THE WRITERS BUREAU
STUDENT STORIES
"Having recently migrated to Australia, it was a pleasure to receive publication request for my short story contribution in the Tarralla Anthology, 2005.
On a similar high note within the same month, The Writers Post Journal, a US Magazine, has contracted to publish another of my stories in their Nov/Dec 05 issue of the magazine. With illustration (grief).
Thanks to increased confidence following my Writers Bureau course I have, in addition to other publications, published a number of eShorts on Fictionwise, a top independent eBook publisher and seller committed to providing the Internet's most comprehensive collection of fiction."
Eugen M. Bacon, Australia.
"I am currently studying with the Writers Bureau and I am really pleased to say that since I started I've been published in an Australian magazine named LOTL and was paid £100 for a two page feature. The feature was actually originally written as part of my Assignment 2 so I'm really happy something I wrote so early on was accepted.
I have also been lucky enough to get a column every two months in a national magazine named ADI News. It is unfortunately unpaid but it's great experience and I'm really hoping that some other articles I've been working on will get published too. Being part of The Writers Bureau has given me a lot more confidence to put my work out there. Thanks!"
Tracy Whitelaw, UK.
Many thanks, as always, to Eugen and Tracy for their stories – proving that you don't have to emigrate to Australia to have publishing success there!
If you are a student of The Writers Bureau, undertaking any of our courses, and would like to share your writing successes with other readers then send an email to: ezeewriter@writersbureau.com with 'Success Story' in the subject line.
FREELANCE MARKET NEWS
an essential guide for freelance writers
For up-to-date market information, Freelance Market News is invaluable.
Issued 11 times a year it's packed with information on markets in Britain and around the globe, plus you get all the latest news and views on the publishing world.
Every subscription comes with FREE membership of The Association of Freelance Writers. Your membership also entitles you to discounts on books and competitions, a free appraisal worth £18 and a Membership Card which confirms your status as a Freelance Writer. For full details and to subscribe visit: www.writersbureau.com/fmn/
IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE OF FMN:
HOW TO MAKE YOUR LOCAL AREA WORK FOR YOU
RESEARCHING HISTORICAL NOVELS
by Lesley Cryer
What images spring to mind when you think about historical novels? Beautiful young women in flowing gowns descending a staircase into a ballroom? Devilishly handsome men in riding boots and breeches galloping across a meadow on black stallions? Or even a love scene in a moonlit arbour, the seductive scent of honeysuckle and roses heavy on the air?
Writing a historical novel can't be too difficult, can it? A high spirited heroine, a dark and brooding hero, a few trials and tribulations along the way followed by the statutory happy ending. It's simple, surely?
Unfortunately, it's not. Whatever your chosen genre, thorough and accurate research is important to ensure that your work is correct in every detail. But for a historical novel it's absolutely essential and – be warned – the research can often take longer than the actual writing.
To place your characters in a realistic context in which they can live, breathe and love, you should have an overview of the society in which they move. There's a substantial amount of background which needs filling in before you can get onto the minor details of developing your characters and producing a gripping but plausible plot. And that's before you even get onto subplots, themes and dialogue.
You can't have your heroes and heroines living in some vaguely described yesteryear, where the only indications that the novel isn't contemporary are that the women wear long frocks and the roads are cluttered up by horses and carriages rather than cars.
Social realism is crucial so, having decided exactly when the book is set, draw up a list of questions about the period. Was there a monarch on the throne and, if so, which one? What political system was in force? Who were the prominent figures of the day? Was it a period when morals were lax, or did religion have a strong influence on people's lives? What was the position of women in society?
All this will need extensive research, even if you never directly mention any of it in the book. If it encompasses a long period – a family saga perhaps – you may find it helpful to draw up time lines for your story, relating the action to events occurring both nationally and globally during those years.
The social mores of the period are equally important. What did the populace do for entertainment? At what times of day did they have their meals? What did they eat? How was it served? It's not going to add to the realism if your characters are enjoying Digestive biscuits and a cup of tea in Saxon Britain, or a prawn biriyani and a bottle of Becks at one of Henry VIII's banquets.
The way people talked and the vocabulary which would have been in common usage are important too. If you use words or phrases which aren't appropriate, your reader will quickly lose confidence in you and interest in the book.
To make your dialogue as plausible as possible, read as many novels as you can find by writers who were current at the time, until you're steeped in the literature of the period. You'll soon find that the rhythms and nuances of speech will come naturally as you embark on the spirited exchanges between your characters.
