The Long and the Short of Magazine Writing - Guest Post Helen Yendall

There comes that moment in every blogger's life when they think, Why have I never invited this person onto my blog as a guest? I had that moment a few week's ago with womag writer and blogger, Helen Yendall. Helen's own blog, Blog About Writing, is one of the most informative and entertaining I've read and I've been following it since 2012. We also share a love of writing short stories and have shared the pages of magazines, so how has Helen slipped through the net? The answer is... I've no idea!

Anyway, I'm delighted that Helen agreed to be interviewed for Wendy's Writing Now and I know you'll find her answers as interesting as I did.

Weclome, Helen! Can you tell my readers how long you’ve been writing for magazines and which was the first magazine you sold to.

Oh, goodness, this is embarrassing because when I admit this, your readers are going to think ‘what the heck has she been doing in all that time?’ but I actually had my first short story acceptance (a competition win) in Bella magazine over twenty years ago. Bella, sadly, doesn’t publish short stories any more but back in those days, it was one of many magazines that accepted fiction. I really wish now that I’d applied myself much more and perhaps I’d have had many more acceptances but I was a bit of a dabbler at the writing game then.  

We hear a lot about the importance of finding your own ‘voice’. Do you feel you have a particular writing style?

When my friends read my stories, they often say that they can ‘hear’ me speaking to them, so I guess my writing style must be similar to the way I speak. I suppose that’s not surprising but it just goes to show that ‘voice’ isn’t something you can fake: it’s just ‘you’, at the end of the day.

Have you noticed many changes since you started writing for magazines?

Of course, there are fewer and fewer of them that accept fiction and that’s the biggest change. They all seem to be full of celebrity gossip now. It’s such a shame that magazines like The Lady don’t even feature fiction any more.

You recently had your first serial, the Air is Sweet published in The People’s Friend magazine. Can you tell us a little about how this came about?

I’d had an idea for a novel set in a chocolate factory for a while (ever since I visited the museum at Cadbury World) and I’d even made a (small!) start and written the first chapter. So when The People’s Friend announced their serial-writing competition last year, it seemed the ideal opportunity to do something with my manuscript. I polished up the first 6000 words, added another character and a couple of cliff hangers and submitted that, along with a synopsis, to the competition (all very last minute!). I was amazed and delighted to get a call from the editor Shirley Blair, in the autumn, to tell me I was the winner. And part of my prize (once I’d written the next two instalments), was to see the serial published in the magazine.

Did you find the serial harder to write than a short story?

It was harder in some ways because it took a lot longer, of course (it was 16000 words in total and some of my short stories are under 1000 words). Also, as the serial is set in 1905, I had to do a lot of research (mind you, although time-consuming, that was actually a lot of fun). But I enjoyed the freedom of being able to write from three different points of view (in a short story, of course, you usually write from just one point of view) and I had so many different ideas for the plot and the characters that I could have written a lot more than I did. The characters came alive for me much more than they do in a short story.  In fact, one of the hardest things about writing the serial, was trying to keep to the word count. I could easily have made it 5 or 6 instalments long.

I’ve been following your great blog, Blog About Writing, since I started writing in 2012 and like me, you post once a week. Do you find it hard to think of things to write?

That’s lovely to hear, Wendy. I actually used to blog more than once a week but I just don’t have time to post more often now and yes, you’re right, it does get harder to think of things to write about. I always try to bear in mind that the name of my blog is ‘blog about writing’ and that’s the reason, I assume, that people read it, so even when I’m rabbiting on about tennis or my dog or the other things in my life, I always try to put in something  - whether it’s a book recommendation or a link to a competition – that’s relevant to writing. I’ve written over 500 posts now and yes, it’s definitely harder to blog these days!

From time to time you hold competitions on your blog. Can you tell my readers about your latest one, please?

Funny you should mention that, Wendy, yes I do have a writing competition on my blog and it’s free to enter and open to all. The closing date is 12^th July, so there’s still time to get your entry in! I picked some words at random and they need to be included in a 100 word story (or poem). I’ve run a few competitions along these lines now and I never cease to be amazed by the creations that I’m sent! 

You’ve already published one collection of short stories, Paper Chase, and your latest collection, The Sunshine Board, is out now. Who do you think these stories might appeal to?

