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26 MIN READ TIME

Rhyme & reason

This year we celebrate 150 years since the birth of Marie Curie, the Warsaw-born physicist who changed the face of science through her work on radioactivity. The first woman to win a Nobel prize, she discovered the elements polonium and radium; and to this day a charity that supports sufferers from terminal illness bears her name.

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Writing Magazine
April 2017
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Writing Magazine
Welcome…
A single word that sends some writers scurrying for
RESOURCES
THE WORLD OF WRITING
Timeless tales, submission, subversion, Russian rivals, literary locations and wonderful words…inspiration everywhere, spotted by Derek Hudson
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
We want to hear your news and views on the writing world, your advice for fellow writers – and don’t forget to tell us what you would like to see featured in a future issue…Write to: Letters to the editor, Writing Magazine, Warners Group Publications plc, 5th Floor, 31-32 Park Row, Leeds LS1 5JD; email: letters@writersnews.co.uk. (Include your name and address when emailing letters. Ensure all letters, a maximum of 250 words, are exclusive to Writing Magazine. Letters may be edited.) When referring to previous articles/letters, please state month of publication and page number.
BEHIND THE TAPE
Author and serving police officer Lisa Cutts answers your crime queries.
WRITERSʼ WEB WATCH
WM’s resident webcrawler helps you get clued in about new media writing
IMAGE CONSCIOUS
Do you really need Photoshop? Greta Powell helps you decide
Helpline
Your writing problems solved with advice from Diana Cambridge
Fair reward
Sometimes satisfaction needn’t have your name on it, says Patrick Forsyth
FIND YOUR SPACE
Top tips for researching locations from Tarja Moles
Editorial calendar
Strong forward planning will greatly improve your chances with freelance submissions. Here are some themes to consider for the coming months.
PUBLISHING
Libel? Don’t be liable!
All writers need to be careful what they say about others, urges Michael Allen
WRITING LIFE
Away from your desk
Get out of your garret for some upcoming activities and places to visit
GO WRITE WITH THE SEVEN DWARFS
Get to know seven friendly souls who shine a light on the writer’s life, with Hazel Prior
MISERY AND ME
Superfans have pushed Lorraine Mace to to the brink
THE WINNING FORMULA
Competitions FTW!
Entering competitions is rewarding for writers of all levels, as Esther Newton discovers
WINNING W AYS
There are all kinds of benefits to entering writing competitions, but nothing beats
What do readers want?
Giving readers what they want can be tricky. Finding out what they want can be even trickier. Gary Dalkin guides you through identifying, and delivering, the material that will satisfy your readers and keep them wanting your work
What the librarian saw…
Novelist, producer and screenwriter…librarian. Few people understand readers’ and market demands as well as Chris Paling
Successful short stories
Following a formula shouldn’t mean stifling your creativity, just giving you parameters to work within, says John Paxton Sheriff
A WINNING RETREAT
Ben Porter won a stay at Arvon’s new retreat, The Clockhouse at The Hurst, Shropshire, in our competition for writing on the theme ‘retreat’. Read Ben’s striking winning entry here, and his account of a glorious retreat at The Clockhouse, opposite.
STAR INTERVIEW
NEW ROMANTIC
Jojo Moyes’ career as a novelist was on the wane, until she pioneered a new approach to romance with the novel she really wanted to write, as Tina Jacksondiscovers
INTERVIEWS AND PROFILES
On writing
Tony Rossiter explores great words from great writers
From the OTHE SIDE R OF THE DESK
Piers Blofeld demystifies the agent one-to-one
How I got published
Aga Lesiewicz’s debut novel Reboundis out now, published by Pan Macmillan.
THE STYLE & TECHNIQUE OF michael morpurgo
Tony Rossiter looks at ‘a national treasure of a children’s author’
CLOVER STROUD
Journalist turned author Clover Stroud shares her five favourite reads with Judith Spelman
GO WITH THE CROWD
Could readers help fund your next book? Simon Whaley explores the pros and cons of crowdfunding
SUBSCRIBER SPOTLIGHT
Share your writing success stories. If you subscribe to Writing Magazine and would like to feature here, email Tina Jackson, tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk
CIRCLES’ ROUNDUP
If your writing group would like to feature here, whether you need new members, have an event to publicise or to suggest tips for other groups, email Tina Jackson, tjackson@warnersgroup.co.uk
CRIME FILE
Romanian novelist EO Chirovici tells Chris High about the challenges of writing in a second language for his first novel in English
JOSEPH KNOX
Getting a publishing deal is just a matter of knowing the right people, so the story goes, but that wasn’t the case for former Waterstones’ buyer Joseph Knox, as he tells Adrian Magson
FICTION
Ask a Literary Consultant
Literary consultant Helen Corner-Bryant looks at the most productive way to use the time between submitting a novel and hearing back from agents and publishers
The End
You’ve pulled it off and finally finished the manuscript. What next? Your work isn’t over yet, says James McCreet, with another bulletin on his novel in progress
How long is short?
Pad, cut or write to order? A former journalist wonders how long his
