Our Next Meeting 3rd March 2020

Hi Scribblers!!!

Not that you will need reminding, but our next meeting is creeping up quite rapidly.

It takes place this coming Tuesday, 3rd March, when the 750 word homework theme is "FAME." Doubtless you will provide a completely eclectic selection of stories surrounding this subject.

The meeting starts at 7.30pm when the door will be locked.

Hope to see you there!

Until then,

Keep Scribbling!!!

The Cambridge Prize for Flash Fiction- open for entries until 15th March

The Cambridge Prize for Flash Fiction launched on the 15th January.
This competition is looking for your very best 400 words.
Top Prize £1000, plus payment for all shortlisted writers! Deadline: 15th March

Follow the link below for all the details.

https://t.co/uPvAZrx5dO

As well as this Flash Fiction competition, The Cambridge Prize also offer a further chance to win, with entries of short stories.

Details of the Cambridge Prize for Short Stories will be released in April.

Good luck and Keep Scribbling!

Zadie Smith's Ten Tips for Writing

An interesting article worth sharing...
Celebrated author Zadie Smith shares her writing 'rules', which I found via the website 'Brain Pickings'- run by Maria Popova. https://www.brainpickings.org/about/ 

Maria has collated advice on writing from many famous sources- Zadie Smith being the latest addition. Look at Maria's website for the full list in her article 'Timeless Advice on Writing: The Collected Wisdom of Great Writers'.

See the link below for the ten tips from Zadie, including the great advice to 'Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it'.
Advice we would definitely take, were it not for the tight deadlines for scribblers' homework!

https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/09/19/zadie-smith-10-rules-of-writing/ 

Meeting Minutes from 18th February

Minutes of Scribblers meeting held on 18 February 2020

Present:

Liliane, Georgina, Martyn, Jane H, Kay, Arlette, Cathy, Justin, David, Carole, Jim

Apologies: 

Dave, Beryl, Glynis, Derek

Business: 

There were no business items to attend to, but the group sent their best wishes to Dave, who is currently unwell.

After a late start to the meeting (issues with security codes/access etc), we settled down to hear the entries for the Jack Wilkinson trophy competition, with six entries for a story about children. We always say how varied these competition stories are, and this evening was no exception. Kay and Cathy did the reading.

Jim kindly took on the task of collating the votes at the end, and the winners were as follows:

First place went to Carole with her story ‘The unforeseen perils of appendicitis’ , 742 words

Next was Georgina, taking second place with ‘Full circle’, 698 words

Finally, Liliane took third place with ‘Katy’, 749 words

The remaining stories tied for fourth place – rather unusual!

Jane – Nature, 750 words

Martyn – Friends, 655 words

Justin - ‘Reading the rain’, 746 words

After Jim had presented Carole with the trophy, and the usual photos had been taken, we settled down for chat, coffee and cake – and our thanks must go to Georgina for the delicious flapjack she baked for us.

The meeting finished unusually early, and there could have been opportunity for a short exercise had we wished to do one, but everyone agreed that they were happy to head home.

Next meeting: 3 March, when the homework theme is ‘Fame’ – maximum of 750 words

NEXT MEETING

Hello Scribblers

Our next meeting will be held on the 3rd March.
The homework topic for this meeting is 'Fame'.
Maximum of 750 words please- interpret the prompt however you feel.
Please be aware that the meeting starts at 7.30 pm and the door will be locked at this time for security reasons.
Wishing you all inspiration.
Keep Scribbling!

Congratulations in Order

Well done to the new holder of the Jack Wilkinson Trophy.

Carole was presented with the fabulous trophy by the previous holder Jim.

The competition was for a short story, up to 750 words, about children.

Carole's entry was 'The Unforeseen Perils of Appendicitis'; a gripping tale of survival.

The runners up were Georgina with 'Full Circle' and Lilianne with 'Katy'.

Thank you to all those who entered and contributed to a very enjoyable evening.

A Literary Link

Those who dabble in the World of Twitter will know there are a vast array of contacts you can make. You can 'follow' other writers for support and a sense of community. You can find links to competitions, festivals and opportunities. One writer that I follow regularly posts such links, as well as amusing, inspiring and gut-wrenchingly accurate and helpful quotes from writers- such as this one: "Sometimes a flat-footed sentence is what serves, so you don't get all writerly: 'He opened the door.' There, it's open." -Amy Hempel My Twitter friend is Peter Jordan- he has recently published a collection of short stories called 'Calls to Distant Places'. A recent Tweet of his contained this helpful link, for those wanting to submit work to Literary magazines. How to Submit Your Writing to Literary Magazines https://t.co/9V6Zkvy8XP via @A_WritersStudio
(https://twitter.com/PM_Jordan/status/1228345648354877443?s=09)

Get the official Twitter app at https://twitter.com/download?s=13

Keep Scribbling, and keep sharing opportunities.