WORDWATCHERS NEWS
ISSUE 2- Dated - August 2007
August 2007.
On August 2nd. Jonathan and John were interviewed by Radio Berkshire about the Wordwatchers group. To hear how it went, click on this link or <right click/save target as> to download the mp3 file.
We have also added two new short stories to the web; the winner of the Newbury Wordwatchers Summer short story competition, "Before the Monsoons come" and "Secrets" both by Charlotte Betts
May 2007 News
At our May meeting we welcomed another new member, John.
Charlotte announced completion of another fantastic novel called 'Moonlight on Water'. Congratulations Charlotte.
We discussed 'character' and how writers convey this elusive substance using dialogue. We all brought examples of good and bad writing that illustrate to us some of the techniques that we can use to bring out and broaden our characters.
In the end we agreed that –
It's very hard work.
There's no substitute for having a clear understanding of each character and what's supposed to be happening in a scene. The dialogue should inform the plot, the reader's understanding and involvement in the story and characters themselves, and it also has to be interesting.
The trick is to write all dialogue, whether real or internal or aimed at the reader, through a lens made up of every part of the character's being, so that every word, although conceived in the writer's mind, is written as if coming from the character's mind.
We settled on July for the submission date for our next short story competition. Each story must be about 2500 words and 'set in Newbury'.
April 2007
At our May meeting we welcomed two new members, Sarah and Neil.
This was a reading meeting, where we brought short sections from our latest works to read out loud to the group.
This is always pleasurable and painful in equal measures. Reading out loud is an important part of a writer's skill set. After being published (Please, please, please!) we will be asked to go on reading tours and appearances, and having a clear delivery is very important. Also it's important to hear the words read out loud because it's possible to hear things that can be missed when read silently.
Jonathan and Ginette read the first chapters of their new works, Neil read his Prologue and Charlotte read a 'difficult' scene from the middle of her nearly-completed book, which involved describing some sex. Afterwards we had a lively discussion about inhibitions and embarrassment and what works and what doesn't. As usual we came to no conclusion because every case is different.
