mouthed hostility are surprising, funny and portioned out in just the right amounts. I guess you might think of Cold Comfort Farm, but more than anything Im reminded of PG Wodehouse. Only a fool would read Gold and berate it for lack of realism, any more than you should bring the master to task for the way his Never-Neverland London fails to take in the Great War and the Depression. Wodehouse has his bachelors-abouttown and aunts, and here Rhodess characters are just as fixed and innocent, which is a hell of a trick to pull off in our rapacious, cynical era. Id part company only over the ending, which is in itself a brilliant couple of pages of writing, but in trying to turn Miyukis fate and the novels tone on a sixpence to a darker ambiguity, I wonder if Rhodes is running scared of the neatness of a happy resolution that might have been more in keeping with whats gone before. Reviewed by Ben Felsenburg.

My copy of Dan Rhodess Gold remained resolutely unflung. It scores its successes like the wellpaced century of a master batsman: the runs tick over nicely with smile-inducing phrases and images, and every few pages comes the well-struck boundary of an outright audible laugh.

Pen for hire Ben Felsenburg is currently covering prime-time TV for a national newspaper and scribbling contemporary dance reviews while busily not writing a novel on death, golf and postportraitsiberuttrek colonial cuisine.

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Interview by Alexander Laurence

One More Year Sana Krasikov Portobello Books, 2009 10.99 ISBN: 9781846271779 256pp
protagonists pasts. At times this narrative style can complicate the readers understanding of a text that otherwise is simple, fast paced, and with just the right amount of atmospheric insight into the protagonists feelings and visions of the world. Krasikovs characters all share a heroic sentiment of sacrifice and endurance, mixed with a grave understanding of life that is never pathetically pessimistic. Khaled Hosseini, the author of A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner, talks about the humour in Sanas writing. In my opinion this humour contains and softens the scornful pessimism typical of many Russian classics, as the narratives build-up to the characters resolutions. Unfortunately, my knowledge of Georgian/Ukrainian literature is quite limited to make any appropriate comparison. The eight stories can be artificially grouped into three kinds. First, we find the stories - Companion, Maia in Yonkers, Asal, Better than Half - which are about female migr in humble jobs as carers or waitresses, struggling to fit into the new country because of what they left behind. Both Maia and Giulia in Maia in Yonkers and Asal, respectively, left their children to the care of relatives back home, and are now living in precarious situations where they are treated as second class citizens. Ilona in Companion feels an outsider in both her

One More Year is the first collection of short stories by the States- based, Ukrainian/Georgian writer, Sana Krasikov. An upcoming talent, she has already won critical acclaim and recognition in America. What is the reason for her success? This collection comprises of eight short stories, which show writing of some considerable charm and sparkle. All the stories share a common focus, and a similar style. With the exception of two, all the main female protagonists are migr to America. The stories deal with these womens relationships with their new country and the country left behind, with men, as migr in between spaces and times, their present and past - where both past and future are austere and difficult. The narrative is almost filmic as the plot develops through scenic snapshots and short flashbacks, which introduce the

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dealings with her compatriots and with men in New York; her sole companion is an elderly sick man who is also socially and emotionally isolated. Better than Half presents Anya who is struggling to fit into the new society. However, unlike Giulia and Maia, this character manages to achieve her intentions: after her tribulation with her American husband, she manages to obtain permanent residency in the States. The second grouping - The Repatriates, There will be no fourth Rome (both at the end of the collection) - depict the characters returning to their country of origin, in this case Russia; a country full of religious fanatics and single-minded entrepreneurs. The Repatriates tells the story of a Russian couple moving back to Russia: sees Grisha, the husband who, blinded by his ambitions as an entrepreneur, coupled with his national and religious fanaticism, estrange from his long-term wife, Lera. There will be no fourth Rome is about three women: Regina, who goes back to her native Russia for a visit after ending an affair with a married man, Larisa, the estranged wife of Reginas dead uncle, and Nona, Reginas childhood friend who is pregnant by a married German entrepreneur in Russia. Similarly to Better Half, which presents Anyas husband as a weak, violent and shallow figure, the tone of these two stories resonates of an easy anti-male feminism. The third grouping - The Alternate and Debt - have male characters as the main protagonists, who again are portrayed as men of weak intention and conviction, despite being totally settled in the new country. Returning to my questions at the beginning, I cannot deny Sanas talent: especially in the first two short stories -

