Erskine Writers

New Session, New (Temporary) Venue

2012-01-20T11:02:00.000Z

It was great to get back to the writing group on Tuesday, both to see friends old and new and to have a weekly focus for writing again.

Unfortunately, due to the dreadful storms we've had up here over the last two months, the top floor of the community centre in which we meet is closed for repairs. We are now meeting in what is known as The Hut for as long as we require it. Same car park, but walk to the left instead of the right! The Hut stands between the edge of the school and the shops.

Looking forward to the remaining meetings on this year's syllabus.
Rosemary

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T21:17:00.001Z

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! Don't forget to work on your entries for the SAW competitions over the holidays. There are also a couple of new competitions on the relevant page.

See you in 2012.
Rosemary

EW Dinner 2011

2011-11-11T19:06:00.003Z

The Erskine Writers' dinner and awards took place on Tuesday afternoon and evening at the Ingleston Country Club and Equestrian Centre. A good time was had by all, as always.

Wilma Ferguson was awarded the President's Cup by Myra Duffy for her excellent help and support to the group.

The other three awards were as follows:

Poetry Trophy: Winner - Myra Duffy; 2nd - Myra Duffy; 3rd - Marjory Mackellar

Article Trophy: Winner - Joan Pretorius-Lougheed; 2nd - Myra Duffy; 3rd - Elizabeth Gillespie

Quaich for Children's Story: Winner - Myra Duffy; 2nd - Wilma Ferguson; 3rd - Rosemary Gemmell

Member of the group and local crime author, Alex Gray, elegantly awarded the prizes.

Photos by Joan Fleming

Results of Article Competition

2011-10-25T17:27:00.000+01:00

Today, we had a very interesting and informative talk, and adjudication of the article competition from well-published Freelance Writer, David McVey.

Congratulations to the following winners:

Winner - Joan Pretorius-Lougheed
2nd - Myra Duffy
3rd - Elizabeth Gillespie

The articles were all well deserved winners!

Rosemary

Poetry Anthology and Albert Hammond Award

2011-10-05T14:41:00.000+01:00

Our brand new Poetry Anthology has arrived from the printer! The lovely cover was illustrated by our own very talented Mandy Sinclair. The theme of the anthology is Seasons, and it includes the school winners of our first Albert Hammond Poetry Award, in memory of a much loved member and prolific writer, Albert, whose wife, Kathleen, still attends Erskine Writers. The anthology also includes a poem from each of the writing group members and a selection of Albert's own poems. It is priced at £2.50.

Rosemary

Prestigious Award for Erskine Writers' Member

2011-09-21T14:33:00.001+01:00

Erskine Writers are hugely proud of our successful crime writer Sandra McGruther, writing as Alex Gray, who has just been notified of the following award.

Hutchesons' Grammar School is to recognise former pupil Sandra McGruther (aka Alex Gray) by awarding her a George and Thomas Hutcheson Award. Previous recipients include Lord McColl of Dulwich, Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale, Prof Robert Crawford, Sir Russell Hillhouse, Carol Smillie and Richard Emanuel.

The awards are presented to former pupils who are regarded by their peers as "inspirational figures whether by virtue of their academic or professional achievements, triumph over adversity, public spiritedness or the like."

Sandra's award is to be presented at the school on December 2nd, followed by a celebration lunch in the Founders Room.

Many congratulations, Sandra!
Rosemary

New Session, New Opportunities

2011-09-04T15:09:00.001+01:00

It's almost that time of year again, when we begin the new session of Erskine Writers at 1.30pm on Tuesday 13th September, at Bargarran Community Centre, Erskine. We have a great new syllabus, as you'll see on the relevant page above, with plenty of opportunity to write, share work, enter competitions, be inspired with workshops and listen to excellent speakers. Not forgetting our social event of the year, the Annual Dinner on Tuesday, 8th November. I've also updated the competition page above to get you started.

Meanwhile to inspire some of you to try Twitter, Cathie has provided the following overview. I'm already on it: @rosemarygemmell if anyone wants to follow.