Celebrity UNDER THE microscope
A classic novel opening, highlighted by James McCreet
AVOID THE INFODUMP
Back story is essential to flesh out your story, but how do you convey it without slowing down your opening pages’ pace? Margaret James has some answers
The voice of innocents
Explore the challenges and rewards of using child narrators, with an outstanding example selected by Helen M Walters
Series of interesting events
Readers love to keep visiting the same worlds and characters, so publishers love them too, says Amy Sparkes
THE END Of THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT
Are we too familiar with dystopian settings for them to have their full impact, wonders Alex Davis
COMPETITIONS AND EXERCISES
CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES
Don’t shoot off in every direction at once. Focus your energy on one thing at a time, says Adrian Magson
Red Editing Pen
Each month, we give you a few sentences which would all benefit from some careful use of your red editing pen. As writers, and regular readers of Writing Magazine, you should not find any of these too difficult. But if you would welcome a little help, you can always check out Richard Bell’s suggested solutions below.
Kintsugi
500-word short story Competition
The Beginning
I wouldn’t have noticed so soon if it hadn’t been for
NIGHT & DAY
Celebrate your members’ diversity and their different approaches to writing with an exercise from Julie Phillips
SUBSCRIBER-ONLY SHORT STORY COMPETITIONS
IN CASH PRIZES & PUBLICATION
The Man She’d Met
Joan El Faghloumi lives in a small seaside town in
RITING LIFE
Novel Ideas
Everything except poetry and pornography
POETRY
Weighty matters
Adjudicator Meg Marsden highlights the poems which
Blackbird bountiful
Two blackbird poems delight Alison Chisholm with their blend of simple delivery and profound meaning
Poetry in practice
Think about where your poem will end up, and whether feedback will be available, suggests Doris Corti
Poetry from
Guiding you through the argot of poetry, Alison Chisholm pauses to focus on near rhyme
WRITERS’ NEWS
WRITERS’ NEWS
Your essential monthly round-up of competitions, paying markets, opportunities to get into print and publishing industry news.
UK MAGAZINE MARKET
A real place in the country
GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET
Warm to this magazine
UK LITERARY MARKET
Spreading its branches all over the world
It’s a Funny Old World
Jeremy Kinser, writing on the Facebook group TCM Fanatics!
GLOBAL GENRE FICTION MARKETS
Big names welcome new talent
UK CHILDREN’S MARKET
A personal touch
UK FICTION MARKET
A new flame
UK YA MARKET
Start your journey
GLOBAL FICTION AND POETRY MARKET
Across boundaries
GLOBAL LITERARY MARKET
Clear guidelines
INTRODUCTIONS
Writing Magazine presents a selection of crime publications currently accepting contributions. We strongly recommend that you familiarise yourself with their guidelines before submitting and check websites, where given, for submission details
UK FICTION MARKET
Break the 18thWall
UK SPIRITUAL MARKET
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GLOBAL WOMEN’S MARKET
Romance without boundaries
INTERNATIONAL
ZINE SCENE
GLOBAL MAGAZINE MARKET
Garden of delights
GLOBAL CHILDREN’S MARKET
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Book Talk
It looks a bit like a bird house, but it’s really for
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My Writing day
A young family and demanding role as vicar of a bustling urban church make for a hectic writing life for Rev Matt Woodcock, as he tells Lynne Hackles
DON’T MISS THE MAY ISSUE OF Writing MAGAZINE
Lisa McInerney, winner of the 2016 Bailey’s Prize for
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Patrick Forsyth zooms in on an aspect of observing the world that can make digression a strength
Competition Guide
Competition Special 2017
Yet again, we’re bursting out of our allotted pages
Short story competitions 2017
All the competitions previewed on this page are open to any writer. Enter online at www.writers-online.co.uk or see the relevant issue of Writing Magazine for more details. Prizes are £200 and £50 each month, with publication in WM for the winner.
Short story competitions 2017
The competitions previewed on this page are open only to subscribers of Writing Magazine. Enter online at writers-online.co.uk or see the relevant issue of WM for more details. Prizes are £100 and £25 each month, with publication in WM for the winner.
Poetry competitions 2017
These poetry competitions are open to all writers, and will be officially launched, with advice from adjudicator Alison Chisholm, in the relevant issue of Writing Magazine
Poetry competitions 2017
The poetry competitions below are open only to subscribers of Writing Magazine, and will be officially launched in the relevant issue of the magazine.
2017 WOMEN’S WRITING competitions
‘Mslexia’s competitions are incredible for finding
COMPETITION GUIDE 2017
Aim high and win big! Start planning your competition year with details of over 250 competitions closing during 2017
Mirror Mirroi
Charise de Becker is a fledgling author from Colchester
The last goodbye
Adjudicator Doris Corti highlights the winning entry from our New Subscribers’ Poetry Competition 2016
Last Summer…
Alyson Hilbourne, Penrith, Cumbria, will be attending Iceland Writers’ Retreat this April after winning our competition, on the theme this year of ‘elements’.