THE RULE OF SIX? by Penny Dolan

The first of April, and the Easter Weekend is nearly here. Yet, despite the media jubilation, the barbecue & picnic pull-out recipes or the "jolly fun in the garden" ads showing on screens everywhere, it won't be the big Reunion weekend here. My family are all too far away for us to be together - again, one could say - looking back to 2020. However, I've got over it, as you do, and I know there are lots of people in the same or harder situations.

 

So this April, I've made my own Rule of Six. Six things to look forward to.

 

The First: Choose! 

Over the last year and a bit, Sophie Hannah, poet, novelist and writer, has run Dream Author, a long online course,. that helps writers look after their thoughts, their dreams and themselves. I now have a course mantra is stuck on the screen of my desktop to remind me that my habit of procrastination can be side-stepped. Now, when I am moithering about in a state of tension over some TO DO task - managing to not do it and getting into an angsty state about it needing to be done - I glance at the message and it helps:

"CHOOSE to DO it - or CHOOSE NOT to do it." Works for far more than writing!

 

 

 

The Second: Remember. to re-read some of the books I love.

 

 

I am waiting for the 29th April, when a rather special book will appear. Not one of mine, but  a book by  author Katherine Langrish,. It has a slightly odd title: From Spare Oom to War Drobe: Travels in  Narnia with my Nine Year Old Self, and describes how, from the age of nine, she was fascinated by the Chronicles of Narnia, half-imagining she inhabited that realm herself. How does she understand that fantasy now? (Katherine also writes the beautiful, well-informed blog - Seven Miles if Steel Thistles - which you can find in the left hand column of this post. ) There will also be an interview with Katherine on  Awfully Big Blog Adventure very soon.

 

 

 

The Third: Give yourself  time away from the keyboard.

 

 In April, I'll be starting  "Free Range Writer" Jenny Alexander's online Creative Journalling Course. I  know what  fun Jen's collage workshops can be, so I am really looking forward to the five evenings. I have a plain-paged A4 book, a range of old magazines, two fat gluesticks and a significant quantity of coloured pens here and waiting on my workroom table.

 

 

The Fourth: Even introverts need people.

I'm lucky, because during all the lockdowns, I've been in my comfortable home, with a husband working away in his own room as I work in mine. We are both, in our way, amiable introverts - or so I like to think. 

However, I've noticed that, as the lockdowns have gone on and on, it has been easier and easier to imagine the talk and words in my head than to actually talk to real people - especially new faces! 

So thank heaven for Zoom, which has kept me in touch with so many different groups of people: a reading group, a local photographic group, a (new to me) fairly serious academic writers network, the usefully chatty and friendly SAS writers group, a group of long-time "writing + gardening + more" friends and those friends who don't fit any of those categories. And of course, thank heaven for the precious screen times with my family.

 

 

The Fifth: Discover More Art, Enjoy More Art

 

In my other, non-zooming reading group, each month we explore a book in a different genres, ended up with this "Books About Art" title in March. The book run through various art movements, from Egyptian art through to Brit Art, demonstrated in cat form, An easy-to-read art book, probably ideal for an upper KS2 /KS3 classoom or library, but one that reminded me to spend  more time looking at paintings, art and images I love - not just the joyous offerings on Twitter or the pleasure of Grayson Perry and his laugh. 

 

 

And the Sixth Rule?

Haven't decided!

Alternatively, whatever you'd like it to be . . . 

When it comes, or how it comes, enjoy your Spring Festival.

 

Penny Dolan 

@pennydolan1

Zooming into the (near) Future! A few tips for online school visits by Saviour Pirotta

Like many authors up and down the country, I rely on school visits and festivals for a good chunk of my income. Lockdown started almost at the end of my event bonanza surrounding National Book Week back in March. My last appearance was at the fabulous Pink Pig Farm in Brig. I spent a very happy and productive weekend with fellow authors and Mel and Nick, the wonderful owners of the Rabbit Hole bookshop.  We told stories, read from our work, signed books and tucked more than we should have into Pink Pig's state-ot-the-art cooked breakfasts.

    Fast forward a week and my inbox was flooded with emails cancelling bookings in the summer term. Luckily, I was about to sign a new four-book deal with independent publishers Maverick so I knew I could keep my head above water for an extended period of time. Schools were soon asking if I would do online sessions, though, and the agencies I work through started looking into the possibility of supplying them. I was hesitant at first. I hate the sound of my voice and don't really like how I look on screen or in photographs. In actual visits, I forget about these trivialities like this once I get into the pace of things but, on zoom or whatever, there is no way of escaping the vision of my gurning face. 

    As the summer wore on and it looked like actual school visits would not be happening till 2021, I forced myself to 'snap out of it' as Cher said in Moonlight. I've actually done quite a few visits, culminating in six sessions with a school in Shanghai last week and two events of the East Riding Festival of Words. I can't claim to be an expert on the subject, but here's a few tips I picked up which might prove useful to other members of the SAS.