Twitter for Twits

Getting started
1. Twitter allows you to send short messages to tell the world what you’re doing, thinking, reading or whatever else you feel like saying. If you use Facebook, think of it as being like the status updates.
The service allows you to follow people and be followed by people. The people you follow will form your network and their updates will appear on your Twitter homepage. The people who follow you have chosen to have you in their network and see your updates. However, Twitter is asynchronous. You don’t need to follow everyone who follows you. So you may be in my network but I don’t have to be in yours.
2. Go to Twitter and create an account. You can give yourself any username you like but it’s best to choose something that people who know you will recognise: that will make it easier for them to find and follow you. Twitter@yourname
3. Fill in your biography. Say something about yourself. It helps people to decide whether they should follow you.
4. Post a tweet. It should go in the box underneath the question “What are you doing?” and it must be 140 characters or fewer.

Start building your network
5. Start building your network. Look for friends and colleagues who are already using the site by clicking ‘find people’ at the top of the page. When you find someone who you want to add to your network, click on their name to see their page and then click ‘follow’.
6. Following people is the easiest way to let them know you are there and some of them will soon start following you in return. Your page will display a count of the number of people following you and the numbers you are following. You can stop following people in your network at any time by going to their page, clicking ‘following’ and then clicking ‘remove’.
7. Each time you find someone you want to follow take a look at who they are following. Add anyone who looks interesting and even a few people you aren’t sure about. Don’t be disheartened if it takes a while for your number of followers to grow.

Talking to people
8. Most of the time you’ll be posting updates on what you’re doing. And if that’s all you do, that’s fine. Don’t feel obliged to keep your followers entertained.
9. Sometimes you’ll want to join a conversation. You can send a public reply to people by putting @ before their username and then typing your message. So putting @yourfriendsname would direct your reply to yourfriend. The person you are replying to doesn’t need to be someone you are following and doesn’t need to be following you for the @ system to work. On Twitter.com, a reply button will be visible when you hold your cursor over a message. Clicking this will add the @ automatically.
If you want to send a message to someone but don’t want all your followers to see it, you can send a direct message. Put d and then the person’s username to send a private message. Remember to leave a space, like this: d MoveToScotland.
10. If one of your followers says something so brilliant that you want to share it with your followers, you can “retweet” it. The etiquette for doing this is to put “retweet”, “retweeting” or just “RT” at the start of your message then add the @ symbol and the person’s username and then their message.
For example, type “RT @Yourfriendsname” to retweet one of your friend’s messages. It’s acceptable to edit their message to make it fit the 140 character limit.
11. There may be lots of people talking about a particular topic but unless they are in your network or send you a reply you won’t even know they’re there. This is where hashtags come in. By adding a # and then a keyword, lots of unconnected people can join a conversation.
These tweets are sometimes collated at specific sites but can easily be found using the Twitter search engine.
12. You can save a message to read later or just for posterity by clicking the star that appears when you hover your cursor over it.

Tools
13. Twitter’s great but Twitter.com isn’t. First of all, you need to visit it or keep it open all the time to follow activity in your network. Secondly, it doesn’t update automatically so you need to keep refreshing to see new messages.
A Twitter client is the answer. This is a small program that sits on your desktop and makes it easy to keep track of incoming messages. Many Twitter clients make it easier to reply, retweet and follow different groups of people: Tweetdeck, Twitterific or Twitterfox are all examples.
14. If you want to post a link you’ll need a link-shortening site. Some Twitter clients have this tool built in but you can go to a site such as TinyURL, paste in your link and get a shorter URL to help you stay within that 140-character limit.
15. If you like playing with stats, try Tweetstats. It will tell you how often you tweet, when you tweet and what you talk about.

If that sounds like a lot to take in, don’t despair – all you really need is practice!

Updates

2011-07-16T14:56:00.000+01:00

Just a reminder over the summer to check out the Markets/Competitions page and Members' News as these are updated now and then, even if there is no new blog post for a while!

The writing group will restart in September and we'll post details nearer the time.

Hope everyone is having a great summer.

End of Session Garden Party

2011-05-27T16:19:00.000+01:00

We might call it a garden party, even though the weather was not as kind to us as usual and most of us didn’t venture out to the garden, but it was certainly still a great party at Sandra’s lovely home on Tuesday.

This has become a treasured tradition and although we all bring a dish to contribute to the sumptuous buffet lunch, our gracious hostess always pulls out all the stops! It’s a wonderful chance for members to socialise and become better acquainted with each other, rather than having a quick chat at the beginning or end of meetings.

