Sunday 15 September 2019

Update from Allison

Just a short post to say I've recently completed Edit 1 on a flash fiction collection.

I thoroughly enjoyed the process. It is a question of looking at the stories individually and then how they work as a whole, of course.

As a reader, I love spotting themes in books anyway. There is also the added enjoyment, for me anyway, when each story builds on that theme and runs it with it until the end. It has a powerful impact and that is always a good thing.

Am looking forward to the next stage in due course.

Writing is re-writing, as they say.  Pixabay image.

Monday 9 September 2019

Enjoyable Editing Enticing

How much am I enjoying editing? Now I’m really stuck in I am enjoying it immensely. The digestion of words weaving different perspectives and narratives entice me into thoughts of writing. After a long slog before my new editing role my works in progress (WIPs) are finally seeing the light of day. My dining table is unusually clear as writing takes up less space than crafting. Painting, editing audio interviews in a voluntary living history project I’m working on, and writing new stories have surfaced from beneath a sea of lists.

Having just returned from a relaxing (yes, relaxing) holiday I was somewhat flabbergasted to find my table still clear. As if the lists might have multiplied by themselves when I wasn’t looking. Normally my holidays combine volunteering but not this one! The highlight was a cruise from the Isle of Mull where the houses are made of ticky, tacky?


Anyway, I will prioritise editing this week between my normal routine of ups and downs in levels of wellbeing. Just 🤔 of the lovely Scottish landscape then returning to gorgeous Dartmoor makes me feel forever alive and grateful.

Tuesday 3 September 2019

Transforming Being



This is the second e-book we have produced for the Waterloo Festival. 

"Transforming Being" is the theme of the 2019 Waterloo Festival Writing Competition. It is also the title of the e-book, which contains the fifteen winning entries. We chose these because they tell a good story, have a strong voice, and are imaginative in their interpretation of the theme. The writers present us with characters that are believable and rounded. The stories all contain a pleasing narrative balance.

Entrants were asked to produce a short story or a monologue. Style is diverse and each story is completely different from the others.  

We had  a few hundred entries to choose from and it was difficult. We awarded points for how well the stories adhered to the theme, how dynamic the story was and how strong the writing was.  The theme was interpreted in many different ways. Just focussing on these three criteria didn't create enough clear winners so we carried on and looked further at narrative balance, characterization and presentation.     

This is the second year of the competition and the second year of producing an e-book. Next year there will be a third e-book and the winning entries form all three years will be published as a paperback as well.     

See more here.