Companion and Maia in Yonkers - which are cleverly written, and depict protagonists and situations with genuine compassion. The rest of the stories however present some flaws. The protagonists female heroism becomes tiring and redundant, reducing everything around it into clich; the men, society, are one-sided, artificial stereotypes or unforgiving tyrants. These stories also suffer from a narrative that is like a fixed mould; endlessly repeating itself, offering no surprises. The greatest success of this collection possibly lies in the subject matter. In a literary era where publishers, and therefore readers, seem to be ever more eager to learn about the different, the foreign, the migr that lives on our doorstep, and to look at their condition with compassion and post-colonial sympathy, it asks questions of the role of the migr writer. Myself being a writer and migr, has to ask the question whether this is perhaps turning the work of an migr, and their experience, into a genre of writing that too easily attracts critical acclaim, more for its topic than its skill. I have no answer to this, if this is indeed the case, only a humble remark: if for most readers this collection makes an enjoyable and interesting reading experience, then perhaps it follows that the exploitation of ones own diversity and the subsequent victimization of ones own condition makes it a far less remarkable one. Mary Mazzilli is a poet, playwright, academic essayist and a PhD student. She has worked as Literature assessor for the Art Council, she is currently working on her third Play.

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Ghosts and Lightning Trevor Byrne Canongate Books, 2009 10.99 ISBN 978-1847673299 320pp
sensitive buddhist Pajo, and the remarkably tragi-comic birthday party fiasco that takes place when Maggit tries to bring his son Anthony a stolen computer console for a gift, are written with a conviction and paternalistic attention to detail that you cannot help but respond to. Stylistically Byrne shows signs throughout that he is willing to be creative, even innovative if the opportunity arises and the book will benefit. This is easily identifiable in Byrnes conscious switch to a crescendoing volley of anonymous speech to build tension, confusion and excitement in the sance blackout. Elsewhere Byrne is able to pepper the text with pithy, mellifluous phrases like still pocked with British bulletholes and an underlying peculiar wit that allows the writing to bounce along merrily and melodically when the author so chooses. At times Ghosts and Lightning even seems to subtly delve into profound meditations upon familial love, bereavement and adult independence. Thankfully it always seems to do this in a manner that is more thoughtful and moving than preachy or detached. My only major objection is that the book seemed to lack a central narrative anchor. When you dig below the lovingly-crafted characters, the show-stopping episodes of emotional climax, the meaningful quasiphilosophical musings and the adept language employed by the author, you are not in all honesty left with that much of a

This debut novel by Trevor Byrne is an emotionally sophisticated offering that proves incredibly absorbing. Ghosts and Lightning sees us follow the story of our Irish narrator Denny. Denny has been summoned back to his native Dublin by his sister Paula, away from the life he has been trying to put together in Wales. Their mother of which they were both close to, is dead. Denny returns to find old friends, as well as two violent older brothers unchanged, Paula troubled by mysterious supernatural goings on in the family home, as he battles to overcome his devastating grief and find some direction to his life. The strengths of this book clearly lie in Byrnes ability to construct rich, believable characters and evocative, powerful scenes. Figures like the simple, drug-fuelled,

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story. It is difficult to maintain a genuine interest in where the novel is taking you; you care about the protagonist Denny, and indeed this is what enables you to feel a certain degree of satisfaction at the close of the novel: but the narrative itself just feels like a vehicle for Denny and all of the other aforementioned qualities that the book possesses.

Writing with Light

Lisha Aquino Rooney: My own sweet melancholia Lisha Aquino Rooney is an American artist living in London. She received her MA Fine Art degree from Central Saint Martins in 2006, was twice bestowed the Photo of the Week award by The Saatchi Gallery and received an honourable mention for the 2007 Berenice Abbot Prize for an Emerging Photographer. She has participated in several group art exhibitions in London, most recently one entitled Spare the Horses at Vegas Gallery. She had her first solo exhibition entitled All These Broken Hallelujahs in the US in 2008. My own sweet melancholia considers a world in which the detail becomes the only nurturing part of existence. The photos are part of a larger series taken over a five year period tracking the photographers journey through the detail of the cityscape. Since giving birth to her son Enlai in 2007, he has been the main subject of her photography. She has also focused her energies on launching Oomphalos, a baby and toddler programme which focuses on nurturing the connection between parent/carer and child, offering ballet, art, language, music, and yoga classes.

My only major objection is that the book seemed to lack a central narrative anchor. When you dig below the lovingly-crafted characters... you are not in all honesty left with that much
It is clear that Ghosts and Lightning is a promising effort from a very talented young writer. The depth of humanity the book demonstrates and the quality of writing alone are enough to elevate the book into the category of good or even very good. Yet until Trevor Byrne is able to channel his undoubted talents into a story thats really worth telling, good rather than great is all he can hope to achieve. Lets hope he summons that killer tale soon.

