Things I Wish I'd Known...

This week I (Kath) asked my fellow Novel Points of View bloggers what they wished they'd known before they began writing. While some of the responses might come across as a little bit negative, I think almost everyone has commented that even had we known all this, we'd still have become writers. It's one of those things that's in your blood.

So, over to Rae to kick things off:

There are so many things I wish I’d known before starting writing, but have restricted my offerings to two. My first tip is one I chose to ignore for around the first five years of writing (I’ve no idea why), even though it’s one that is repeated over and over in ‘how-to’ books, writing podcasts and workshops etc. Simply put, it’s get the sh*tty first draft down. Don’t continually edit and tweak those early chapters trying to make your prize-winning page-turner perfect. Chances are that those shiny words that make up the brilliant opening line of your masterpiece will be cut in a subsequent draft. Don’t waste your time. Instead, crack on, rewarding yourself as you finally write The End.

The second slice of advice I wish I’d taken heed of earlier is to attend a writing workshop, although I understand this isn’t for everyone. Debate rages about whether or not studying for a creative writing degree helps or stifles an author. I haven’t studied writing to degree level, however I have attended a ton of writing conferences and workshops over the years and found they have provided the confidence needed to experiment, trying short stories and flash fiction, poetry and even writing in Doric (the native language of north-east Scotland). So if your creative juices lack zing or you fancy the company of like-minded souls, (it’s hard for family and friends to fully understand this mad compulsion to write), then have a quick look online at the variety of classes available to enjoy. Happy writing!

Great advice there that I'd whole-heartedly endorse. Get it written then get it right, and attend writing classes, conferences and workshops if at all possible. Now, here's some advice from Victoria.

I am tempted to give lots of writing tips which I wish I had known, but this week I am going to be blunt and shoot from the hip with what I wish I had known before being published. Would it have stopped me writing? Probably not, but it is still a hard lesson to learn as it devalues the time, effort and skill a writer uses.

In 2017 ALCS (Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society) commissioned CREATe to conduct some independent research into UK Authors’ Earnings and Contracts. It was conducted in 2018 and published in 2019. The research found that only 12% of writers earned their income solely from writing. This is made up largely from publishing, but also supplemented with talks and presentations, bursaries, prizes etc. The median income of a professional author (which is the middle number in a line of numbers) was £10,497 a year. Therefore, most writers could not afford to give up the day job, (unless, I assume, they are supported by a spouse, savings or a pension). This value is only for those whose sole income is from writing.

The typical (median or middle number) earnings of ‘all writers’ (which includes those that are not able to give up the day job) is £3000 per year. Some people may say this is hard to believe, as we have all heard of bestselling authors earning millions. However only the top 10 % of writers earn 70% of total earnings in the profession. For every high earning author (the JKRowlings, Jamie Olivers, Terry Prachettes of this world), there are vast numbers of writers earning far far less (some of which I know are even in deficit by the time they had bought their own promotional material and self-published).

So don’t write for money or hurry to give up the day job. I hope you are one of the lucky ones and find yourself in the top 10%... or at least lucky enough to be able to write for a living. If you are not, than you will be in good company as there are some amazing authors out there doing it for the love of the craft rather than any monetary gain.

To read the full report, click HERE https://www.create.ac.uk/uk-authors-earnings-and-contracts-2018-a-survey-of-50000-writers/

Good point, Victoria. You be mad to get into writing just for the money. You have to love it first. Now, here's a set of fantastic quick tips from Terry.

1. Writing for publication is not a business for the faint of heart.

2. Writing for publication is one giant series of hurdles.

3. For every 10 hurdles there might be 1 joyful experience.

4. Savour the joyful experience! 

5. At the end of the day, it's really all about the lovely readers who read your books, relate to your voice, and take something away from your stories.

6. This job is a marathon. 

7. No giving up! Keep writing.  

Hear hear! I have always likened writing to running a marathon too. Step after step, word after word, and it'll take a long time to train up to the point when you can complete a marathon, or novel!

Here's Jo Allen's advice:

I wish I’d known a lot of things about writing before I started.

I don’t mean to sound negative, because there are so many fantastic moments. I cling to the good reviews, to the moments of acceptance, to the little orange bestseller flag and the number four in the Australian charts. But writing is a roller coster. You may get 100 good reviews for every bad one but it’s the bad one that lingers.