1.   THERE'S MORE THAN ONE PLATFORM

In the media you read and hear mostly about zoom but there are alternatives. The education authorities in the East Riding of Yorkshire, for example, prefer to use Microsoft Teams. It's something to do with privacy issues. I've also done events on Google Hangout Meets and Skype. They're all more or less the same but do check with the schools what platform they are using so you'll have plenty of time install on your computer and get familiar with it.

2. TO RECORD OR NOT TO RECORD.

Some schools insist that you do not record the session and some ask if they can. I always refuse to let the session be recorded, partly because of privacy issues but mostly because I want the repeat business. I treat my sessions as actual in the flesh visits, except that I'm looking at the kids through the window of my mac. Recording the sessions destroys that unique 'in the moment' experience.

3. WILL YOU HOST?

Most of the schools organise and schedule the event themselves but a few asked that I set it up myself. If they go for the second options, it is very easy to set up. You just schedule a meeting and the platform gives you an event id which you send to the school. Come the hour and the moment, the school logs in and you just click on the accept the invite button. Easy peasy.

4 IS THAT THE TIME?

If you are doing an international event, make sure you check what time you need to log in. My Shanghai events were schedulted for 12.15 their time. Which meant I had to get up at the crack of dawn to be ready for 6.15am our time. Checking everything was set up at 5.30am I realised I might disturb my elderly neighbour whose bedroom shares a party wall with my office. I hastily decamped to the kitchen where I could howl, crack jokes and generally create a rumpus without waking up the neighbours.  

5 CHECK THE BACKGROUND

My hasty retreat to the kitchen necessitated a quick tidy up. Make sure you check the background before going live. This is the perfect opportunity to display artefacts relevant to your subject and show off your new books. I do this using the photobooth app on my laptop but obviously, you can use any camera that will show you what the audience is going to see.

6 IT TAKES TIME...

...as in, this is new territory for most of us so it will take a while to find out what works for you. I love doing writing workshops in actual visits but I couldn't get them to work online.  Ditto with storytelling. I need to be in the same room with the audience for the latter to work as I pick up on the kids's vibes to help steer my delivery. This is nigh on impossible if the kids are just a fuzzy image on a screen. I now read a couple of chapters from the book I'm promoting, talk about the background to the story and how and why I wrote it, and finish off with time for a Q&A.

7 SEEING IS BELIEVING

Larger festivals often host a prep session before the event. Most of the authors participating join in with these and they're a good way to find out how others approach their events. One or two organisers said the audience would not be visible during the entire session and that any questions would be put forward through the chat function on the app. I found not seeing the audience hard going but answering questions that appear in the chat box quite easy. Make sure that you discuss your preferences with the event organiser so that you can relax and concentrate on giving your best performance.

I hope I haven't been teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, as the saying goes. Good luck with your online sessions. Although I just can't wait to start visiting schools again, I plan to keep online sessions to reach places I can't access otherwise. It's a brave new world out there. Let's meet it with confidence.

Saviour's latest Early Reader, Samira's Wish, is out now with WackyBee books. His third instalment in the Wolfsong Series, The Mysterious Island will be published on the 21st January 2021.  Follow Saviour on twitter @spirotta and on Instagram @saviour2858.

    

Zoom Chat for Writers on Saturday April 25th - Heather Dyer

If you're anything like me, in a few short weeks your writing and publishing plans have shifted focus.

What about you? Do the things you're working on two weeks ago no longer feel relevant? Have you suddenly started something new? Or is it difficult to concentrate at all? 

If you write for children, I'd like to invite you to a short Zoom chat at noon on Saturday 25th April. The (loose) focus of the chat will be: Taking Stock: writing in uncertain times. 

CONFESSION: I have an ulterior motive - as well as connecting with other writers, this is an opportunity for me to practice using Zoom. I'm doing my first Zoom writing workshop next month!

But this will be an informal, private chat - just an opportunity for a group of writers to share our thoughts and take stock. It's also an opportunity to meet new people, see how Zoom can be used to chat and teach online, and try a couple of very short divergent thinking exercises designed to generate new insights on your current work-in-progress (no sharing required). 

So, if you have time to join me, drop me a line by email. I'll then send you a link to download Zoom (it only takes a minute) and give you the password to join the meeting. Bring a cuppa, pen and paper, and an open mind. I'll accept the first eight people who contact me, and if more are interested I'll arrange a second meeting. I look forward to hearing from you - and thanks for helping me out! 

Heather (heatherdyerbooks@gmail.com)

Heather Dyer is a consultant in writing for children. She provides writing and publishing advice through The Literary Consultancy, The Writers' Advice Centre for Children's Books, and privately. If you’re ready for feedback on your work-in-progress contact Heather at heatherdyerbooks@gmail.com. 

