Monday 25 October 2010

Keith Gray

Keith Gray is known for his teenage fiction, but his wisdom about writing is exceptional. He had his first book, Creepers, published at age 24, and his work spans 14 novels, a short story collection, and numerous reviews for the Guardian and Scotsman. He is a sought-after speaker for teenagers and adults alike, and his wit and frank demeanor are inspiring.

Keith's workshop, Developing as a Writer, focused on the two things he sees that are missing from the work he reads for publishers and agents. These are structure and style.

Structure.
He began with Aristotle's definition of conflict, the undercurrent of any story:
Man vs. man
Man vs. himself
Man vs. nature
Man vs. technology
Man vs. society
Man vs. God
...adding that it's the 'vs' in these conflicts that is important. To simplify: Every story needs a beginning, a middle, and an end. In other words, your protagonist needs a dilemma, a confrontation, and a resolution.

Most importantly for fiction writers, you must sort out your main conflict.

Style.
Style fills in the bits in the middle, in your voice.

Think about an experience, good or bad. Think about the split second in time that you realized what was happening. Then:
1) When was it?
2) Where was it?
3) Who were you with?
4) What did you see?
5) What did you hear?
6) What were you doing?
7) What did you feel?
8) What was the outcome?
9) Give it a title.

These elements are your story.

#7 is especially important. Think about that word. Give it a color, a feeling, a noise, a taste, a smell. This gives you your style. This avoids cliche, and gives your writing an individual edge.

Try not to rely on adverbs and adjectives. These can slip into cliche.

Finally, try and always write in the active voice. Avoid the passive, and embrace the action elements of the active voice.

Keith's writing workshops, developed for the Scottish Booktrust, can be found here.

Thursday 23 September 2010

Chris Powici

Chris Powici is a poet and teacher living in Dunblane, Scotland. He's also the editor of Northwords Now, a literary magazine published three times a year with a readership of 7000. Below is some insight into how Chris chooses pieces for the magazine.

• Word count matters when submitting short stories to a print publication. If a page in a magazine can print 2000 words, a story of 1800-2000 words might have a slight edge over a story of 2500 words, which could cause layout issues.
• Chris usually selects pieces from those he receives through the mail. He occasionally commissions work if the issue has a certain theme.
• If he passes on a piece he enjoyed but doesn't fit, he'll include a note encouraging future submissions. He doesn't usually keep pieces for future issues.
• He loves finding work from unpublished writers.

Fáilte!

I'm a groupie for all things books. I love the smell of a new book and the musty scent of a used bookshop. I'm rather obsessed by the quirks of the publishing industry. I surround myself with writers who are better than me as often as I can, and I hope this blog helps to share some of their insights.