If there’s one single thing I wish I’d known it was this: everything takes so bloody long. Honestly, I can write half a dozen books in the time it takes for the first to be published. The mills of publishing grind very, very slow. It’s because everyone in it — agents, editors, book bloggers — is just so busy. It can take months to get a reply from an agent or a publisher, months after they’ve requested the full MS for them to respond, months more to get to the editing and proofing stage and yet more months until publication. 

If I’d known it, the knowledge wouldn’t have stopped me doing writing — let’s face it, most writers don’t choose the job; the job chooses them — but it might have spared me some of the frustrations. The one thing a writer needs more than anything except persistence…is patience. 

Oh yes, patience is required. Or at least the ability to stop endlessly checking emails and get on with the next project while you wait for the wheels of this industry to slowly turn.

And here's Linda:

When asked the question 'Things I wish I'd known about writing' implies - to me - that if I'd known those things then I'd never have started down that road. I've enjoyed most of the journey. But, then again, I'm the sort of person who will go to a place new to them and just explore ... go down alleyways, visit obscure museums and galleries, and find little cafes tucked away in Paris, or Rome, say, where the locals go. For me writing has been all about positives - the publication in itself which was a huge surprise because I sort of fell into writing rather than being the sort of person who always had a burning desire to write, the people I've met, the places I've visited.

I said just now I've enjoyed most of the journey ... the only bit that nearly had me throwing in the towel was my first novel edit ever. I hadn't been told to use track changes so just edited on the original ms as I always had for short stories. My editor threw up her hands in horror when she got it back and put it all through a document comparison programme - except she got it totally wrong and all my additions came out as deletions and vice versa. This was over the Christmas period and she obviously hadn't checked before sending it back and saying she wanted it back by 1st January. Thank goodness, then, for a friend who was far more computer literate than I am who managed to convince me the error wasn't mine. He even rang my editor up to tell her so. Phew! So nothing .... nothing .... could ever be as bad as that!

Finally, my own piece of advice. Let me tell you a little anecdote about when I first began writing, back in 2003. I wrote a short story that I was quite proud of, and thought it would be nice to see if I could get it published. So I googled for magazines that printed short stories, and came across a small press literary mag (that is sadly no longer in existence).

I am ashamed to say I then emailed the story to them, with no covering note, nothing to introduce myself or the story. Just the story attached to an email that didn't even have a subject line. What was I thinking? How unprofessional - I'd never have done that in my day job.

Worse, I hadn't even read the submission guidelines which very clearly stated they only accepted submissions by post.

I had, as you might expect, a very terse response pointing me towards those guidelines. You know what, I still blush now when I remember it.

Anyway I then read the guidelines, printed the story and submitted it properly. It was rejected but the editor took the time to give me some great feedback, some of it very positive - and I do believe, it was that early feedback that made me believe I might eventually do all right at this writing lark. I'm pleased to say that editor is now a facebook friend and we are mutual fans of each other's books.

So my advice for writers just starting on the journey of submitting work for publication, is make sure you read and follow all the submission guidelines before you start!

Adding Realism To Your Writing by Victoria Cornwall

A novel is like the inside of an intricate clock. Just like the well-oiled cogs and gears of a clock, a book has many elements which need to interact smoothly so it provides an enjoyable read. This week I am going to chat about a character’s reaction to a given situation. Their reaction is one of those key elements. A good reaction can strengthen the reader’s interest in the character or plot  … a poor, ill-written reaction can lose a reader’s support and loyalty.

As a writer, I try to imagine how the character would behave and think in any given situation and describe it as accurately as I can. However, over the years I have come to realise that people do not always behave how we would expect them to. If a writer captures this unexpected reaction in their writing, it can add realism to the situation and more depth to the character. It can also add an unexpected twist. Here are two examples of what I am trying to explain. They are both related to losing someone special:-

Imagine you are writing about a young widow learning how to navigate life again without her husband by her side. The story starts with a scene of her sitting by her husband’s hospital bed. They are holding hands as he finally succumbs to a long, drawn out battle with cancer. The last two years have been particularly brutal. The normal emotions of denial, shock and heart rendering grief come to mind. Scenes involving tears, emotional numbness, relatives offering comfort, doctors saying things that in the moment make no sense. Those scenes are in her future, but right now she is still holding his hand as it begins to grow colder in hers. Her love, her soul mate, her friend has just left her forever. The perfect reactions to her husband’s passing are just waiting to be written. But wait! STOP and think again.