Most of the stories have been published before in Woman’s Weekly magazine, so I suppose if you like those kind of stories, or are interested in reading some for ‘research purposes’, then the collection might appeal to you. But regardless of where the stories have come from (and a couple are competition winners rather than womag stories), I really hope that it’s a satisfying read for summer (hence the bright yellow cover!). There’s nothing scary or depressing in the stories – in fact, there’s a touch of humour (so I’m told) in some of them – so the collection would make a nice holiday read, whether you’re on the beach or having a ‘staycation’ in your back garden.

Finally, what next for Helen Yendall? Do you have any plans to write a novel or are you happy to stick with the short stories?

Good question! I must admit, I’ve got a taste for writing something longer, since I finished the serial. Whether that will be another serial or a novel, remains to be seen. I have got an idea but I just need to test it out first  - do a bit of research (it’s another historical one) and see if it’s got ‘legs’!  (Thanks for reminding me – I need to get on with it!).

Thank you so much for having me as a guest on your blog, Wendy. I’ve enjoyed following your progress from novice short story writer to People’s Friend favourite, then seeing you joining the RNA, completing your first novel and getting an agent! In such a short space of time. It’s not only impressive but inspiring too. Keep up the good work!

Bio:

Helen Yendall lives in the Cotswolds and works part-time for a children’s charity.  Her small claim to fame is that she was once Poet Laureate for Warwick but her first love is fiction. She likes the way it can help make sense of the world and that, as a writer, she can give good people the happy ending they deserve. 

Links:

Website: https://blogaboutwriting.wordpress.com/

Competition: https://blogaboutwriting.wordpress.com/2016/06/21/new-free-writing-competition-short-story-collection/

The RNA New Writers' Scheme - What Made Me Join?

Way back in June 2014, The lovely Karen Aldous asked whether she could guest on my blog to tell my readers a bit about her experience of being on the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) New Writers' Scheme (NWS). Her blog post was so interesting that I actually published it in two parts (which you can read here and here) and it quickly became one of my most popular guest posts.

So what is the RNA NWS? Well, in a nutshell, it's a scheme set up for unpublished writers of romantic fiction. It opens in January and accepts only 250 writers (unfortunately the scheme is now full for 2016). The organiser has a team of more than 60 readers who are authors with extensive publishing histories in various types of romantic novel. After joining, members of the NWS can send their script to be read by one of the readers for a critique (something that would normally be pretty expensive).

At the time of Karen's guest post, I was in the early stages of my own writing career. I had been writing fiction for magazines for about a year and the thought of writing a novel hadn't even crossed my mind - far from it. I was happy with what I was writing... Why would I want to be doing anything different?

Strangely though, over the year, things started to change. First, I noticed that my stories were beginning to get longer and more involved. This made me wonder whether I might be able to write a serial. The People's Friend certainly thought so (in fact my editor had mentioned it a while back) so I took the plunge and wrote a five-instalment serial called Charlotte's War for them. The following year, I wrote another, Life at Babcock Manor, and it made me think that maybe I could write something even longer. A novel perhaps? 

There was a short story I'd written for Woman's Weekly which had a theme I couldn't get out of my head. Might it work as something longer? There was only one way to find out. At the end of 2014, I made a start and it was about this time that a lovely writer, Deirdre Palmer (who has also written a guest post here) invited me to meet up with some other writing friends for coffee. They were all members of the RNA and were very welcoming. Deirdre had been through the scheme and had recently got her first publishing deal, why didn't I consider joining the scheme in 2015? 

I'd made a start on my novel but it wasn't progressing very well. What I needed was something to give me that push to really get stuck into it. Could the NWS be that thing?

That October, I went with Deirdre, as a guest, to the RNA Christmas party (you can read about it here) and talked to people who had been on the scheme. Should I join? The overwhelming opinion was, Yes! It was also at that party that I met my blog guest Karen Aldous in real life! It was from her that I had first heard of the New Writers' Scheme. It seemed an omen. I should go for it.

So having already written my application email, at two minutes past midnight on the second of January 2015, I hit the send button. The following day, I was thrilled to hear that I had been accepted. You can read my super-excited post about it here).

Next week, I will tell you about my first year of being an RNA NWS member and how it has helped me with my writing career... don't miss it!