We were sorry that a few of our regular members were missing for various reasons – be assured you were missed. It was three of our members’ birthdays during this week: Sandra, Myra and Joyce Ward – hence the photo of the three lovely ladies.

Hopefully everyone will have some time over the summer break to get on with lots of writing for the new session in September. The new syllabus will be ready by then, including any competitions for the year.

Have a productive, if not sunny, summer.

Rosemary

Children's Story Results and Novel Publication!

2011-05-03T20:24:00.000+01:00

We had a wonderful session at the writing group today with Maggie Powell who was adjudicating our children's story competition. Maggie was so encouraging to every person who entered and we've all taken away some excellent advice. She even provided us with sweets and lollipops!

Children's Story Results

Winner:   Myra Duffy
2nd:        Wilma Ferguson
3rd:        Rosemary Gemmell

Debut Novel Publication

Rosemary's first novel, Dangerous Deceit, is now published by Champagne Books and is available as an e-book from Champagne and from Amazon (kindle). A print version will be available from the publisher in a few months. It is a historical novel set in Regency England (1813) and is full romantic intrigue, spies and a tangled web of deception.

You are invited to a fun, all day cyber launch of the novel on Thursday, 5th May on her Regency blog.

Cathie's Visit to Moniack Mhor

2011-04-25T10:43:00.000+01:00

Cathie Devitt has just returned from an amazing week at Arvon’s Moniack Mhor Writing Centre in the Scottish Highlands.

The week was “work in progress”. One of the tutors didn’t manage to break through the Canadian immigration system in time so the lovely Cynthia Rogerson took his place. Cynthia works with Arvon and is an established writer herself. Joining Cynthia was Karen Campbell who won the Best New Scottish Writer award in 2009 with her debut novel. The tutors were inspiring and motivating and really fitted in well with the group.

Guest speaker Peter Urpeth, Literary Development Officer for Highlands Arts Council, gave an informative talk on the Wednesday night.

The accommodation was typical Arvon, with coal fires, rustic furnishings and tons of food. The guests split into groups of four to become chefs for a night. Cathie’s night was Moroccan themed and she felt obliged to taste her way through several courses during the cooking process. Hence, she now qualifies as a belly dancer (or does she just have a dancing belly?).

Apart from the international cuisine each night, the guests themselves were from far and near and shared a variety of origins, culture and beliefs which made the week even more interesting. Australian, American, Polish, Indian, and Russian writers mingled with the English and Scots to establish a group that has decided to keep in touch by email. One member has already set up an idea to progress a chain of writing spurred on by various objects that we will anonymously post out to each other The stories and poems resulting from this will be compiled into an anthology later this year.

The scenery surrounding the centre is, as you would expect, nature at its best. Peppered with a few unexpected areas like the Moniack Winery, and a strange pagan ritual ground high on the hills.

If you ever need space to write and blow away those cobwebs, visit Moniack Mhor.
Cathie Devitt

Links

Moniack Mhor
Cynthia Rogerson
Karen Campbell
Peter Urpeth’s Blog
Highland Arts Council
Moniack Winery

Visit to St Conval's

2011-04-07T10:21:00.000+01:00

Visit to St Conval’s Church, Inchinnan

St Conval and St Kintigern

On Tuesday, members of Erskine Writers had an interesting and extremely enjoyable afternoon visiting St Conval’s Church in Inchinnan. Andrina kindly showed us around, pointing out the many interesting features. We were all suprised at the beautiful stained glass windows and many other original features brought there from an earlier building. A fascinating day out!

Contemplating higher things!

Sitting on Sir Walter Scott's chairs!

We were also thoroughly spoiled by Andrina who had prepared delicious baking for us, while three of the kind church ladies served us tea and coffee. An excellent finish to a great afternoon.

Rose Window

Rosemary

SAW Annual Conference 2011

2011-03-14T15:05:00.003Z

Another year, another great SAW conference at the Erskine Bridge Hotel over the weekend from Friday 11th to Sunday 13th March. We were well represented by around 16 members (including several postal members) and a great time was had by all. Excellent speakers (including the fabulous Jane Wenham-Jones) and seminars, interesting adjudications, lots of eating and chatting, and an energetic Saturday evening disco, for those who stayed awake long enough.

Even more exciting was the fact that Erskine Writers’ members were awarded many of the competition prizes! On the Friday evening, five of us sitting in a row were all mentioned in various competitions and I’m sure the other groups must have thought we had taken over.

