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THE UK’S
BESTS ELLING
WRITING MAGA ZINE
DECEMBER
2016
BEAT
WRITER’S
BLOCK
Busting the myth and
dealing with the reality
PENNEY
STAR INTERVIEW
Intimate emotions,
epic landscapes
STEF
REVEALED
INCLUDING
20 PACKED PAGES OF
WM’S
BOOKS
OF THE
YEAR
•
WIN £50,588
in writing prizes
• Opportunities to get published
• Insider know-how
and much more…
2
DECEMBER 2016
www.writers-online.co.uk
E D I TO R ’ S L E T T E R
THE UK’S
BESTS ELLING
WRITING MAGA ZINE
DECEMBER
2016
BEAT
WRITER’S
BLOCK
Busting the myth and
dealing with the reality
PENNEY
STAR INTERVIEW
Intimate emotions,
epic landscapes
STEF
REVEALED
De r Read r
W lc m ...
A WELCOME FROM
THE EDITOR
We’ve had a fun time leading up to this issue in the
WM
office, building
cityscapes of proof and advance copies on our desks of all our favourite
books from 2016 (and some we’re itching to cover in 2017). But we weren’t
just enjoying hiding out in Booktown for its own sake, although given a
chance we would. We’ve been putting together our collection of the best
books from 2016 for this issue, and what a great year it’s been for books,
from Andrew Michael Hurley’s
The Loney
to Emma Cline’s
The Girls,
from
Augustown
to
The Bright Edge of the World.
Do you agree with our
choices? What would be your recommendations?
We often beat the drum in
WM
that the foundation of good writing
is reading, and lots of it, so why not set yourself up for the long winter
nights ahead and check out some of our recommendations? Try a few titles
outside your regular tastes. Regardless of genre, we’ve singled out books
that are all well-written, and you might find reading something you wouldn’t
normally consider will give you a different perspective on your own work.
So what are you waiting for... get reading!
INCLUDING
20 PACKED PAGES OF
WM’S
BOOKS
OF THE
YEAR
•
WIN £50,588
in writing prizes
• Opportunities to get published
• Insider know-how
and much more…
12
9 770964 916259
£4.10
p001_wmagDec.indd 1
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24/10/2016 15:11
TAP HERE
TO WATCH
Jonathan Telfer
Editor
JAMES BATCHELOR
James Batchelor is a journalist
in the video games industry
and has spent ten years
working on B2B publications
such as
MCV, Develop
and
GamesIndustry.biz. In his
spare time, he continues
to work – slowly – towards
his dream of becoming a
published novelist, and has
helped to edit and self-publish
four charity anthologies for
Essex-based writing group
Writebulb. He stubbornly
denies that he prefers ebooks
to paperbacks.
SUSIE KEARLEY
Susie Kearley is a British
freelance writer and
journalist, working for
magazines, newspapers,
and book publishers in the
UK, USA and internationally.
She covers a wide range of
subjects including healthcare,
gardening, and travel. She
has a regular column in
her local newspaper,
The Bucks Herald,
and is a
keen photographer. Among
her best known clients are
the BBC, IPC Media, and
DC Thomson.
JEFF LYONS
Jeff Lyons is an author and
screenwriter with more than
25 years’ experience in film,
television and publishing as
a writer, story development
consultant, and editor.
He teaches craft-of-story
workshops through Stanford
University’s Online Writer’s
Studio, guest lectures through
UCLA Extension Writers
Programme, and is a regular
presenter at entertainment
and publishing industry
conferences in the US and UK.
www.jefflyonsbooks.com
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© Copyright Warners Group Publications plc. ISSN 0964-9166
Warners Group Publications plc are not able to investigate the products or services provided by the advertisers in Writing Magazine nor to make recommendations about them. Readers
should make sensible enquiries themselves before sending money or incurring substantial costs in sending manuscripts or other material. Take particular care when responding to
advertisers offering to publish manuscripts. While few conventional publishers seek a financial contribution from authors, many such advertisers do seek a payment (sometimes
thousands of pounds) and readers should remember there can be no guarantees such publishing arrangements will prove profitable. There have been cases in which subsidy publishers
have provided unduly optimistic reports on manuscripts to encourage authors to commit themselves to financial contribution. Readers should be aware of this and should not allow their
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When you have finished with
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www.writers-online.co.uk
DECEMBER 2016
3
In this issue ...
INTERVIEWS
AND PROFILES
11 On writing:
John Fowles
36 Beat the bestsellers: JL Carr:
The style and technique of twice-Booker-
nominated self-publishing pioneer JL Carr
44 Shelf life: Peter Robinson
The crime writer shares his top five reads
74 Crime file: Cath Staincliffe
75 How I got published:
Annabel Abbs
A writing competition
launched
The Joyce Girl’s
author
86 New author profile: Jules Grant
A criminal justice background informs the seedy underworld
of Manchester author Jules Grant’s debut
108 My writing day: Andy Jones
Rigorous routines and Pavlovian triggers help the
former copywriter stick to his writing targets
See page
IN!