Writing for Magazines - Guest Post Leonora Francis

Leonora Francis is a name you will recognise if you are a reader of women's magazines. She started writing the year before me and we have followed similar paths - from short stories to serials. I though it would be interesting to find out more about this magazine writer's writing life.

How long have you been writing and what made you start?

This is a true story. I wrote a book in my late twenties and received a lovely rejection letter from a publisher, with feedback, and they asked me to write another one. I should have, but didn’t. If only I knew then what I know now.

I didn’t put pen to paper again until four years ago. I was helping my daughter with an essay and it kick-started my love of writing. My son encouraged me to send my stories out to publishers. I did. And here I am.

Can you remember the first magazine story you sold and has your style changed since then?

I will never forget it. It was a humorous story about a granddaughter encouraging her granddad to give up smoking in exchange for removing her navel ring, which he hated. An acceptance was waiting for me from Shirley Blair at The People’s Friend when I returned home from work one day. That was in early 2011 but I didn’t really get to grips with writing until 2012. I learnt so much in those early days and I never gave up.

And yes, my writing style has changed. After that first acceptance, which I put down to the quirkiness of the story itself and not my style, I wrote many, many stories. They were all rejected. That is, until a kind editor at the People’s Friend personally contacted me by email. It was from him that I learnt about ‘voice’, which in turn helped me to engage with my characters. There are only so many themes that you can write about and I believe the story is almost secondary to characterisation. I thank my editor for bringing this to my attention.

How do you keep track of all your submissions, rejections and acceptances?

I have a lovely spreadsheet and use pretty colours for acceptances and rejections. More importantly, there’s also a short section to add a few words as to why the story was rejected. In the early days I used that section as a learning tool. I still do!

Briefly describe a typical writing day?

I’m brightest in the morning and write in bed. Yes, in bed, with my laptop on my knees! I exit my bed at about mid-day to start editing. I don’t edit in bed. I find some other room in the house and always edit on a paper copy. Don’t ask me why. I try to finish at about 3 o’clock, but if a story has gripped me, I can write into the early hours of the morning, which drives my husband mad.

What made you move from short stories to writing serials?

My stories were getting longer and developing into these huge dramas, especially the period ones. In late 2013 I received emails from both PF and WW asking if I would like to attempt a serial for them. I was excited and rushed into it without thinking. Fortunately, my first serial for Woman’s Weekly, Amos Browne, made the grade. My attempt for PF was a disaster.

Do you have any bad writing habits?

I don’t plan, so I have no idea what’s going to happen in any of my stories until just before I type, ‘The End’. It can be costly. More than once I’ve reached part 3 of a serial and got stuck. I’ve had to abandon a few because of it. I also have an obsession with commas and exclamation marks, but I don’t think I’m alone in that!

If you could write in only one genre what would it be?

It would have to be Sci-Fi or Fantasy. Andre Norton books were my first love and I’m just about to finish reading book 3 in the Tawny Man Trilogy by Robin Hobb. The only downside with writing Sci-Fi or Fantasy is that your memory has to be pretty good otherwise you’d have to constantly check your notes. You’d also have to have a fairly good understanding of all the technical/science stuff. I’m not sure I can write one until I try. 

Do you write in the same genre that you enjoy reading?

Before I started writing seriously I didn’t read much in the way of crime or romance. When I think of an idea for a story I rarely have romance in mind. My stories seem to turn into romances as soon as a strong male character walks on stage. As for crime serials, I concentrate less on the actual crime and more on character development. One day someone is going to clock that the crime itself doesn’t quite ring true or that it would have been impossible for the perpetrator to have ‘done it’! Seriously though, writing outside your comfort zone can be so much fun.

What are your future writing plans?

I won’t give up trying to write a serial for The People’s Friend. (My mother would be overjoyed! So would I!) After that, I’d like to attempt that Sci-Fi novel. I’ve got an idea forming, but it needs a lot more development before I crawl into bed, open my laptop and start typing. Saying that, I’m not sure I’ll ever abandon short stories because adore writing them.

Leonora Francis was born in Leicester and now lives in South London. She’s had over a hundred and twenty stories published in women’s magazines, and is currently writing her sixth serial for Woman’s Weekly. Leonora thinks she’s normal but her friends say she’s eccentric. Sometimes she has to agree with them.