Here is our full list of competition winners and mentions:

T.C.Farries Award (children’s novel): Winner - Victoria Gemmell

Constable Award (adult novel): 2nd - Myra Duffy; Commended - Joan Fleming; Commended - Cathie Devitt

Poetry: Winner - Joan Fleming; 2nd - Cathie Devitt

Humorous Article: 2nd - Cathie Devitt; Commended - Chris Gibbs

Unpublished Article: 2nd - Joan Lougheed

Book Review: 3rd - Rosemary Gemmell

Mini Story: Commended - Wilma Ferguson

Under 7's: Commended - Cathie Devitt

Well done to one and all!

Rosemary

Prizewinner at Aye Write

2011-03-10T09:35:00.000Z

Erskine Writers' member, Jack Hastie, won second prize in the Scottish Writers' Group Showcase Competition at the Aye Write Book Festival in Glasgow. Jack read his story, 'The Storyteller', at the Mitchell Library on 5th March.

The story was to be inspired by a song lyric and Jack's story weaves in the legends of ancient Greece. We heard it at the writing group and it's an excellent story and worthy prize winner. It will eventually be placed on the Scottish Writers' Centre website, so I'll post the link when it's available to read.

Well done, Jack!

Rosemary

Alex Gray

2011-03-02T11:16:00.000Z

A reminder that Alex Gray’s latest crime novel is now available from all good bookshops. Sleep Like the Dead is her 8th book in the DCI Lorimer series and is an excellent read.

Find more details about Alex and where to see her on her website.

Enjoy!
Rosemary

A Busman's Break, from Cathie Devitt

2011-01-19T19:47:00.000Z

What is one to do when left with the post-festive blues? Having stuffed the family with traditional fayre, fallen victim to a mild, but irritating, dose of the flu, and coped with the unexpected bereavement of a close family member, I was feeling jaded and in need of some TLC far away from my hectic life.

Bearing in mind the freezing weather that Scotland experienced in 2010 (Global temperature warmed to near record levels say climate scientists from the Met Office), I was reluctant to travel far.

How surprised was I to discover the perfect sanctuary less than 25 miles from my home, on the map, but a whole world apart in terms of the tranquillity and scenic landscape.

Gartmore House sits within 75 acres of private gardens 2.5 miles from Aberfoyle, gateway to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.

On checking in at the reception desk, I discovered that Gartmore House is the family home of a fellow writer: Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham.

Unfamiliar with the name I delved further into Robert’s history and was delighted to discover that he was a great author,with friends such as George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde in his address book.

Born of Spanish descent on 24th May 1852, Robert was the eldest son of a family of three and as the eldest, he claimed his right to the Earldom of Strathearn, Mentieth and Airth on the side of his father, William Cunninghame Graham Bontine of Ardoch and Gartmore.

There is great sadness within the biography of Robert’s life. Overcome with grief on the death of his wife Gabriella in 1906, Robert dug her grave with his own hands in the old priory at Inchmahome Island on the lake of Menteith.

Gabriella was an artist, writer and poet. Robert’s death followed thirty years later in 1936 at the age of eighty four.

I felt privileged to sit by the coal fire in the main drawing room, glass in hand, book on my lap, in the company of a kindred spirit. I appreciated the magic of sharing time in this wonderful venue. Just “being”.

The snow fell heavily on the night of our arrival and dusted the grounds in sparkling virgin snow. A stroll to walk off the huge breakfast seemed reasonable. Walking through winding footpaths I stopped for a moment.

‘Listen,’ I said.

‘I can’t hear anything.’

‘My point exactly,’ I replied.

I often take short breaks away to concentrate on my own writing. This, however, was not my intention when I visited Gartmore House in January 2011. I sought only peace and rest.

Trust me to book in on the annual weekend of “Georgina’s Quilters” which only led to my curiosity being fired up even more. We were welcomed into the workroom that the ladies were using over their very productive weekend.

A wonderland of colours and fabrics enhanced by the backdrop of a bay window overlooking snow-capped hills.

As the ladies worked by hand and machine, I admired their creations which varied in size, colour, textures and design. ( A story for another time).

Typical writer, I ended up buying a crisp new notebook from the woollen mill shop in Aberfoyle, and here I am writing the first of many memories that I have from my weekend.