W
33 A place at Iceland Writers Retreat
including flights and accommodation
worth £1,500
39 £500 in cash prizes and publication in
our latest open short story competitions
61 £250 in cash prizes and publication
in our latest subscriber-only short story
competitions
WRITERS’ NEWS
88
Your essential
monthly round-up of
competitions, paying
markets, opportunities
to get into print and
publishing industry news
STAR INTERVIEW
STEF PENNEY
ON THE COVER
The Costa Book of the
Year-winning author
discusses striking a balance
between artistic imagination
and historical accuracy
WRITING LIFE
ON THE COVER
12 Writing life: Blockbusters
Hollywood script doctor Jeff Lyons doesn’t believe in
writer’s block, but he’s still going to help you beat it
42 Talk it over: Start write
Advice on getting from idea to page
43 Novel ideas
46 The business of writing: Festive frustrations
As Christmas draws near, three writers talk about
managing their writing businesses during the festive period
68 Writing life: Copy protection
Even an accusation of plagiarism can ruin
a writer’s career. We offer a cautionary
tale and suggest how to guard against
the possibility and defend yourself if the
worst does happen
110 Notes from the
margin: The truth
of the matter
Truth is sometimes stranger
than fiction... especially if you
ask your readers
BOOKS OF THE YEAR
readers first, and we’ve rounded up our
picks of 2016’s publishing highlights for
you to read by the fire this autumn
ON THE COVER
26 Writers need to be
4
DECEMBER 2016
www.writers-online.co.uk
e 11
CONTENTS
SELF-PUBLISHING
20 Self-publishing: Createspace publishing,
step by step
How to sell your book in the world’s
biggest bookshop by publishing it through Createspace
22 Self-publishing: Kindle ebooks step by step
Follow these instructions to sell your ebook in the
biggest bookshop in the world
25 Self-publishing: DIY SOS
For some writers, the idea of going it alone seems
daunting, but there’s help at hand with self-publishing
services such as Silverwood Books
FICTION
38 Beginners: Turn to
the dark side
Don’t be afraid to explore edgy
characters and situations
48 Under the microscope
James McCreet puts a reader’s first
300 words under the critical lens
50 Fiction focus:
Kill your darlings
Killing off characters
can be cathartic and
creatively helpful, but don’t
wield the axe indiscriminately
70 Writing for children:
Mistakes to avoid:
After publication
You’ve finally got your
children’s book in your sticky
mitts. Avoid these ten mistakes
to ensure you’ll soon be
pressing into customers’ hands
instead
76 Fantastic realms:
Light, speed, progress
Can science-fiction really keep
up with science-fact – and does
it have to?
POETRY
64 Poetry workshop: A pudding poem
A festive poem explores the way food can evoke
past times and experiences
65 Poetry in practice
Try out some light verse with these ideas
66 Poetry primer: Poetry from A-Z
An alphabetic guide through the language of poetry
67 Poetry competition: Open invitation
Set yourself up for a strong performance in the year’s most
popular
WM
poetry competition, the Annual Open
PUBLISHING
10 Grumpy Old Bookman
A lesser-known
On Writing
inspires Michael Allen
11 From the other side of the desk
Literary agent Piers Blofeld peers behind the scenes
of one of publishing’s biggest annual events
AUTHOR EXPERIENCES
52 Subscriber spotlight
WM
subscribers share their publishing success stories
58 Circles’ roundup
Writing groups share their interests and activities
y for writers:
34 Technolog
ing nerds with
es writing
Gam this way...
Gam
s? Step
ways with word
y for writers:
78 Technolog
ia
on social med
Get the
your writing
ote yourself and
Prom
r advice
online with ou
eb watch
80 Writers’ w
TECH
6 Miscellany
8 Letters
RESOURCES
56 Editorial calendar
74 Behind the tape
81 Computer clinic
82 Helpline
COMPETITION WINNERS
AND EXERCISES
32 Train your brain: Red editing pen
40 Open short story winner
Read the winning entry in our writing for children competition
59 Circles’ roundup: What’s my line?
Exercises to get your group writing
62 Subscriber-only short story winner
Read the winning entry in our Three Words short story comp
NON-FICTION
72 Features desk: I time
Journalists usually try to avoid featuring in their articles,
but sometimes an I is exactly the focus you need
83 Going to market
85 Research tips: Official secrets
The Government makes vast amounts of useful information
available online if you know where to look
103 Travel writing know how
www.writers-online.co.uk
DECEMBER 2016
5

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