You can find out more about Leonora on Facebook 

My People's Friend Journey to 100 Stories

This week was a bit of a milestone as I sold my hundredth story to the lovely magazine The People's Friend (bringing my magazine sales to nearly 150). If someone had told me this would happen when I sent off my first story to them in 2012, I would never have believed it.

My People's Friend journey started like this. I sent a few stories at the beginning of the year and received the standard rejection letter - very quickly as it happens. I wasn't downheartened though as I had sent them off without expectation. Looking back at those first stories I realise that they really weren't that good (although I've since used the basic ideas and themes to write other stories that have found a home) and am not surprised they were rejected.

Then I received a letter from a real live editor... oh yes indeed! In fact it was from my lovely editor of three years, Alan. Okay, so it wasn't an acceptance but it gave me hope. I'll let you read the blog post I wrote about this. It's short and sweet and had no comments as I was new to blogging then. In fact I doubt anyone ever read it. It's called Resubmissions, Resubmissions

I must say I chuckled to myself when I read the sentence, 'I think I have become very stubborn about this magazine - I have made it my mission to have a story accepted.' 

Thank goodness I did!

It was then that I decided to try writing about something close to my heart - dancing - which has been a hobby of mine for over twenty years. At the time, I was doing Zumba classes and had also started ballroom lessons so decided to merge both of these into a story.

My passion for the subject must have showed because the next letter I received wasn't a general rejection but  one full of suggestions as to how to make my story better. Here's a little clip of it. As you can imagine, I was over the moon and sat down and made all the changes there and then, sending it out before the next post. A couple of months later, I went on holiday and came back to an email telling me that my dance story had been sold. Dancing Queen was published in The People's Friend Special the following February.

The post I wrote next is still as relevant today as it was then. It's called The People's Friend - A Friend Indeed.

The rest is history really. Having got a feel for The Friend readership, I continued to write and found more and more of my stories accepted. All this time I worked closely with my editor and I know that his invaluable advice has made me a better writer. When magazine editor Angela Gilchrist said in Writing Magazine 'if we see potential in a writer, the fiction team will work very hard with that person to get them their first acceptance' I can do nothing but agree with her.

I went on to write serials for the magazine and even wrote an article for fiction Editor, Shirley Blair, on the subject for Writing Magazine

Writing for the magazine has also gained me a new friend - fellow People's Friend writer and workshop leader, Alison Carter. We share the same editor and when he spotted we lived near to each other, I got in touch. We now meet regularly to eat cake and chat about the writing world and Alan likes to call himself a matchmaker!


In fact I feel very honoured to have had my name alongside Alison's in a People's Friend tweet, advertising their guidelines as Alison is a great writer whose sales far exceed mine. You can read their guidelines here.

I hope that reading this post on my journey to my hundredth sale to the magazine will give other writers encouragement to persevere. The magazine might be called The People's Friend, but the editorial staff soon become the writers' friends.

You might like to get an idea of the sort of stories I've written for the magazine. The ones in my romantic story collection, Room in Your Heart, have all previously been published in The People's Friend as have many of the ones in The Last Rose.

They are available in both ebook and paperback and can be bought here from Amazon.

The Grapes of Love

It might look as though I've been gallivanting again but... oh, okay, I have!

After an exciting week where I celebrated the completion of my first novel (you can read about it here) my seven friends and I went for a long weekend to Bordeaux. Usually we stay in England but this year we fancied some September sunshine... and that was what we got. It was glorious.

We stayed in an Airbnb apartment in the centre of the city with wonderful high ceilings with decorative cornices - but only one loo between the eight of us! Amazingly, we didn't have to resort to a rota ... but it was touch and go.

Bordeaux is a lovely city, especially in the early autumn and I particularly loved the Mirroir d' Eau (Mirror Pool). It's a giant slab of granite, covered with 2cm of water, set in front of the beautiful Place de la Bourse. The way it alternates between a mirror effect which reflects the 18 century facades of the buildings behind and a mist, is magical. No wonder it's the most photographed site in the city.

We also visited the lovely town of St Emilion and did a bit of wine tasting - well you have to don't you! 

It was a coincidence that at the same time I was touring the vineyards, my love story, The Grapes of Love, was in Take a Break Fiction Feast. The setting is a vineyard called Domaine de la Bergerie and the story takes place during during the vindage. I actually sold this story a year ago but missed the boat for last year's October magazine so they held it back a year.