Rhodri Mogford is an Oxford graduate in English, with an MA in Film from UCL. He is Welsh, passionate and dedicated to literature, the arts, and all things cultural. He currently works in the editorial department at Continuum Books in London.

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Lisha Aquino Rooney, didnt visit often enough 2006

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Lisha Aquino Rooney, vicar 2009

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Lisha Aquino Rooney, cultiavte 2005

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Lisha Aquino Rooney, the light at 11 oclock 2006

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Lisha Aquino Rooney, a different time 2007

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Lisha Aquino Rooney, loose 2009

Creating The Drive To Write

Article by Rebecca Richards

Many of the other students chose to work solely on getting drunk and going clubbing, which is why they have a degree in Creative Writing, but no actual creative writing to show for it, effectively making their time and money spent worthless to any employers.

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The obvious debate surrounding Creative Writing courses is whether they help or hinder the writing process. While one can argue endlessly for or against the actual practical application of what is taught within these courses, I believe a more interesting discussion is on the benefit of spending money on a C.W. course, and what it allows you to achieve outside the classroom. Aside from discussions with teachers and tutors correcting your creativity which, despite helping development within a set framework, is not necessarily an indication of how to be successful, writing courses can give students that precious commodity: time. How many novels or books of poetry or short stories lie unwritten because of a lack of time or money? Arguably, one could say that perhaps the bursting literary world is not in want of these works, that if the writers behind them lack the passion or drive to create them then they cannot be of much value. This example of writers elitism condemns the father of four or the home care-worker or the woman holding down three jobs, and refuses to acknowledge their stories on this basis. Both short courses and lengthier BAs in Creative Writing can help immensely, if one feels a passion for writing but is unable to take the time to find a voice in their everyday lives. Weekend writing courses are wonderful if you want to refresh your mind. It is a guilt-free holiday in which you are allowed, in fact encouraged, to just sit and think. While this is fantastic if you have the money (many stayaway courses cost hundreds) it seems a little sad that we do not allow ourselves the space to relax in the first place, without needing to pay someone to tell us not to worry, that sitting and thinking may not look productive but it can be. Of course, these weekends are also often full of seminars and group discussions

designed to empower you back into your writing, but the most valuable piece of knowledge people seem to get out of this time away is that it is perfectly okay to allow yourself time to write. Writing is not simply about putting pen to paper, or fingertips to the keys, there must be some cognitive process beforehand, even if it is simply one spark of an idea to set the whole thing off. If one is never allowed the space to form this idea, to simply sit and think for a while and let ideas come, then nothing can be produced from it. Now, the Creative Writing BA is not exactly a qualification thought very highly of. If you are spending thousands on getting a degree without the guarantee of a highly paid job upon completion, then you had better set about squeezing as much as you can out of it. A whole three years of study, particularly if youve been able to discontinue work, allows ample time for creativity. The average amount of hours my Creative Writing course spent in the classroom or lecture hall was eight per week. The time between the lessons is when you can spend hours and days working on individual projects. I wrote a novella, a collection of poetry, a handful of plays and a couple of articles, and still managed to spend a good amount of time down the pub with friends. Many of the other students chose to work solely on getting drunk and going clubbing, which is why they have a degree in Creative Writing, but no actual creative writing to show for it, effectively making their time and money spent worthless to any employers. This is not a degree to pursue because one simply does not know what to do. Still, aside from having the time to work on a project, from foundation to formation, another positive aspect of taking a degree course is the motivation

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that surrounds you. As I was assured by countless lecturers, its not about whether or not you have the talent. Talent, in this increasingly connected age, is abundant. I can go online and find any number of talented hidden writers and poets (and any number of terrible slashfic* writers) that have little to no hope of being published because talent is not enough. So its not about talent. Its not even about whether you have found that inclination to write. Its about drive. Its about pushing your work on anyone and everyone that might get you somewhere. Creative Writing courses cannot teach you how to be talented; they can only work on practical skills. They cannot teach you how to have the inclination; they can only offer ideas of where to begin

will. A student, who may not be the most talented, but certainly the most dedicated, will take that advice and throw themselves into their work, and achieve that goal, while the rest of us mutter I could have done that. What is perhaps most worthwhile about taking a Creative Writing course is the cold harsh slap of reality. You are in a class of perhaps a hundred. Next year there will be a hundred more, and thats only at this institution. These courses are springing up all over the world, and if you want to make a living from writing, youd better find that drive to push what you do. Creative Writing courses can and do push you into having that drive, regardless of their actual content. *Do not google.