Spend time in your local library reading anything which is relevant to your novel. Most librarians are delighted to help and will go to endless trouble to supply you with useful material. Any second-hand book shops in the area are also worth a visit
If you have access to the Internet you can call up a vast amount of information without leaving your seat, but you should bear in mind that not all of it has undergone a professional editing process and it may not necessarily be accurate, so do double-check everything.
Beware anachronisms by making sure that anything you mention would have been around at the time. An inappropriate reference to spectacles, electricity, trains, nylon, watches or indoor plumbing can break the spell you've spent so much time weaving. Avoid glaring errors like having a character struggling with a zip, a couple of hundred years before this useful device was invented.
Visit museums and stately homes which have displays of furniture that would have been commonly found in homes of the era you're depicting. If you know of any exhibitions of the type of costumes your characters would have worn, visit them. Take a notebook and make extensive notes. Can you see your heroine in that dress? Your hero in that pair of breeches? If they're liable to shed their clothes in a moment of passion, make sure you know what their underwear would have consisted of, or what they would have worn in bed. The fabrics of the time may well have been called by different names too.
When do you ever see garments made from bombazine, cretonne or organdie in the shops now? There have been many illustrated volumes published covering the history of fashion, so get hold of a few and study them carefully.
Choose names for your characters with care. Kylie or Darren may be redolent of charming high spirits or strong but gentle masculinity to you, but if your book is set in Ancient Rome, they aren't going to enhance your carefully constructed historical romance in any way. You can buy books which give the meaning and origin of names, or many dictionaries have a truncated version of the information found there.
If you're daunted by all this advice and thinking of dropping the whole idea, don't forget that most research is fun. It gets you out and about meeting new people and acquiring new knowledge. Some authors enjoy it so much that they find it difficult to stop and actually start writing.
At long last, armed with reams of notes, you're ready to settle down and begin your novel. The past is indeed a foreign country, and they did things very differently there.
AUTHOR'S BIO
Lesley Cryer, a Writers Bureau tutor, is a freelance writer with a General Arts degree in English & American Literature.
The author of fifteen contemporary novels, two period novels and a humorous book, she has also written for children's TV and the BBC. She has been a regular contributor of stories and features to national publications and worked for a time as an editor and writer on several company magazines.
YOUR FEEDBACK
"This month's e-zine was really good. Especially about the one author who is and will be my all time favourite, Jane Austen. All her characters are great, but Pride and Prejudice is the very best. I do like Elizabeth for her strong character but so do I like Jane and adore Darcy!
Other favourites are Wuthering Heights, Catherine, the heroine and Heathcliffe. Gone with the Wind is another favourite, with Rhett Butler's famous line, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." Who can write better than these writers? I am trying to find an equivalent but fail to. No fiction races the pulses any more."
Arundhati Khoper
"I would like to grill JK Rowling on her decision to kill off a certain character in her latest Harry Potter book. She did it to follow the conventions of story telling, to move the hero into adulthood, making sure he is completing his journey on his own – but why follow conventions? She is JK Rowling after all – she could have rewritten a few rules and still make Harry the isolated hero."
Miss S K Tang
"I just had to let you know that this month's student success story, Manjul Bajaj, India, who won first prize in the Sulekha/Penguin competition, wrote a brilliant and funny story. I clicked on the link in your newsletter and can honestly say it is the funniest short story I have read for a while. Congratulations to Manjul."
Fiona Shearer
"Can you please pass on my congratulations to Manjul. I thoroughly enjoyed her piece and believe her writing has tremendous wit. Well done and enjoy the winnings! I hope it encourages her to produce even greater works..."
Faye Pearson
[For those of you who missed it, go to:
www.sulekha.com/penguin/?ref=hpimage]
"If anyone is thinking of subscribing to Writer's Market at $3.99 per month, please be warned that it is difficult to unsubscribe. I have tried using their contact form and direct emails and there is no reply from them. I have just had to resort to asking my bank to stop the payments, which I hope will be successful."
Linda Rollitt
Thanks for all your Feedback this month. Please get in touch with any comments, questions, queries or thoughts to: ezeewriter@writersbureau.com with 'Feedback' in the subject line.
THE WRITING CLINIC
If you have a question you want answering then send it to: ezeewriter@writersbureau.com with 'The Writing Clinic' in the subject line. We only answer your questions in this section of the e-zine and not individually.
"I know it's a question that must come up again and again, but I was wondering if you could offer any help with the matter of making time to write. I have recently begun a very physically demanding job; the hours are very much variable, and I'm never "off-duty" as such, apart from when I'm asleep. Any down-time I have should be spent calling clients, and as it's a family business, I feel a little guilty using the time for anything else. By the end of the day, I'm physically and mentally exhausted.