'Below her, the vineyards stretched out as far as the eye could see until they reached the blue ribbon of the river in the distance. The air was filled with the musky scent of the harvest...'

I like to think that it could be describing one of the vineyards we saw.

Last week also saw the penultimate instalment of my People's Friend serial, Life at Babcock House. It's so exciting to see what illustration has been created for it. As it's about a year since I wrote the serial, I've forgotten a lot of it, so I've reading it again - this time with the eyes of a reader.

Now I'm back, I can feel some serious novel editing coming on and (surprise, surprise) I've come home with a short story idea or two.

Life at Babcock Manor - My Second Serial for The People's Friend

It's been a busy time publication-wise over the last couple of weeks but by far the most exciting has been the first episode of my serial 'Life at Babcock Manor' in The People's friend.

This is my second serial and is an 'upstairs-downstairs' style family saga set in the 1850s. It starts when governess Emily arrives at the house owned by Doctor Craven and his wife to tutor their daughter, Elizabeth. Why is beautiful Mrs Craven so strange and distant? What trouble will her brother Lewis cause for the family? Will new maid Elsa come between kitchen maid Jenny and young footman Robert? I can't tell you the fun I had trying to answer these questions and more.

The inspiration behind Life at Babcock Manor was a Christmas story I wrote for The Friend a couple of years ago called, The Last Candle. Even as I was writing it, I knew there were more stories to be told about my characters. Eagle-eyed readers might remember some of the characters: gruff Mrs Banbury, the cook; serious housekeeper, Mrs Peters; Jenny's little brother, Jed. All of them return - along with new characters, flighty ward Belinda, dashing Lewis and kind new doctor James Upton. Governess, Emily, was the heroine in my People's Friend canal-side story, Workshop of the World. I love re-using characters, moving them to different locations and seeing what happens to them.

As I've mentioned before, the People's Friend is holding a serial writing competition. To help promote it, I was asked by Writers' Forum columnist, Doug McPherson, to give a few words about serial writing to go alongside those of fiction editor, Shirley Blair. Seeing this photo had made me realise I really must get a new one done - it's been around too long.

Alongside Life at Babcock Manor is my short story, The Iron Man. It opens the magazine. Did you know that this is the name given to the wind pumps on American farms? No, nor did I until I started to write the story for the great illustration my editor sent me, and did some research. Every now and again I'll write a story set in another country just for a change. I find writing about a different place (especially one I've never been to) challenging but also refreshing.

I also have a story called The Grapes of Love in Take a Break Fiction Feast, but as it relates to something I shall be doing in a couple of weeks time, I shall leave the inspiration behind this story until then.

Finally, for the first time, writing chum, Tracy Fells, and I have joined forces for a feature! We are talking to Lynne Hackles in her Novel Ideas column about the importance of writing buddies and teacakes -what else! Without Tracy's support I wouldn't have achieved half of my goals... honestly.

You can find Lynne's Column in Writing Magazine.

So that's it for this week. On Tuesday I am off to Skopelos for a week to soak up the sun and to add the final details to my Greek romantic suspense. It's all but finished and will hopefully be ready to send out to agents once I'm back. Exciting stuff. Can't wait!

Judge for SWWJ John Walter Trophy Short Story Competition

I am delighted to announce that I have been asked by the Society of Women Writers and Journalists to be the judge for this year's John Walter Trophy Short Story Competition.

Let me tell you a little about the SWWJ. It was founded in 1894 by newspaper proprietor Joseph Snell Wood, and is the UK's longest-established society for professional women writers. It has since become an international association affiliated to women's associations worldwide. Victoria Wood is its president and Sir Tim Rice and Simon Brett are among the patrons.

Viv Brown (who writes as Vivien Hampshire and who kindly suggested me as a judge) has been a member for ten years and is on the council. She has written an excellent blogpost about the SWWJ here. She says that the society is always looking to welcome new writers of all ages who might be novelists, journalists, playwrights, poets, article writers and writers of non-fiction books.

It's not the first time that I've judged a short story competition. Last year, the Chiltern Writers Group kindly asked me to judge their annual competition and I enjoyed it so much I was more than happy to say yes to this new request from the SWWJ.