What is perhaps most worthwhile about taking a Creative Writing course is the cold harsh slap of reality.
In a Film course I attended, the lecturer began by saying that each and every one of us would be famous film-makers within two years, regardless of how talented we became, on the condition that we make twenty short films in that time. The possibility of achieving this is little to none because, as we found out, even short ten-minute films take weeks to shoot, and require a heck of a lot of money. More money than my student bank account at the time could handle. And yet, there was that tantalising idea, that if we just applied ourselves wholeheartedly and did nothing else but make these films, that we would be able to make money from this craft. Needless to say, none of us accomplished this, but it is only a matter of time before someone

Rebecca Richards is currently on a Creative Writing BA with the intention of getting up the courage to try and have her poetry published. She spent a year teaching in Viet Nam, which is the primary source of her inspiration. She dislikes being asked my age as she is still in her twenties.

Lisha Aquino Rooney

incorporating writing Andrew Biswell:

Interview by GP Kennedy

Behind Academia

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Amateurs and nonwriters should probably not be allowed to teach writing courses at postgraduate level. In what sense are they qualified to do this?

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I caught up with Andrew Biswell. Biswell is principal lecturer in English and Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University and academic director of the Manchester Writing School. He is the author of The Real Life of Anthony Burgess, published by Picador. We took time out of his bust schedule to discuss both the world of writing and academia. How does a literary biographer wind up as Principal Lecturer in English and Creative Writing? Or vice versa? Im not aware of any disjunction between these activities. I was lucky to have been taught by two very accomplished literary biographers when I was at university Martin Stannard at Leicester and Jeremy Treglown at Warwick. Reading their books persuaded me that scholarship could be presented in a popular or commercial way. Although biography was at one time regarded with suspicion in some academic places, that attitude seems to have disappeared almost entirely. I applied for my job the Manchester Writing School at MMU because I wanted to work with the other people who were teaching there: Michael Schmidt, Jeffrey Wainwright, Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy. The team has grown substantially since I arrived. It could be said and seen that the academic world is awash with writing schools. Most universities also run very popular postgraduate courses in local history, philosophy and womens studies, but nobody ever suggests that there are too many of these. Clearly there is a demand from would-be students for postgraduate writing courses. The majority of students pay their own fees, and in most cases they are very committed and serious-minded. I remember Douglas Dunn saying once

that his School of Writing at St Andrews was a place where like-minded individuals could meet and talk about their writing. Thats true, but really, how does one differentiate between, for example the offering of MMU, Oxford University and the ubiquitous summer writing schools? I have no experience of summer schools, and no opinions about the ancient universities. If I were applying for a creative writing MA course, I would want to find out who my teachers would be and what they had published. Reading their books would be the best way to decide whether or not I wanted to be taught by them.Im told that some writing courses are taught by people who have never published anything. This, to me, is astonishing. Its very important to the Manchester Writing School that all of our tutors are experienced, professional writers who understand the process of publication because they have been through it themselves. In many cases they have also worked as editors and/or literary journalists. Amateurs and nonwriters should probably not be allowed to teach writing courses at postgraduate level. In what sense are they qualified to do this? It is a horrifying thought but what would Burgess think of the inexorable march of writing schools? Anthony Burgess taught creative writing at Princeton, North Carolina, Iowa, Buffalo, and at City College in New York. By all accounts he was a very good teacher. He draws on his experience of teaching creative writing in New York in a novel, The Clockwork Testament. Yes, but isnt a quantitative analysis [marking; academic rating] of literature and poetry like plaiting soup? Like most people, I make value judgements all the time when Im

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reading, even if the text is a newspaper or a web page. I ask myself: Am I enjoying this? Am I interested in it? Is it well written or badly written? Am I persuaded by the argument? How far do I care about it? Do I want to carry on reading it? All readers, whether theyre trained or not, must be asking these questions and arriving at conclusions about what theyre looking at. When you buy a book from a shop, youre making a series of judgements about the value of what is on the shelves, and rejecting the books you dont want or cant afford. As a reader and as a writer, theres a good deal to be gained from reflecting on these processes. Judgement and analysis are inevitable aspects of reading, so why not examine how they work? It will make you more alert as a reader. What do you see as the measurable benefit of this march? Some very good books are being published which would not have been written if their authors hadnt benefited from guidance from the people who taught them on their Creative Writing MA courses. Many of our students are talented but unconfident about the idea of themselves as writers. Nobody has ever given them permission to write a book before, or a deadline. Such things can be very encouraging. Are too many students being given falsely elevated expectations by too many writing schools in the pursuit of profit? Publication is unlikely, and people are told this very clearly when they apply. We dont make false promises to our students, most of whom are following the course for reasons of personal development. They want to become better readers, better editors, better journalists, better teachers. A world in which there are more literate people can