Remember that she has just spent years by his side battling cancer. The last two years have been particularly bad. What if his personality had changed over that time? What if he had not accepted his diagnosis well and had railed against the unfairness of it all. She had nursed him up to the point of his admission to hospital and she is now in a state of physical and mental exhaustion. Her love for him had changed as his illness had changed him. The happy years of their marriage are a distant memory as his anger, frustration and physical changes had eaten away at their marriage as efficiently as the cancer inside him. He was not the man she fell in love with. What if she felt a great sense of relief at his passing? Imagine the guilt she would have at experiencing such feelings. She would feel unworthy of the sympathy offered by friends and relatives. She would feel like a fraud. In the story she will eventually learn to understand her husband's reaction to having cancer, understand her own reaction to living with someone she no longer recognised and finally forgive both her husband and her reaction to living with cancer. She will fall in love with her husband all over again as her memories of their happier times together become easier to recall. She has to do all this before she can grieve normally again and feel the true depth of her loss. Finally she learns to live without him, but her initial “abnormal” reaction actually adds realism and an extra dimension and twist to the normal grief process. Her reaction may at first seem abnormal, but it is actually very realistic. Chronic illness is a terrible strain on family members and we can add this side into our story too.

I used to work in intensive care as a nurse. After the death of a patient, I came across his son sitting in the corridor. I sat down beside him ready to offer words of comfort. We were both in our mid-twenties and had never spoken before.  Back then, if I was to write the scene, I would have had him expressing his grief at losing his father, perhaps eyes brimming with tears, hands trembling in grief, reactions all equated with grief. The reality was very different. Although he was very distressed, he did not show it in the normal way. His mind was whirring and he was agitated as he didn’t know how to arrange all the practical things to do with a death in the family.  He gave the impression of being rather selfish – only thinking of himself and all the jobs he had to do. Where would he get the death certificate from? How would he move the body to the funeral directors?  Who would he have to notify? His father had died yet he was talking as though it was a problem to be solved. However, I understood his thought processes as not long before I had been in a very similar situation.

He had no experience of dealing with a death in the family. He felt ill prepared and knew little about how to sort out funerals, wills, death certificates etc. The one man he would normally turn to for advice was no longer there and he was in panic mode. He felt his loss very deeply, but expressed it in a different way and was overwhelmed by the practicalities facing him. He wanted to be a support to his mother and protect her by doing all the practical things required, but he felt totally inadequate for the jobs ahead. He felt that he was already failing his father and as he sat outside the intensive care unit, numb with shock, he spilled out his worries to a nurse who happened to sit down beside him. Luckily, from my recent experience, I could help him more than most.

So just remember, although it is important for a character’s reaction to be a believable one, sometimes you can add depth, a twist or an added layer to a plot or character, by allowing them to react in a way that is not quite what one would expect.

Fiction by Victoria Cornwall

BEHIND THE SCENES OF A RADIO INTERVIEW by Victoria Cornwall

This week I was on the radio. I was invited to read something festive in the lead-up to Christmas and I was delighted to do it despite it being a departure from my previous guest slots. I had a great time. If you would like to listen to it, the "play on demand" link will be valid until 4th January, 2018. Please click HERE to listen and my guest slot starts at 1:38:00. It might get you in the mood for Christmas if you are not already!

I love listening to the radio. It has introduced me to new music, reminded me of old tunes and entertained me with debates on interesting topics. It keeps me up to date with the news and there is an established routine to each program which provides a strange comfort of its own. I guess, at its heart, it feels as if the presenter(s) are my friends and have just popped in for a chat, but with the advantage that I can get rid of them with the flick of the button if I want the visit to end.

Never, in my wildest dreams, did I think I would become a radio guest myself. However, the radio is a fantastic opportunity to spread the word about one's book and if a guest slot arises it is a too good an opportunity to refuse. To date I have been on the local radio four times (BBC Radio Cornwall and CoastFM), so although I am not as experienced as some authors, I am more experienced than others, so in this post I am going to share what I have learned, whilst also lifting the curtain on what happens behind the scenes.

Although radio shows may contact well known authors with a view to arranging for them to be on their show, generally, it is the author (or their publisher) who has to secure a slot. Local radio is more accepting to enquires from less well-known authors, but it is still important to present yourself in the right way to increase the chances of being accepted.

It is not about what you want from them, but rather what they need from you.