I've already started to think what I shall be looking for once the stories start coming in but my mind is open to any genre, emotion and style. Without giving too much away, I will just say that the winning entries will need to entertain me but also move me in some way - be it through hope, sadness, joyfulness, humour or tragedy. 

Good luck to all the entrants!

In other news, I have had my first response to my #PitchCB submission. You can read last week's updated post here.  

Also, I'm very excited that my new serial, Life at Babcock House, will be starting in the September 5th issue of the The People's Friend. I was thrilled with the response to my first serial, Charlotte's War and am hoping readers will like this one just as much.

Finally, if you'd like to find out more about the SWWJ, the contact details are below:

website

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Writing Serials for the People's Friend - Guest Post Shirley Blair

As most of you will know, I recently had my first serial, Charlotte's War, published in The People's Friend. Although the timescale from pitching the idea to seeing the serial in print is quite a long one, I enjoyed the whole process and each week would rush off to the newsagents to see what lovely illustration David Young had created for me. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I wrote a second!

Knowing that The Friend is looking for new serial writers,  a couple of month's ago, I wrote an article for Writing Magazine on what fiction editor Shirley Blair is looking for when it comes to serials. Due to word limit, I was only able to include some of Shirley's answers to my questions in my feature, so I asked her whether she would be happy for me to use her quotes in full in my blog. Lovely lady that she is, she said she was more than happy. I have found writing the serials both challenging and rewarding and I would encourage anyone who had been thinking about moving on from short stories to have a go.

In your view what makes a good serial?

We look for a cast of strong, engaging characters who come alive in your head so that you can see them and hear them talking. Together these characters deliver an absorbing storyline with perhaps an unusual setting. Attention to detail in terms of location and period always helps.

Should it include a romance?

Yes. We’ve noticed that sometimes the romance gets overlooked in a serial, but it offers a change of pace, a breathing space in the midst of the action.    

Do you have a preference for viewpoint and tense? (Do you ever accept ones written in first person?)

We prefer a third person narrative in past tense. First person would be single viewpoint, whereas we look for two or three viewpoints telling two or three interweaving storylines, scene by scene. I always liken it to a TV soap in that respect. 

What qualities do you look for in a serial writer?

Commitment. Discipline. Methodical planning. We hope they’ll be flexible and receptive to our input. It’s also helpful if they can understand that their serial becomes part of our publishing schedule and deliver it in a reasonable time; some writers are quite slow which can throw my plans haywire! I know, though, that the stop/start nature of writing a serial for us can be equally frustrating for them.

Do you have a preferred serial length?

Nowadays People’s Friend readers are happiest with serials of four to ten instalments. Gone are the days when we’d offer them twenty-instalment marathons!

What is it that you DON’T want to see in a serial?

Too linear a narrative. As I’ve said, we look for two or three character viewpoints telling their interweaving stories. We don’t want stagnant characters or stagnant action. Then, of course, we don’t want any of our usual Friend taboos of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll!

What is more important in a PF serial, storyline or character?

Oh, always character. You’ll remember a great character long after you’ve forgotten what the story was about. I still have a bit of a crush on a character called Magnus from years ago, though now I can’t even remember which serial it was!

Would you recommend trying short stories before attempting a serial?

Generally yes. The People’s Friend has its own particular style, and a serial is such a commitment, that it’s helpful if both writer and editor have the confidence of previous success to support them.  

Are you more likely to consider a writer who has previously written a short story for the magazine?

Yes, for the reasons I’ve mentioned, because we’ve learned their strengths and built up a relationship, but never say never!

Are there any themes you wouldn’t consider?

Loads! But a quick look at our guidelines will steer you in the right direction. And we’re always more than happy to offer advice.

What is the most common mistake you have seen serial writers make?

The main one is a lack of planning. You know, not thinking out their story in its entirety so we all know where it’s going, at what pace, and how it ends. And then not maintaining the momentum and tension within the story as they write. Some try to get on their soapbox, using their story to make a political point, but that’s not really the Friend’s style. Finally, some forget to give their characters different voices; all you hear is the writer’s voice.

What would you say your role is as an editor?

As editors we’re here to support, to encourage, to communicate, cajole and congratulate. We’re here to handhold as much or as little as we and the writer feel necessary. We always say, ask us anything, it’s what we’re here for. Stuck? Let us help. So I’d say the relationship between editor and writer is one of trust and teamwork.