never be a bad place. Most students have no realistic expectation of being published in book form, although its comparatively easy to have your poems and stories accepted by good literary magazines. Appearing in print indicates that a standard has been met. Anyone can publish on the internet. As for profit, Im told that MMU loses money by running postgraduate courses, because the size of the groups has to be small. If we were interested in making money from fees, we would teach more undergraduate students in groups of fifty. We have good connections with the publishing industry. Agents and editors want to visit MMU to meet our students and solicit their manuscripts. Weve also established a mentoring scheme with a London literary agency, whereby each year a number of graduates from the Manchester Writing School are given 12 months of free advice after theyve left us. Their work will be read, and detailed comments will be offered. That kind of access to senior publishing people is hard to get. One of the things were keen to warn students about is the danger of submitting your work before its ready. This can be very damaging and self-destructive. Whats next for Andrew Biswell? Im writing another biography and preparing a critical edition of a novel. The Manchester Writing School at MMU will continue to do what it does. Weve expanded into online teaching, and I expect well be doing more of this in the future. GP Kennedy is the Deputy Editor/Interviews. He is a writer, lover of language and would-be goliard. Further he is a passionate pedagogue and an alliteration amateur. be a professional goalkeeper.

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Portrait of a Creative Writing Workshop

Article by Nastasha Smith

Five years ago I moved to a beautiful coastal town in southern Spain called Tarifa. Lush and remote, I quickly felt at home amongst the winding cobbled streets, endless sunshine and migrant population. I moved to Tarifa with the idea of setting up a creative writing workshop. I was confident its unique mix of rural cool would be a tonic and an inspiration to other writers. I put the plan in motion and IN THE WRITE LIGHT was created. True, my goal was utopian and had little to do with the reality of running a business. I envisioned magnificent tutors, passionate students, challenging classes, marathon lunches filled with endless debate and happy chatter. Upon departure, my guests would be forced to admit their stay in Tarifa had been one of the most amazing creative moments

of their lives!The first workshop was a test. Selling it was daunting, but I drummed up four willing students. My tutor was noted Irish dramatist, Nicole Rourke, whod travelled Europe with her one-woman show, The Tango Monologues. I learned a lot from this experience, most notably that the best of intentions do not prevent the innate complications of dealing with people. To house my group, Id chosen an eco-farmhouse located in a valley two miles outside Tarifa town. Owned by an English couple, a musician and a poet, it offered charm, privacy and rustic comfort. As well as the main house, where we ate breakfast and had class, the grounds included two chalets and three Bedouin tents. Thats where my guests stayed.

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The lush surrounds of the valley coupled with the basic accommodation served to heighten workshop participants sense of being cut off from their day-to-day lives. With some of the group members partners joining us, at mealtimes we were eight. Morning classes flew by. Afternoons included trips to postcard beaches and seafood restaurants. In the evening we enjoyed the local wine and stunning sunsets. Everyone seemed relaxed and content. All except one. In every group theres a troublemaker and this group was no different. We noticed quickly that alcohol changed his personality. Before a drink he was quiet as a Victorian virgin but with a few drinks in him, he morphed into Hemingway on acid. On the second evening, he argued aggressively with the tutor. The following night I could not allow him to join us for the rooftop barbecue Id organised. As I stood in his tent, explaining the situation, I felt like a mother scolding her toddler, except my toddler had grey hair and a hangover. The presence of our wannabe Hemingway did not destroy the workshop. I was disappointed though; especially when I watched him drag his sorry self off to the airport alone, abandoned by the other group members. In a way it was my own fault. When Id envisioned my group of like-minded individuals sharing their passion for a craft, Id failed to take into consideration the full spectrum of the human condition. Much debate exists about the relevance and benefit of writing workshops. Some say writing is a solitary practice, that it cant be taught, that its power can only be harnessed through diligent and disciplined effort. Others say, have fun with it, join groups, share your craft,

indulge in any activity that brings you closer to the belief you can write.