Radio has a role of providing entertainment and factual information. You, as their guest, are going to help them provide that and you need to convince the radio how you are going to do that. So what will help you to stand out from all the other authors who would like to promote their book on their show? What is your unique selling point? So before contacting your local radio station ask yourself some questions. How can I make my book an interesting topic for their show? Is it based locally? Are you from the area? Is it based or inspired by a particular setting? Is the plot on a subject that is relevant today or topical in the news? Is there a moral or inspirational story to your writing or your ability to write? Once you have decided how you are going to sell yourself and why they should choose you, then you can move onto the next step.

Not all shows are the same.

Get to know your local radio programs. Some presenters enjoy interviewing authors, others prefer a different format. Check out which ones will be more accepting to your request to be a guest and remember, word of mouth is particularly good for finding the right radio show to contact. Approaching the right show saves a lot of time and reduces the risk of rejection. Once you have decided, contact the show by email. Each local radio show will have a website page with an email address.

The presenter, or their PA, will reply and offer you an interview at the studio or by telephone. Interviews performed in the studio are clearer and less likely to be interrupted by rambling pets or children, however telephone interviews are less intimidating as you are in your own home. I was given the choice and chose to go into the studio.

Be prepared

The aim is to make the interview appear relaxed and part of a normal conversation, however it is always wise to be prepared. There is nothing worse than being asked about your book and your mind going blank. I have found taking one A4 size sheet of notes in with me very helpful. Having it on one page means there is no risk of the microphone picking up shuffling sounds as I turn my cue cards.

At the top I have 4 or 5 bullet points which state the information I want to get across in the interview. They are normally:-

1) My name
2) The Title of the book
3)  The format it is published in
4) Where they can buy it
5) Name of publisher

I once listened to an interview where the author and radio presenter forgot to mention the name of her book. It is easily done as conversation can get sidetracked, or the right question isn't asked so it is a case of slotting it in when you can.

These are the other things I have down:-

A) Short author bio (just in case my mind goes blank)
B) My novel summed up in one or two sentences (just in case they ask for a brief summary)
C) A longer description of the story (not giving anything away) I always put the main characters' names down too. It is surprising how easy it is to forget them, especially if you are in the midst of editing the second book and have just taken a break from writing the third, which is often the case when you are a writer.
D) Interesting/relevant information that might interest the listeners, such as the location where it is based etc.

The above information is best written briefly with key words to act as a trigger. It is not meant to be read as it will come across as if you are reading a script ... unless you are good at doing it,of course. On one occasion I made the mistake of laminating my notes, but during the interview I realised that the studio lights were shining down on it and obliterating my words. I ended up sitting rather awkwardly so I could see it. Did I really need the A4 notes? By then, probably not, but it helped my confidence and I was able to relax inwardly ... even if I didn't look like I was relaxed on the outside.

I write historical fiction so, if I have room, I add a few historical notes which might be of interest to the listener.

Promote the interview before and after the event

The reason you are doing the interview is for the exposure. Lengthen the window of exposure by promoting the interview before and afterwards. This takes courage as there is always the fear that it will be a disaster and you will want to bury it and never speak of it again. However writing is about taking risks and this is just another one of those risks.

Arrive in plenty of time

You are usually given a specific time slot. Arrive at the radio station in plenty of time. This will show professionalism and allows for car and traffic problems. You want this to be the first of many interviews in your writing career so this interview is as much about networking and firming up contacts as it is for the interview itself. You are more likely to be asked back by the radio station if you are reliable.

All my interviews were live so I did not meet the radio presenters until I sat down in front of them a minute or two before the interviews. This is not unusual as they are usually in the middle of presenting their program when you arrive. The staff of the radio station are usually very friendly as they are used to welcoming new guests on a daily basis. In my case I was shown to a lounge/office where I waited until I was called. It's a good opportunity to read through your notes and get your mind focused. Then the moment comes and someone shows you into the radio booth. This usually happens during the adverts or a song. You are told where to sit and the microphone is positioned in front of you. The presenter will say hello, a brief chat and then you are live! If your interview is recorded the format will be slightly different and your interview may be edited shorter.

An interview is like a tennis match ...

In my opinion, no matter what the first interview or question, it is always important to say hello to the presenter and thank them for having you on the show. It's professional, polite and sets the tone of the interview. It tells the listener that you are happy to be there and spend time with them and that makes everyone feel good.