How much input do you have in the planning process?

Every writer is different. Some come to us with a fully-formed and perfect story that they write with next to no input from us. Others need significant help in shaping and planning the story as a whole, and then again as they write each instalment – but that’s OK. I can’t stress enough that it’s what we’re here for. Ask us anything!

Thank you very much, Shirley, for your lovely detailed answers. If you fancy having a go at writing a serial for The People's Friend, you can find their guidelines here.

*UPDATE*

Since writing this post, The People's Friend have announced a serial writing competition with a prize of £400 for the winner. Closing date: October 30 2015. Details and entry coupon can be found in the weekly magazine and on Shirley's Fiction Blog here.

Why Writing is Like Dancing

How fitting that for part four of my serial, Charlotte's War, illustrator David Young chose the scene with Charlotte and Denise doing the jitterbug at a dance. Why is that fitting? Well, because that's what I've been doing this weekend - not jitterbugging exactly but close, as my husband and I have just got back from our annual jive weekend at Warner, Hayling Island.

Those of you who have followed my blog since it started in 2012 will know that we are very keen dancers - in fact I've been dancing modern jive for over twenty years now! When I was younger, it used to be classes twice a week and a dance every weekend but over the years salsa, and more recently ballroom and Latin, have taken over as our dances of choice and, apart from the occasional local local dance, we tend to only jive now at this event. This is probably why we enjoy the weekend so much as it is like getting to know an old friend again.

If I show you the timetable, you'll see why I feel ready to sleep for a week.

Anything circled or underlined is a class we did... and that's just the Saturday classes. Sunday was just as full and, on top of that, there were dances each evening until the small hours to practise what we'd learned. The only problem was that each time we did a new class, we'd forget what we'd done in the class before!

The weekend wasn't all about jive, though. There was the opportunity to learn Social Foxtrot, West Coast Swing, Bollywood or Rumba if you wanted. Here's a picture of our lovely Milonga teachers, Andy and Samantha. Milonga is a bit like a fast tango and we've added some of their moves to our own repertoire.

I have to say, it was quite nice to have a proper break from writing, social media etc and be able to do nothing but dance and eat... did I mention the food? I'd better not as you might be jealous. What I will say, is that I'm not sure the dancing burnt off all the calories from the evening carvery!

Two, three rest... two, three rest... that's the rhythm of the Rumba class we took and in some ways it reminds me of my writing. I need those rest phases to get the energy back for the next spell of writing. It's also a bit like my publications. Last week, as well as my serial, I was lucky to have two stories in the People's Friend Special. It often happens that way and then there'll be a break. Here's the one I wrote called The Midnight Sun, which is set in Antarctica.

I hope you all have a good week. I'd planned to do some writing... but I think I'm off for a sleep!

Charlotte's War - My First People's Friend Serial

Today is a very exciting day for me as instalment one of my serial, Charlotte's War, has just been published in The People's Friend magazine. It is a romance set on Guernsey during the German occupation of World War 2 and David Young has been illustrating it for me.

After I trotted off to the newsagents this morning to buy myself a copy, the rush I got from seeing it was the same as when I saw my first short story in print. I couldn't wait to get it home to read - not because I love my own writing but because I wrote it over a year ago and I couldn't actually remember what happened! When I looked back on my computer, I found that I started writing the first instalment in July 2013! As you can see, from writing the first words to seeing the serial in print is not a speedy process! You can read my blog post written on the day I had my serial accepted here.

The People's Friend are running an advert this week on Classic FM (South and Midlands) and they are using an excerpt from Charlotte's War - with sound effects! I spent a morning listening to classical music (not something I would normally do!) and wondered why the advert hadn't appeared (I'd been sent a schedule so knew roughly the times). It wasn't until I heard on the traffic news about road works in Yorkshire, that I realised my computer was tuned into the wrong region! Luckily for me, the magazine put a link on their website and anyone interested can listen to it here.

It's strange but thrilling to hear even that tiny part read - shame my name wasn't mentioned though.
 

I have a story, Rhythm of Life, in the same magazine set in the 1920s jazz age. It was one I wrote to accompany this lovely illustration by Len Thurston.