My belief is hard work pays off. Sure, writers like J.K. Rowling and Stephen King give writing a pop-star appeal, but your average scribe and celeb have little in common. Except possibly a penchant for a tipple too many.
Theres no doubting that writing has become dramatically more popular in the last five years or so. The industry has exploded with workshops cropping up in all corners of the world. But how can we judge if the workshop experience is going to be a good one? I have now run four workshops, each one demanding. When you invite people to a workshop situation, everyone comes with their own expectations. They want an experience. They want to learn. Many are entertaining the idea of a new hobby or career. Some have written for years but with little success. For some, their slow progress is eased by the knowledge that others are at the same stage. For others, it is aggravated. As a result, workshops can be a veritable pressurecooker of untamed ambition and frustrated emotion. What I am about to say may sound contradictory but I see it again and again. Invariably it is the prospects or participants who ask endless questions who are not really interested in the craft at all. Their egos have taken over. Their insecurities have taken hold. My belief is hard work pays off. Sure, writers like J.K.

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Rowling and Stephen King give writing a pop-star appeal, but your average scribe and celeb have little in common. Except possibly a penchant for a tipple too many. I have become wiser at gauging the attitude of potential workshop participants. One protest triggers the alarm: I just dont know if I am good enough? This annoys me. Not because its not a valid protest we all suffer from self-doubt but who am I to determine the skill or potential of a novice writer? The question is a smokescreen for those who want to write but arent ready to put in the work. A workshop is a fun learning forum that allows you to flex your creative juices in a safe environment. There are no standards. Thats the point. In my groups I cant help but notice those people who are genuinely interested and motivated. They dont

need hand-holding because they accept that they have taken on a new task and they give themselves to it wholeheartedly. These people always learn more and are most grateful for the experience. Writing is a craft like any other; its a long and winding path that takes time to perfect. I like to think of workshops as a multi-coloured stepping stone along the way. After all, if we are prepared to slam our efforts at the early stages, how can we expect to make it to the higher stakes? Natasha Smith has been writing full time for six years. She began as a freelance magazine writer, but discovered a passion for fiction three years ago. She recently completed an Arts BA with the Open University for which she received a first in Literature. She is working on her first novel.

IN THE WRITE LIGHT is a new creative writing course offering novice writers the chance to spend a fantastic long weekend on the Costa de la Luz challenging their creative writing skills in an informal workshop environment whilst also enjoying the breathtaking beauty of Spains last unspoilt coastline. Set in Tarifa in the province of Cadiz, this region is famed throughout Spain for its stunning beaches, dramatic landscapes, unique wildlife, sporting attractions and cultural inimitability. Strikingly different from Spains other coastal towns, Tarifa enchants all visitors with its mythical past and contemporary cool. Run over a four-day period, the course is designed to feed your artistic spirit and develop your creative talents in a location, which is both inspiring and guaranteed to rejuvenate even the most jaded soul. Guided by experienced workshop teachers who will allow you to work at your own pace and participating in groups no larger than six, you will be given the chance to improve on your writing skills and discover new ones. There are no criteria for attending the course except enthusiasm and imagination. You will be encouraged to allow both to run free.

writelight@gmail.com +34 616 712 534 www.inthewritelight.com

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The Internet Identity Crisis: Why Age Is Becoming Irrelevant In The Search For Significance
Article by Rebecca Richards

Creative Networking Courses: Its always the quiet ones.

Column By Sofie Fowler

The first thing that springs to mind when someone mentions creative writing courses is the occasion when I travelled to London to attend a BAFTA meeting. The event is now infamous amongst my circle of friends as I got up at 4am to spend 8 hours on a coach and was informed by a friend upon arrival that I could no longer stay at his house. Not having enough money for a hotel, I was declared officially stranded. A search party was quickly assembled by my boyfriend and he promptly set off to come and get me, in true knight in shining armour style, except he was in a bright yellow van. For weeks after, I was greeted by friends with the question How was London? followed by a raised eyebrow and a snigger. Aside from that one eventful trip, my experience of courses has been mixed; from free community workshops, to licence-fee paid for BBC seminars, to university-organised lectures. My immediate reaction to one Uni

conference was the lack of hot coffee and the infrequence of fag breaks. Its all well and good being a world renowned writer, but no-ones going to give a damn about your new book when theyve needed a wee for an hour and a half. The questions are always the same; What made you want to be a writer? What makes a good writer? The answers are always different, there isnt a right or wrong. In my opinion, a good writer is someone who knows how to manipulate their skill. Thats something you wont learn in a 2hr talk. In such a solitary career as writing, you learn it for and by yourself. Once you know how you write, when youve found your style and voice, theres little you can learn from someone elses story. Its still informative and interesting, but I found myself asking what the point of my even being there was. Network, I was told at Uni, these things are all about networking. Well alright, but Im a writer for the same reason