To make a good interview both the presenter and guest have to play ball. You can be an amazing presenter, but if the guest provides only one-worded answers, or sounds miserable and defensive, it will result in an agonisingly long and painful interview to listen to. Answer the questions, but perhaps provide a little more than they asked. It helps the presenter to lead onto another question, move the conversation forward and provides a more relaxed interview. However you also have to be mindful of not talking too much. Nerves can make you do and say all sorts of things you had not planned for. Be aware you have not launched into a monologue that is not only boring the interviewer, but boring the listeners too. Also be aware you do not give away too much. Your child may not want you to disclose that they wet the bed last night. You chose to go on the radio, they did not and school friends can be cruel. Your words may have repercussions so tread carefully.

Things will go wrong

Accept the above and attempt to find a way out. You can prepare for the interview and try to guess the questions, but in the end you have no control over what is asked. All you can do is try your best. If the question confuses you, take a breath and clarify the question before answering. If you don't know the answer you have two options, simply say you don't know or you provide the little information you do know but then steer it onto the topic you know in more depth. Presenters are very skilled at bringing the best out of you. They know why you are there and they are happy for you to promote your book. They are also keen for the interview to go well, so they do not intentionally try to make the interview difficult and will often step in if they feel you are floundering.

All good things come to an end

The length of the slot can vary. I have done 10 minute slots and on one radio the slot turned into 30 minutes. It depends on the show and the presenter. Eventually it will come to an end and it is important to say goodbye and thank the presenter again for having you on the show. It leaves the listener and presenter with a good impression, and it is only fitting to thank them publicly (rather than just privately off air as you are hurried out of the room).

So if you get a chance to be on the radio, do try it. If things go well you will have a great time and experience a new form of media ... if it goes badly it will provide you with a humorous anecdote to share with friends over a glass of wine. So its a win win situation ... if you are brave enough to give it a try.

Victoria Cornwall

Author of

The Thief's Daughter

The Captain's Daughter

EXCELLENT WRITING TIPS FROM #SCOTSWRITE17

Writing can be a solitary business and so when offered the opportunity to meet like-minded souls at

the inaugural Society of Authors Scottish conference – #ScotsWrite17 – it was a ‘yes’ from me.

Each speaker – a selection of experienced authors, agents, publishers and more –generously offered precious nuggets of useful, encouraging advice which I've shared and hope you find inspiring and helpful too. 

EMPOWERING WRITERS

Joanne's modern day fairy
tale, inspired by a visit to Skye

Joanne Harris – author of an impressive canon of fourteen novels and two cookery books including Chocolat (the bestselling novel turned into an Oscar –nominated movie) opened as a keynote speaker, reminding the audience that playing with words is the closest thing to magic a writer can do. Setting the tone for a magical conference weekend.

GAMEKEEPER TURNED POACHER, PUBLISHER TURNED NOVELIST, A LIFE IN BOOKS

Jane Johnson making time for everyone at
her busy book signing

Jane Johnson – historical novelist (her latest release - Court of Lions is out now), children’s author and Fiction Publishing Director for Harper Collins, encouraged everyone to follow your passions in life. Explaining 

• That writing is largely an engineering process. Work can always be taken apart and put together again.

• Flexibility is crucial for a writer. An editor is there to make the writer think again and to explore their work.

• That finding an agent, someone who will fight your corner, is important. Learn as much as you can about the industry and read, read, read…

Reading encourages us to dream bigger.

• 90% of what happens to your book is luck – Does it land on the editor’s desk at the right time? Does it fit their list? Have they just signed someone who’s written something very similar?

I also attend Jane’s fantastic breakout session where she donned her editor’s hat sharing what an

Latest historical fiction by Jane Johnson

editor looks for in a submission.

Here’s some of what I learned -

• Look to surprise your readers
• Trust your imagination
• Don’t tell the reader everything that’s going on – know there are things you’re not going to tell
• Include unexpected imagery, which doesn’t get in the way of the story. She quoted from Stuart MacBride – describing a character’s hair looking as if they’d sellotaped a cairn terrier to their head. (Who doesn’t love a cairn terrier?)
• Characters are what makes your work tick – create light and shade in characters
• Editors are always looking for an excuse to say no – don’t give them that excuse. Make your manuscript as polished as it can be
• Do research and be confident in your writing – keep the writing as authentic as possible
• If you’re boring yourself, you’re probably boring the reader – do not submit that 20 pages
• A reader loves to be educated (to learn something). Learn your craft and write as well as you possibly can 

Things to consider when pitching – 

• What is at the heart of your book?
• Write your pitch as simply as possible
• What about your book do you love best?
• Share the main characters’ motivation

DIVERSIFICATION

The latest action packed teen
adventure from Charlie Higson

Charlie Higson – author and writer for radio and television delivered the Penguin Random House keynote on the subject of Diversification. Here are only a handful of his great suggestions.