I find that magazine publications are a lot like buses - they often come at once (not that I'm complaining). I also have a story, Home Grown Wisdom, in the People's Friend special - also out today. The illustration is by Ruth Blair and the inspiration behind this story was my lovely father-in-law who has spent most of his life in his vegetable garden!

Before I go, The People's Friend are looking for new serial writers. If you want any tips on writing longer pieces for this magazine, an article I have written on the subject, with pearls of wisdom from fiction editor Shirley Blair, should be in Writing Magazine soon.

How's the Novel Going?

Okay, okay, I can't dodge the question any longer.
What question? I hear you ask.
The one referring to the thing that starts with N and ends with L.

I blame Tracy Fells of course. To be honest, I thought I'd got away with it as we had been sitting in the cafe talking for nearly two hours about the usual writerly things and she hadn't brought the subject up. Then just as we were about to pay for our teacakes (yes it's that time of the month again) and leave the café, she did.
,
"How's the novel going?"

At first I pretended not to have heard, but Tracy knows me too well and was not going to let me get away with it that easily. My target was to write at least 2,000 words of the novel a week, so the question she wanted to know was had I managed it?

"Well..." I said. "It's like this..."

Tracy cut in. "Don't tell me. You haven't had time because of your dancing, zumba, dog walking... oh, wait a minute that's it, Bonnie ate it!"

Very funny.

In actual fact my excuses for not having reached my target that month, and having only reached 12,000 words in total, were rather better than that and perfectly true: I'd had a serial to finish and a new collection of short stories to prepare for publication (watch out for it early March), I'd got stuck when I realised I hadn't planned the novel out properly and I'd changed the tense and viewpoint about ten times. You see, I'd been very busy!

The look on Tracy's face, though, told me all I needed to know - she was having none of it. I bowed my head. "I promise to do better next month Tracy."

"You'd better, or there will be no teacakes."

Now that is a threat (and one I think I've heard before) so this last week I've been setting aside more time for the novel. I wrote another chapter and managed to get a better idea in my head of where my characters were heading. I thought I was doing well then, out of the blue, I had a crisis of confidence - how could I be sure that what I had already written would have the makings of a readable novel?

The breakthrough came when someone gave me the following piece of advice (if I could remember who, I could thank them). They suggested I send what I had written to my kindle and read it as a reader would, rather than as a writer. That's what I did this morning and, because I haven't written a great deal, I was able to read it all the way through and the result was very exciting. I found I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. It was the push I needed.

At last I can believe that what I am writing has the potential to be a story that I will enjoy writing and that someone will hopefully enjoy reading ... and I can't wait to carry on!

In other news, I have a story in this week's People's Friend (out Wednesday) and The current People's Friend Special and Woman's Weekly Fiction Special.

My Goals of 2014 - Did I Succeed?

At the beginning of 2014, I sat down over teacakes with writing chum Tracy and set myself some writing goals for the coming year - you can read the original full post here.

The goals (in brief) are below and I have commented on whether or not they have been achieved.

Goal: Increase my story output to three stories every two weeks.
Achieved? Yes and no. I managed this for several months until it became stressful! I realised that by forcing myself to write more stories, I was concentrating more on quantity than quality and unless my story is my very best, I don't want to send it. I also realised that by writing more stories I had to come up with more ideas and this started to feel like a chore rather than a pleasure. With this in mind, I dropped back to one story a week again - this feels just right and the ideas come naturally now.

Goal: Achieve my hundredth sale by the end of the year.
Achieved? I sold 102!

Goal: Write another serial
Achieved? Yes. Serial number two was accepted by The People's Friend and is almost completed.

Goal: Write a novel
Achieved? Umm... no. I started - really I did - but there was always something else I wanted to write. I'm a bit disappointed in myself but will try harder next year!

Goal: Publish a collection of my short stories in time for Christmas.
Achieved: A gold star for this as Room in Your Heart was published in September (available here.) It was only ever meant to be an ebook but after many requests, I published a paperback version as well.

So, as you can see, it was a mixed year but on balance, I was very happy with my achievements.

But do you know what the best goal of all was? It was to meet up with Tracy once a month to discuss targets and put the writing world to rights. We've managed every month for the whole year and I couldn't have a better writing buddy. I'll be posting my new targets for 2015 very soon - so look out for them.