I've spent the weekend working to Chopin, courtesy of Radio 3. I came late to him, and all to the core nineteenth century composers: at school my instrument was the flute, and there is no music written for it between early Beethoven and Debussy, though Bach and Handel and Telemann are in my bones. It was only when I made a writing friend with precisely opposite tastes in music to write to that my horizons expanded. He was astounded that the backbone of my writing-music collection is the big baroque choral works, whereas it had never occurred to me that piano music could do the same job. Thanks to him - haven't seen him for years - much of the contemporary strand of A Secret Alchemy was written to Chopin, and more recently Schumann. It's about atmosphere as much as period, you see: I find that a little 15th century music does go quite a long way, but Purcell's Funeral Music for Queen Mary was absolutely perfect for... But that would be giving things away.

And then on Sunday afternoon, just as I was trying to hammer my narratological thoughts about Tobias Hill's The Love of Stones into something coherent, the tonkly sound of an electronic piano caught my ear.

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So, after the last post in which I whined about not being able to stick to the writing schedule I had set for myself, I cut myself some slack last week and loosened the definition of "writing". I wrote a flash story, but my main "writing time" was spent at the First International Jerusalem Writers Festival, listening to writers talk about writing. I went to four session: Nadine Gordimer talking to Amos Oz, Nicole Krauss (History of Love, Man Walks into a Room) talking to Amos Oz, Nathan Englander and Jonathan Safran Foer talkng to Etgar Keret, and Niall Williams (4 Letters of Love) talking to Ahron Appelfeld. I didn't take notes, although many around me were doing so, I just wanted to listen and absorb. I will give a quick precis of my impressions.

Nadine Gordimer & Amos Oz

This was supposed to be a session on politics and literature - very apt because Nadine Gordimer had been under a lot of pressure not to come to Israel because of the political situation. However, after a bit of interesting talk about when her writing was first banned in South Africa etc..., Amos Oz unfortunately began a political rant about Israel and the Palestinians that seemed more appropriate to an election rally than a Writers' conference. So, end of that session.

Nicole Krauss & Amos Oz
....

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Really, nothing much has happened today. Though I have been feeling a sight better than yesterday, thank the Lord. I just feel utterly and permanently exhausted. Thus explaining this morning's gloriously long lie-in - no chance of my planned visit to the Quakers then - and this afternoon's two-hour (or thereabouts) nap. Days can be so tiring, you know. It's astonishing I get through them at all ...

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I've been trying to learn the workings, or some, of my phone; beginning with photos and the whole editing suite that comes with the package. I am slightly more informed than I was a couple of hours ago, but still clapping my hands at happy accidents and insights but confused most of the time. Now, I am able to twist and turn upright; I suppose it's always a good thing to be upright. The images from the phone wouldn't let me edit them on the computer's software, but now I'm a wiser woman. My god, the places that photos can hide on a phone is amazing, but I got the little buggers.

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A very quiet day today, people. This ruddy cold has really wiped me out all day and I've been languishing all over the flat making faint groaning sounds. So, a normal weekend then, here in the deep south. At least I am keeping Mr Lucozade in business. Not to mention Mr Kleenex. If there was ever an Olympic sport in snorting like an old horse, the gold medal would already have my name on it. As it were.

I have not been entirely useless though. I have revamped the Goldenford site book pages so each book in the main listing has a thumbnail picture of the front cover next to it, which you can see here (click onto full post for link). Though I say it myself, we do some shit-hot covers here in Goldenford country ...

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Today I do not feel like a writer, so much. It's partly because my head is stuffed with an encroaching cold. It's partly because I wasn't able to write more than 700 words last week due to pressure of work. Mostly though I think it's because I haven't been reading enough recently.

The silliest piece of advice I ever read in a How to Write textbook (serves me right for investing in the capitalist chicanery that is the How to... publishing business) was Do Not Read. Books, said this lunatic, are the devil's candy!

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What sort of title is that? Basically, it’s all about motivation. Think about the carrot and the stick – motivating people either by reward or punishment. The carrot is: “do it right and you’ll get this; do it wrong and you won’t” while the stick is: “do it right or else...”

In writing (for those who want to make it a career) there is no real “stick.” It’s very rare for an agent to receive a submission, consider the material below standard and pay you a visit with a baseball bat for wasting their time. So generally speaking...


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First off, I do have to say that actually last night in London wasn't as strange and scary as I'd feared. I did still feel that I was putting on a costume that no longer suited me, but it was okay. Perhaps it's everyone else that's normal and just me who's strange? Lordy, no, don't answer me on that one. I also felt pleased as a couple of times, I did say something honest during the conversation - not in an over-the-top way, but I just said a sentence or two about (a) mutual friends I no longer see, and (b) church stuff, and then moved on. Ye gods, even I can be real during social interaction sometimes - well, it has been known ...

Anyway, to today. There is good news and some not-so-good news. I am incredibly pleased that the agent has got back to me about The Gifting and has said the magic words: It reads wonderfully well, the characterisation works and the writing and story flows. You know, that makes me feel so damn good that I'm going to type it again: It reads wonderfully well, the characterisation works and the writing and story flows. High-five, captain - it looks like I can on occasion turn dross into something a tad shinier then. Yes. As a result, he's going to send it out to five UK fantasy publishers and six US fantasy publishers on Monday. Ah, I feel good now, Carruthers, but alas soon the rejections will start to roll in, you know. Still, I'm hanging onto the moment for as long as I damn well can ...

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I am extremely impressed by Women Rule Writer's post on the Sean O'Failian Short Story Prize, which she is judging this year. Entering short story competitions is a fraught undertaking, for me at least, involving much work. First, who are the judges? Google them, see what they write, then try and think if I have something "similar". Or perhaps they like to read stuff that isn't what they write. Should I send two very different stories? But wait - does the judge read all the entries? What if there are First Readers, and I don't know who they are, don't know what they like. (Tear hair out.) And what about the word limit - should I only send a story that is exactly that length? What about short shorts? Will they just toss those? (Often at this point I bombard the competition organizer with emails to try and ascertain what their views are about stories much shorter than the max length. Can't fail to suspect that this bombardment might harm my chances, even if the comp is being judged blind.)

Anyhow, WRW has spared me this agony. As she says:

This is a very honest and open competition: there is no team of first readers, the judge reads EVERY story. That is rare, and it means your story has an equal chance with every other story submitted. You are only going to be subject to one person’s taste (mine) so here’s a helping hand. These are some of the things that I’ll be looking for in entries:....

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