http://www.writers-online.co.uk NOVEMBER 2019^9LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Self-set challenge
With the prospect of moving house and still having a thousand things to do, I was concerned
that I might not nd time to sit down every day and write; that my head would be too full of
admin to allow space for ights of fancy, or professional posts, business by-lines and such-
like. It has been a fraught experience getting to the point of moving and having got here, I
want time out from anything that feels like work, but at the same time I don’t want to lose
the discipline of getting to the keyboard every day.
So I set myself a challenge: a daily date with my camera in my own garden. e plan is to
take just one photograph of whatever I nd out there and then to write about it. Because I
struggle with succinctness, my other rule is to stay within the Twitter character limit, whether
or not I post the result. e objective is merely to look closely at what is to hand, to see, to
put it into words. And to do it day in, day out. For a year.
e objective is to develop the discipline of writing every day. Practice. I’m only a couple of
weeks in and I’ve have already missed one day, the day of the actual move – I’ll forgive myself
that one. I’d be interested to know what writing challenges other readers have set themselves,
and whether they’ve managed to live up to them.
LESLEY MASON
NorwichPositivity notprocrastinationI am in my spare-room-turned-o ce
surrounded by oak furniture, a 23”
monitor, books on writing, magazines,
inspirational quotes and all manner of
unnecessary paraphernalia that real writers
have. Am I a writer?
No. I’m a fraud.
Yes, I have lots of USB sticks containing
half-written books, song lyrics and poetry,
but that’s where my work has stayed for
the past 26 years.
Well, not anymore.
Last month, with 23 minutes to spare,
I entered the WM poetry competition.
I didn’t win, I wasn’t even shortlisted.
Nothing. Not even a rejection slip, and
it felt amazing! It felt amazing because,
after 26 years, I stopped procrastinating
and actually sent some of my work away
to be read and criticised by someone else.
Finally, when I tell people that I write and
they say, ‘Have you ever had anything
published?’, instead of excuses, I can say,
‘No, but I’ve submitted work for
competitions.’ I say, ‘competitions’ because
there is now no stopping me! Lea ng
through my competition guide 2020, I am
already circling upcoming competitions
and planning my next submission. At
last! I am taking the rst tentative steps to
becoming a ‘proper’ writer. I have a long
way to go but, thanks to Writing Magazine,
a re has started deep inside of me.
ANDY WOODS
AndoverAs an amateur genealogist, I applauded
Julie Phillips’ article Branching Out
(WM Oct). Using this seam of research
reveals a rich mine of information and
inspiration. In my own research, I was
surprised how many people emigrated to Canada in the rst decade or so
of the 20th century. More than 3 million escaped the pollution and rising
unemployment that followed the Industrial Revolution’s boom years.
What was more surprising was how many returned to the UK multiple
times – visiting family, then returning to their new homes in Canada.
ese people weren’t necessarily wealthy, so the desire to keep in touch
was strong. is of course provides so many opportunities for plot twists- cousins, siblings, even spouses reappearing with new stories to tell.
Genealogy de nitely provides an excellent resource for writers.
HELEN BAGGOTT
Sturminster Newton, Dorset
Family plan ing
Paul Perry’s letter, Reality takes hold (WM Oct) resonated with me.
I have been an avid Radio 4 listener for years but only recently
realised how ideas for stories can be generated from programmes.
After hearing Science Stories where Naomi Alderman told the
story of Lady Mary Montagu and her quest to bring smallpox
inoculation to the west, I wrote a short play based on a ctional
confrontation between Lady Montagu and her husband. From
that play I developed a story, which gained third place in a
competition on the theme ‘Experiment.’ Not stopping there, I
wrote a dual timeline story set in the early 1700s and the present
day, which has been accepted by Woman’s Weekly.
I have another idea, which came from the Science Stories series,
but I’m keeping it under wraps. Who knows, it might be suitable
for a WM competition!
CLAIRE BUCKLE
Southend-on-Sea, EssexIdea generation
I found Simon Elson’s article on letter writing (WM, Oct) very useful.
I’ve had a good spell with letters over past years - TV Quick (a few
£5 for letters published and one £10 for the Star Letter!). Once in
WM chasing the Writers’ &Artists’ Yearbook. However my ‘claim to
fame’ – even though no ‘prize’ was won – was having my photo and letter on the virtues of the buddleia
published in the Daily Mail (quite a few years ago). ey had run an article on the e ects of the plant to
buildings. My letter was about the bene t of this plant to nature and how to look after it.
So I think it’s time to start letter writing again – starting with this one.
MISS S M JONES
Crewe, Cheshire ank you, Simon Elson, for Gadgetise your writing (WM, Oct). Like you, I had caught the letter bug
and had won numerous prizes over the years. I decided to give it a miss this year... until I read your
piece. It has given me an incentive to continue with writing magazine llers.
Good luck with winning that Porsche.
JULIE DAY
LondonCorrespondence of course