Heather’s children’s novel The Girl with the Broken Wing was one of Richard and Judy’s book club picks, and The Boy in the Biscuit Tin was nominated for a Galaxy Best British Children’s Book award. Heather also teaches creative writing for the University of the Creative Arts, and facilitates workshops in creative thinking techniques for creatives and academics.

What's the point of anything? by Lu Hersey

It's day 26 of lockdown today. Like everyone else, I'm trapped - but lucky because I'm trapped with a nice view, a bit of garden, and pleasant walks available from the front door. Further from hospitals and healthcare, maybe - but there are advantages and disadvantages wherever you are.

Also, I'm not alone. My two youngest (both adults) decided to come here and be trapped in the country with me. It's lovely having family move back in with you when they mostly live their own lives back in the city, yet strange at the same time. But then strange is the new normal.

The new normal

Apart from anything else, we're all starting to look different - who knew barbers, hairdressers and dentists were so important? Owing to a slight accident with some home hair dye,  I now have white hair, getting longer and stragglier by the day, and a tooth  missing at the front where a crown fell out. Basically I look like an ancient crone. I rather like it, although still vain enough to stick my tooth back in with Fixodent for all the zooming and video chats - which is the new way we all interact with the world.

But how long can we keep up appearances? What happens to all the Kardashian followers of the world when they can't get botox, lip fillers or new nails? Perhaps an unexpected side effect of all this is that we end up looking how we actually are, and maybe that's not so bad.

Better before, right?

There are some definite pluses to all this, as well as the obvious sadnesses. The environment is benefitting from the lack of planes and cars. Wildlife is booming and blooming without our interference. Unless you're working from home or you're an essential service worker, you probably have a lot of time to do all those things you always meant to do, like learning new skills, yoga, meditation, catching up on box sets, reading through your tbr pile - whatever.

But you also have a lot of time to ponder life questions, like what's the point of it all? And why bother to write? Is it really that important? Healthcare workers, refuse collectors and shelf stackers are a lot more use to society. And who's going to publish anything right now, or possibly ever again?

At the start of this, I was still busy editing my latest book. I took a lot of time and care over it and at last it was ready to go out...somewhere.  I decided I'd share it with a few people to see what they thought.

I started by sending it to my agent. I eagerly awaited his call to tell me what a work of genius it is.

Silence. (Admittedly only a few days, but time goes slowly at the moment)

I checked out his social media. To endure the pain of his excruciating toothache (no dentists will see people face to face - which is usually the point of dentists) it seems his main activity is sharing the portends of the day found in stones he picks up on the beach. This form of beach augury tells him he needs a dog with a patch over over one eye. It doesn't tell him he needs a manuscript.

What my agent's new dog will look like. Apparently.

That's annoying, I thought. (Although agree about the dog) All those publishers, just twiddling their thumbs, desperate for a work of genius like mine to fall into their hands, and he's on the beach looking at pebbles. The only way I'd get his attention would be if all the stones on the beach suddenly had my name on them...and maybe if the dentist fixed his tooth.

Actually, he called the next day to say he'd read it as soon as his toothache subsided and that he was really looking forward to it, which was nice - especially as he was still in crippling pain. But then I read an article from the Bookseller about how all the major publishers seem to be either working from home (most have children and are probably going insane trying to keep them occupied without schools open) - or they've furloughed their staff for the foreseeable future.

Damn.

Gloom set in. What's the point of writing anything at a crisis time like this? Some bright spark on twitter said the world needed stories more than ever before because everyone is now dependent on Netflix to get through the tough times. It was retweeted a zillion times by bored (and probably also gloomy) writers.

On a scale of how are Netflix going to even see my book to obviously it's not going to happen, that isn't much comfort. Some writers are busy reading their stories online, or holding workshops to encourage other writers to write even more books. And I know these are great things to do, and as constructive as anything can be right now. It just spiralled me into wondering. What's the point of anything?

But writing is a compulsion. A bit like breathing. If your nose is blocked, you breathe through your mouth. If you can't write one thing, you try something else. And yesterday a writer friend sent me a wonderful lifeline - an idea for a joint book venture.

She writes real life, important issues, in YA fiction. I mostly write MG and teen fiction about the wonder of magic, portends, and creating order from chaos (or something like that) - so we're coming from totally different ends of the writing spectrum. And now we're trying something completely outside our usual comfort zones to see if it works.

It's fun. Something to occupy us and it doesn't matter about the outcome. I'm useless at virtual pub quizzes, and zoom yoga class with my 75 year old yoga teacher had me cheating like crazy because she couldn't see what I was doing (balancing is so much easier when there's a desk in front of you to lean on). Suddenly I have a purpose, even if it's just making my co-writer laugh.

So if you're feeling stuck and struggling with any aspect of your writing life, maybe try something completely different. Don't worry about the point of what you're doing. It doesn't even have to be writing if you don't have any ideas right now. Maybe try to see the future in the patterns of birds flying overhead instead.

After all, that's how Rome was founded.

by Lu Hersey

w: luhersey.com
t: https://twitter.com/LuWrites