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many others are; because Id rather observe and analyse people than interact with them. Why should I talk to real human beings, when I can invent ones I like on paper? I have made an effort to network for contacts, but you have to be calculated about who you speak to and what you say, which is terrifying in real life because the characters dont say what you want them to. Writers are just children who cant let go of their imaginary friends. So you go to these writing conferences to network and you end up standing in a room full of brilliant creative minds, all staring into their lukewarm coffee, not networking.

notebook full of poems and jump at the chance to read them in a faux Ye Olde English accent. Increasingly, the internet has become a networking tool, with mailing lists, blogs, forums and Facebook groups. It gives writers a barrier between them and direct social contact, opening them up because theyre not actively in the same room. With the click of a button on Twitter, you can find out what Chuck Palahniuk thinks of Charlie Brookers new show. If the rise of web contact means I no longer have to sit on an uncomfortable chair all day, wishing I could sneak off for a cigarette, then Im all for it. In all honesty, I think the best option is to throw the net wide and go to as many courses as possible. Just avoid all the loud mouths with the new venture, the best writer there will be the shy looking guy with the horrible jumper trying to hide behind a plant.

Just avoid all the loud mouths with the new venture, the best writer there will be the shy looking guy with the horrible jumper trying to hide behind a plant.
I saw the same in a BBC workshop on screenwriting, the only people that offered to read aloud were untalented or uninteresting. The good writers seemed embarrassed, even ashamed of their hastily improvised text. When Im writing, I talk to my characters, act out my scenes. You tend to get funny looks if you do that in public. People complain that writers are overlooked in the TV and film industry. Is it any small wonder when most of them are happy to sit quietly in a cupboard, scribbling away? I tried local workshops, to dampen the terrifying aura of showbiz. People are more inclined to speak and discuss, learn from each other. Unfortunately, as with anything, you run into the egos; the niche little group who have a

Sofie Fowler is a Film and TV Screenwriting graduate who is currently working on several projects before commencing a Masters in Journalism. She is a published poet and has written plays for the stage.

Looks great - and lots inside Each edition promises something new to the reader Ive subscribed to this magazine from the start and the quality just gets better

PDF Red Ink 6/ Summer 2009 (ISSN 1751-1496). Eds. Peter Lewin & Andrew Oldham Cover Art: Badrobot Poetry: Matthew Friday, R.G. Gregory, Jenny Harrow, Kathleen Kenny, F.J. Milne, Molly Naylor, Nusra Nazir, Phoebe Power Story: Kath McKay

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Introduction to Screenwriting, Lighthouse, Brighton. The syllabus for this course was commissioned by the UK Film Council to provide writers with foundation skills in screenwriting. It forms part of an integrated approach to the provision of skills for the audiovisual industries. Length: 4 days (all Saturdays) Times: 10am - 5pm Dates: 14th & 21st November 09, 5th & 12th December 09 Cost: 260 (full) 210 (concessions) Venue: Lighthouse 28 Kensington Street, Brighton, BN1 4AJ For full course details and to book visit: www.lighthouse.org.uk/opportunity/ screenwriting.htm or contact Emma on 01273 647197 or info@lighthouse.org.uk Academis Mentoring Service for Writers 2010. The Mentoring Service offers help from an established writer to assess promising work in-progress and bring it up to publishable standard. Applicants will be asked to submit a sample of the work in question together with a letter of recommendation from a publisher. Closing date for applications: Saturday 31 October 2009 To download an application form and guidelines go to www.academi.org Or contact Academi on: 029 2047 2266 / post@academi.org The application forms for the 2010 Academi Writers Bursaries are now available to download from the Academi website. Academi Bursaries are available to new and published writers and childrens writers. Bursaries are also available for disabled writers in need of specialist equipment and assistance and the Miscellaneous Fund can offer small-

Industry News and Opportunities

scale support to help cover the travel or research costs of specific writing projects. The closing date for applications for a 2010 Academi Writers Bursary is: Saturday 31 October 2009 Full guidelines and application forms are now available to download from the Academi website: http:// www.academi.org/home/ Or contact Academi on: post@academi.org / 029 2047 2266 New season of creative writing workshops for complete beginners. This workshop is a fun, friendly 8-week course for new writers who are looking to develop a portfolio of early-stage prose writing skills. Each week we address a different area of writing craftwork. The workshop incorporates instructive, creative and critical elements. Course includes: Structuring fiction, How to reveal character, How to use the setting to tell the story, Ways of finding inspiration in the world around you, Conflict and its uses, Point of view and much more. Places on this course always go quickly and pre-booking is essential, so please email workshops@nquentinwoolf.co.uk to book your spot. Sessions 10 each and can be paid weekly. Saturday mornings in Stoke Newington from October 3rd Further information at http:// www.nquentinwoolf.com And, The house was full of packing-