• Make use of Twitter – find him @monstroso – writing’s a lonely occupation and Twitter can be a fantastically helpful research tool. Throw a question out on Twitter and within minutes, someone will come back with suggestions
• Make a Spotify playlist for each novel/ screenplay you’re working on. Listening can help unlock that special voodoo place, where the writing starts to flow
• When stuck novel writing, try writing a section as a script, which is a good way of opening up other pathways in the brain
• Spot the good idea amongst all the other ideas you might have. And hang onto that good idea, which sometimes can become lost in the process
• Catchphrases can be useful for characters
• Create vivid and interesting dialogue. It doesn’t have to be real but it does need to be sparkling

  

  Charlie Higson and me!

  and alive

My teenage sons, both avid fans of Charlie’s Young Bond series, couldn’t quite believe I’d had the good fortune of meeting their writing hero. Here's the proof!

Dotted between the keynote speakers was a fantastic selection of breakout sessions including this one:

TRYING NEW FORMS AND LEARNING FROM THEM

Crime author - Denise Mina

 Denise Mina – multi-award winning crime novelist, comic book writer, playwright and regular contributor to TV and radio, on shared a frank and funny review of the ups and downs of

Winner of the 2017 McIlvanney Prize
for Scottish Crime book of the Year

writing for a variety of media. But whatever the form, she encouraged writers to:

• Induce a sense of recklessness in your writing. Are you being too safe? Do you need to dig deeper?
• Remember that just because it sells, doesn’t mean it’s good. Publishers pay for placements in WHSmith.
• Chop up work into paragraphs and chapters to increase narrative pace
• Give the reader work to do by leaving things out. That way the reader invests in the story.

HOW TO MAKE A LIVING FROM YOUR WRITING 

Joanna Penn – hugely successful podcaster (I’ve may have mentioned I'm a massive fan of The Creative Penn podcast on this blog before!) and indie writing guru shared an absolute ton of tips in the final keynote speech of the weekend.

My precious signed copies...

I’ve shared some of what I jotted here, but in all honesty Joanna offered so much that if what you read here whets your appetite, then I highly recommend all of the following - How toMake a Living From Your Writing, TheSuccessful Author Mindset, How toMarket A Book and more…

Here’s an extremely potted version of what she shared:

1) Are you an entrepreneur?

• A book is a intellectual property asset
• Made once, it can be sold over and over again – think E-book, Print book, audio

2) Focus on the Customer

• It’s about the reader
• What do they want?
• Only 5% of top selling books include literary fiction
• Which sub-categories are your competitors selling in?

3) Make the most of your intellectual property

• Understand your contract
• What rights have you sold? What can you still exploit?
• Look at territory/language/format/length of time before rights revert back to the author

Joanna's key message was that if you wish to be a successful author then you need to write more books.

• Try other genres – write both fiction and non-fiction
• Write a branded series and get readers hooked (may be linked by character or theme)
• Go short – write a novella (less than 40,000 words long)
• Go long – with box sets (great value for the customer)
• Re-invigorate your backlist by re-branding, re-titling, re-covering

Here's Joanna Penn and me with crime author and organiser
extraordinaire, Wendy H Jones

5) Attract an audience

• Be yourself
• Share what you are interested in

Finally Joanna shared a hand written note she keeps by her writing desk – have you made art today? A mantra I’ve been happy to steal!

WHAT ELSE?

In addition to the packed writing weekend, we were also treated to a gin tasting session, sponsored by Botanist gin, tried Tia Chia, enjoyed a formal dinner and ceilidh evening, caught up with old friends and made new ones along the way.

All in all, a fantastic conference for writers, conceived and generously pulled together by writers, led by Linda Strachan. Thanks to the team who so kindly gave of their time including, Wendy H. Jones, Merryn Glover, Caroline Dunford, Chris Longmuir, Philip Paris, with apologies to those I've missed.

Cheers! Happy Writing x

Sadly, I can’t cover everything that went on but to see more photographs or discover more fantastic quotes head to Twitter and the #ScotsWrite17 hashtag.

Happy writing!

Rae

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