I was hoping someone could offer a suggestion as to how I can make time to write – without having to sacrifice the hours I have for sleeping as I really do need them, and I can barely string a sentence together first thing, let alone compose beautiful prose."
Sarah Reid, UK.
THE WRITING CLINIC'S ANSWER
Dear Sarah,
This is a difficult situation and if you are going to continue devoting your whole life to your new job then I suspect you may have to give up your writing ambitions.
But before doing this you need to step back and think about the situation in which you find yourself and what you really want to achieve. There should be a work/life balance. Are you really expected to spend every hour of your waking life in the company’s service or are you just assuming this? So before going any further, perhaps you need to be open and discuss the situation and your needs with family members.
We normally recommend that you try to do some writing every day. But if that’s not possible – compromise! Even if you only manage to write for a couple of hours at the weekend you’ll be surprised how quickly your work in progress starts to grow.
And, once you’ve made a start and your confidence increases we suspect you will find you can make more time to write. We’re not doubting what you say but often people who claim they haven’t a single moment to spare are the ones who are subconsciously nervous of taking up the writing challenge.
There’s no time like the present. That may be a cliché but it’s true. So, think things through clearly, discuss the matter at work and then get on with it!
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"Not sure if this is strictly your area, but I'd appreciate some advice. I recently took some rather nice pictures of crops growing in fields near where I live. I have thought about offering them for sale. I have thought about using them to illustrate a piece that I might write.
If I sell them, am I selling the copyright to them, ie could I use them again to illustrate another article or to enter a competition?
Did I need the landowner's permission to take them in the first place (the pictures were taken from the roadside) and do I need the landowner's permission to sell them?"
Susan Darnbrough, UK.
THE WRITING CLINIC'S ANSWER
Dear Susan,
First, you do not need the landowner’s permission to take photos – or to sell them. You can take pictures of anything you want and they belong to you. But, after saying this, it is sensible to avoid anything that might be considered sensitive – like military installations, prisons etc and if you want to take pictures of people always ask their permission.
Once you have the pictures you should only ever offer ‘single reproduction rights’. If you are selling the pictures only, or sending them to accompany an article, you should make this clear in your covering letter or email. You can then re-use them as often as you like.
Being able to provide appropriate and good quality photos with your writing really does boost your chances of making a sale – so keep snapping!
[NB: further information on this topic is covered in next month's feature article.]
* * *
"I have been approached by a writer's agent who has seen some of my work and is interested in what I am doing.
I suspect I will be expected to pay for his services before I have anything published, am I being over cautious. What should I need to know about such agents?"
Brian Halls, UK.
THE WRITING CLINIC'S ANSWER
Dear Brian,
We suggest you go to www.writersbureau.com/resources/ezeewbac.htm and have a look at our answer to Chris Wright’s query in the August issue of E-zee Writer. This explains briefly the relationship between agent and author – what you might reasonably be asked to pay and when you are in danger of being conned!
______________________________
Note: If you are a student of The Writers Bureau and have a question relating to your course please contact the Student Services Department direct at: studentservices@writersbureau.com
[Apologies to Marie-Therese Le Roux who recommended Mridu Khullar's sites last month but whom I failed to credit – thanks for your suggestion Marie-Therese!]
"AllFreelance.com Freelance Directory has been around for freelancers for more than six years – offering freelancers links to both freelance and work at home job-boards, self-promotion tips, contract employment and project time management resources, lists of online courses for freelancers, and resources for freelance graphic designers, web designers, artists, illustrators, and other self-employed professionals."
There's lots of valuable advice for aspiring freelancers to be found within the articles at: www.studentnow.com/career/freelance.html Bookmark the page and dip in whenever you need some inspiration.
Here's a site to help you with that research for your historical novel. The Food Timeline is a fascinating glimpse into what we were eating – and when. Did you know that tea was recorded as far as back as 2737BC? Or that, in 1393, people were fond of 'pipefarces' (fried cheese sticks)? A good, fun resource.
We are often asked about copyright issues by students and will be covering the matter in some detail next month. For now, to get you started, take a look at this factsheet produced by the UK Copyright Service.
That brings us to the end of this month's issue. Next month Carol Anne Strange gives advice on how to illustrate your articles.
As usual, if you've any suggestions or would like to comment on content then please contact Teresa at:
ezeewriter@writersbureau.com
And don't forget – if you've enjoyed this issue of E-zee Writer and found it useful, tell your friends about it so that they can subscribe too!
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