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cases. Even the pretty lawn at the side was to pack up, stiffly and slowly, through the bare echoing November. The very robin that her father had so often made, with his own hands, more gorgeous than ever; amber and golden; here, at this bed of thyme, began to speak of carrots. The grand inarticulate mighty roar. I recently made contact, after many years, with an old college friend called Katrin McGibbon. When I inquired what she was doing, she revealed that she was abridging Elizabeth Gaskells North and South for the radio. As a joke, I suggested that instead of trying to reduce the size of the book without losing any of the essentials, it might be an idea to discard all the important bits and keep the other stuff. Then I had a go at using this method myself, and found it to be both more difficult and much more rewarding than I had expected. I intend to abridge the whole book in this way, and the first eight chapters are now online. http://edwardpicot.com/and/ Behind the Scenes at the Library, Stoke-on-Trent City Council. Have you ever wondered how your books reach the library shelves, whats stored at the City Archives, or how your information enquiries are answered? If youd like to learn more about the inner workings of City Central Library, in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, come along to a free tour of the building, including areas which are usually closed to the public. The tour will take place on Monday 5 October, 10.30am-12pm. To book your place please contact the library on 01782 238455 or email central.library@stoke.gov.uk. Because some areas are unsuitable for children,

you will need to be aged 16 or over to take part. Website blog writer - creative arts based website, Artsbowl Contact: Daniel Lingham project@artsbowl.com We are interested in finding a bloggers in the UK, Australia and United States for our up and coming website hub on creative courses and workshops. The site will have a social media basis for communicating and sharing media about creative courses and arts based activities as well as finding and booking courses and workshops. We are currently looking for a number of bloggers to help build a buzz around the creative arts, creative courses and in particular our website and what it will be offering. This needs to be done with a sense of excitement, fun, humour and visually driven in many cases (i.e. pictures). We would need each blogger, after a short trial period, to become part of the wider artsbowl team and a regular contributor to the website blogs and articles. It would be beneficial to us if you are familiar with social media such as twitter and facebook although not essential. Tell us a bit about your background, send your CV and some examples of your blog and article work plus a price proposal (per month price).

All news for this section is compiled by Incwriters. Send your info to: info@incwriters.co.uk Further news can be found at: www.incwriters.co.uk

BANIPAL 33
honours the life and legacy of Mahmoud Darwish Let us go, you and I, on two paths: You, to a second life, promised to you by language in a reader who might survive the fall of a comet on earth. I, to a rendezvous I postponed more than once, with a death I promised a glass of red wine in a poem. - Mahmoud Darwish

BUY OR SUBSCRIBE AT: www.banipal.co.uk

Incwriters OCL (Magazines) Award Winner 2008: Banipal

Banipal 33 opens with a major 70page feature on the life and legacy of Mahmoud Darwish. It includes articles, tributes, poems and many photographs of the great Palestinian and world poet, who passed away on Saturday 9 August following complications after major heart surgery in Houston, Texas, at the age of 67. Darwish left behind, writes Sinan Antoon, an entire continent of poems whispering and singing inside Arabic and calling on us to reacquaint ourselves with its topography. The feature includes a poem written by Mahmoud Darwish earlier this year, At the Station of a Train which Fell Off the Map, translated by Sinan Antoon. In addition we present a foretaste from Mahmoud Darwishs last collection, with a selection of poems from the collection, that wll be published by Saqi Books next year as If I Were a Stone, translated by Catherine Cobham.

Bannipal 33 includes fellow poets, and writers from around the world contribute their feelings on his passing, including Saadi Yousef, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Denys Johnson Davies, Wole Soyinka, Mark Strand, Abdo Wazen, Kadhim Jihad Hassan, Alberto Manguel, Amjad Nasser, Marie-Thrse Abdel-Messih, Giuseppe Goffredo, Fadhil al-Azzawi, Judith Kazantzis, Thomas Hegh, Peter Clark, Clara Jans, Gaber Asfour, Bernard Nol, Mohammed Bennis, Naomi Shihab Nye, Stephen Watts, Qassim Haddad, Saif alRahbi, Issa J Boullata, Taha Adnan, and Mahmoud Shukair.