Swanwick Day 5
I attended the third part of Emma Darwin’s course but otherwise had quite a leisurely day, spending part of it joining in with an impromptu jam session down by the lake. In the photo with me are Julia Pattison and John Lamont, whose singing and playing delight Swanwickers every year.
David Crystal, whose actor son Ben is a Swanwick favourite, spoke to us in the evening about his travels throughout the world in search of linguistic curiosities. The Welsh town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, for example, inspired him to seek out a place with an even longer name and he found one in New Zealand. Unfortunately, I was unable to note down its name.
Afterwards, Latin dancing was on the menu and a chance to put on my red shoes and quell my salsa withdrawal symptoms. We also had a go at cha cha cha and merengue, at least that’s what I think it was!
Posted 17/08/11 - Permalink to this story
Swanwick Day 4
Tuesday always marks the halfway point at Swanwick and has a different format. The morning was taken up with a Writing Fiction and Publishing Panel chaired by Meg Davis from the Ki Literary Agency, ably supported by John Jarrold (Sci-Fi & Fantasy Literary Agent), Benjamin Scott (Children’s & Young Adult Fiction), Emma Darwin (Mainstream & Literary Fiction) and Simon Hall (Crime Writing). It was an excellent opportunity to find the answers to many of the problems faced by aspiring writers.
After lunch, I went to Calke Abbey, described in the brochure as ‘a grand country house estate which has been preserved in its glorious decline’. Entry was free to National Trust members, although getting lost en route cost quite a lot in diesel! Arriving much later than intended, I only had chance to look round the house itself, but it was well worth it and quite unlike any other property I’ve visited. This ‘unstately’ home had glorious china, an 18th century four poster bed in pristine condition (still in its original packaging when the NT took over), but also large derelict areas. The schoolroom reminded me immediately of The Turn of the Screw and another Swanwicker was convinced that she felt a ghostly tap on the shoulder in the servants’ tunnel.
After dinner, I was torn between live performances from an afternoon scriptwriting workshop and the buskers’ evening run by my friend Mark Iveson. In the end, I did a little of one and most of the other. Both were very good and I had yet another late night! (Note to self: must get down to some writing instead of all this frivolity.)
Posted 16/08/11 - Permalink to this story
Swanwick Day 3
I continued with Emma Darwin’s course and also attended the very funny and useful ‘Writing Fillers’ workshop. Linda Lewis had a lot to say about decidedly un-literary but quite lucrative submissions that can cheer up frustrated and/or impecunious authors in the gaps between acceptances.
The evening speaker was Peter James, whose ‘Creating a Dead Good Read’ brought the house down at times.
Although I’ve known for years that the Hayes once housed German prisoners of war - there are photographs and other memorabilia on display near the bar - this was the first time I’d taken a walk up to the entrance to the tunnel they dug.
The plaque says it all really.
Posted 15/08/11 - Permalink to this story
Swanwick Day 2
Ripon Writers’ Group was well represented this year. Cathy had won her way to Swanwick in the short story competition (which Lindsay won last year!)
Choosing courses is always difficult, especially when they clash on the programme. I was very torn between ‘Building your novel’ with Emma Darwin and ‘Crime Writing’ with Simon Hall. In the end, and mainly because I had booked a 1:1 with Emma this very morning, I went to hers. It was very informative, as was my tête à tête with Emma, who had gone to a great deal of trouble to annotate the manuscript I sent her in advice and had some useful advice about how my story might be reshaped.
I also attended John Jarrold’s workshop, ‘Horror Fiction in 2011’, and had several of my misconceptions corrected. For one thing, I think that I now understand the difference between true horror (e.g.Stephen King) and urban fantasy (e.g.Charlaine Harris), although I’m still more comfortable with the latter.
Helen Cross was our speaker this evening and gave a very entertaining account of her path to publication and - maybe even more important - staying on it. She has beautiful hair, long and wavy, but I found the way she had to flick it back off her face every few minutes a little distracting. However, that’s a very minor criticism and I was probably guilty of the same thing when I too had locks flowing down to my waist.
Posted 14/08/11 - Permalink to this story
Swanwick 2011
Mid-afternoon saw me at the Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire, for my sixth year at The Writers’ Summer School
As always, there was a flurry of meeting old friends and getting to know some of the ‘white badgers’, those who are new to Swanwick this year. (The old sweats have yellow badges.)
After Chairman Xanthe Wells’s welcome and the distribution of certificates to those who had won this year’s Swanwick competitions, we went into dinner and then settled down to enjoy an hour with Iain Banks ‘In interview with John Jarrold’. A session in the bar followed and then, to quote Pepys, to bed.
Posted 13/08/11 - Permalink to this story