Cathie Devitt

Links:

Find out more about Don Roberto on Wikipedia.

Find out more about Gartmore House here.

Find out more about the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park here.

Find out more about the Weather in Scotland from the Met Office here.

Find out more about Cathie Devitt - Writer

Manuscript Presentation for the New Year!

2011-01-08T09:06:00.001Z

A very happy, healthy and successful New Year to all at Erskine Writers, and anyone else reading the blog! The most immediate big date coming up is the annual SAW weekend conference at the Erskine Bridge Hotel in March, from Friday 11th to Sunday 13th. A reminder that the closing date for competitions closes on Friday 14th January.

As a helpful start to the new year, Sue Moorcroft has posted updated Manuscript Presentation rules on her website. It's worth reading, as Sue is the main judge for the Writers' Forum story competitions and is a well published novelist and non-fiction writer. You can find the post here.

All the best for the coming year,
Rosemary

P.S. Check out details of Sandra's new book on the Members' News page!

Let it Snow!

2010-12-07T11:25:00.000Z

Unfortunately, the snow has made it impossible for the writing group to take place for the last two meetings. Such a shame that we missed our Christmas party and Wilma's play. Sounds as though Glasgow and Edinburgh are almost at a standstill, never mind all the side roads and hills that make driving (and walking) a hazard.

Meanwhile, here are some competitions to keep you busy over the festive period, not to mention the SAW entries for those attending, which must be in by 14 January 2011. The first was one which should have closed during December but has been postponed to January.

Scottish Writers' Centre Showcase Writing Competition

Reading Writers

Flash 500 Competition

Wishing everyone a safe, warm and Happy Christmas and successful New Year.
Rosemary

BBC Radio Drama

2010-11-17T13:37:00.002Z

We were very honoured to have a visit this week from David Neville at BBC Radio Drama, who gave up his valuable time to spend the afternoon at Erskine Writers.

It was fun, entertaining and very interesting, giving us a good insight into radio drama. David played an excerpt from two quite different plays and allowed us to make comments. He also asked leading questions which enabled us to think about the structure and story of the plays.

There was no doubt, however, that he wasn’t giving us false hopes about having plays published. Only the most experienced writers have a good chance of producing acceptable work, although they don’t refuse new writers; they just have to be very good! That’s fair enough, since it’s a very competitive market.

One of the best resources for keeping up to date with BBC drama is their excellent writersroom. In addition to lots of hints and tips, they provide examples of scripts, including correct layout.

And the overwhelming message? Writers actually have to listen to radio plays in order to write them. Just as in any other form of writing, it’s all about understanding what they want!

Rosemary

Erskine Writers' Dinner November 2010

2010-11-12T09:41:00.002Z

This year, we tried a new venue: the Ingliston Equestrian Centre. A great time was had by all. We had our afternoon meeting first, where we mostly read short pieces with an equestrian theme. Unfortunately, there were coloured lights around the ceiling which has affected the quality of some of the photos!

While the staff set up the room for our meal, we had a tour of the stables and met many of the beautiful horses - and some of them were happy to be stroked.

Our 3-course dinner was generally excellent and was followed by tea or coffee. Everyone agreed it was a great success. As always, there was much talking and laughing, giving us the chance to socialise with our fellow writers. Roll on next year!

The awards this year were as follows (unfortunately Joan Fleming was ill) :

Quaich for Short Story:            Marc R. Sherland
2nd                                            Elizabeth Gillespie
3rd                                            Myra Duffy

Commended Joan Fleming

Erskine Cup for Article:            Wilma Ferguson
2nd                                             Joan Fleming
3rd                                             Joyce Somerville
Commended                               Myra Duffy; Elizabeth Gillespie; Rosemary Gemmell

Betty Munnoch Poetry Award: Joan Fleming
2nd                                               Myra Duffy
3rd                                               Rosemary Gemmell
Commended                                 Wilma Ferguson; Sandra McGruther; Joan Fleming

President's Cup                          Rosemary Gemmell

Short Story Competition

2010-11-08T09:32:00.000Z

We had a very interesting story adjudication from Betty McKay, a well-published short story writer who also has great success in Woman's Weekly, which is notoriously difficult to get right.

Betty gave a full overview on writing short stories and everyone learned something new.

The results of the Short Story Competition are:

1st:     Marc Sherland
2nd:    Elizabeth Gillespie
3rd:    Myra Duffy

Commended: Joan Fleming

Well done to all,
Rosemary

Wigtown Book Festival

2010-11-03T10:11:00.000Z

The following is a great report on the Wigtown Book Festival from EW member, Morag Law.

In 1998, Wigtown was officially designated as Scotland’s National Book Town and over the last 12 years has been transformed from a run-down provincial town into a book-lover’s paradise. It now boasts over 20 book-related businesses, providing a feast of both new and second-hand books for the avid reader to enjoy.

To complement its thriving book-centred culture, Wigtown has staged an annual book festival every autumn since 1999, which has grown to a fortnight-long event, attracting a line-up of participating authors to rival that of the Edinburgh Book Festival. This year’s Wigtown Book Festival included appearances by Iain M.Banks, John Byrne , Barbara Dickson, Janice Galloway, Sally Magnusson, Ian Rankin and Val McDiarmid – to name but a few.

Like any other self-respecting festival, it also has a lively and varied Fringe programme which this year included a Là Gàidhlig/Gaelic Day – helping to reflect another facet of local heritage and history. As part of this day, I was invited to talk about my forthcoming bi-lingual book “Dìleab Cholbhasach/A Colonsay Legacy”, which is due to be published in 2011. Despite the lengthy journey, we arrived in Wigtown early enough to capture some of the festival atmosphere. Brian Taylor’s Big Debate programme for BBC Radio Scotland was being broadcast live from the Town Hall as we drove into town and as we explored the grassy area in the town centre where the main festival marquees were pitched, Jackie Kay was in full flow, giving a poetry reading to a rapt audience.

In the afternoon, in a small church hall, I found that reading extracts from my book and answering questions was both satisfying and uplifting. By no means all of the audience were Gaelic speakers and this gave me a sense of the scope of potential interest in my work.

Erskine Writers may be particularly interested to know that the Wigtown Book Festival runs an annual poetry competition, details of which can be found on the official website.

Morag Law

Ireland's Own Anthology Launch

2010-11-02T16:48:00.003Z

IRELAND’S OWN: Anthology Launch 10th October 2010

Ireland’s Own is one of Ireland’s favourite magazines and this year, to launch their first anthology, they organised an event in the Talbot Hotel in Carlow, about 150 miles south of Dublin. The magazine has been in existence since 1902 and is still as popular today in Ireland as it was then.

As I was one of the contributors we decided it was a good excuse for a break in a country we know well!

The launch was on a Sunday but we stayed for the weekend in a very comfortable small hotel -the Red Setter -where the staff were friendly but not intrusive. We were pleased we had chosen this one as it’s right in the heart of Carlow and very handy for shops, pubs and restaurants.

Apart from that there are the remains of the 13th Century castle, decimated not by fighting but because in the nineteenth century a local worthy had the idea of dynamiting it to clear the way for the building of a lunatic asylum. Unfortunately the walls proved resistant to his plan and remain to this day.

Carlow is the main market town in County Carlow but has only about twenty two thousand inhabitants and the centre is compact, making it easy to walk around. Sad to say the ‘credit crunch’ was very evident and even allowing for it being out of season, this delightful little town was very quiet.

Carlow itself has a long history but little evidence remains. Its most famous claim is as the place where the ‘Croppy Boys’ were executed following the failure of the Irish rebellion of 1798 and the Liberty Tree at the Potato market in the centre of the town marks that event.

Around 130 people -writers, friends and families -attended the launch on the Sunday. An accident on the NAAS road delayed some of those attending but there was no shortage of chat to make the time go quickly, helped by a glass of Guinness or two.

The launch was performed by writer Colm Keane (latest book ‘The Distant Shore’) and his wife Oonagh King, an RTE announcer. The atmosphere was relaxed and fun and I was so glad I had decided to go along.

It was good to meet writers from a different country and to have the opportunity to meet Phil Murphy and Sean Nolan, who were every bit as charming as their e-mail correspondence suggests.

The Ireland’s Own anthology has a range of contributors from the three sections of the competition - Irish Memories, Short Stories by new writers and General Short Stories. There were only two of us who were not Irish, so we were given a great welcome because we had ‘come so far.’

The seal of approval to the anthology was the foreword by Maeve Binchey who is as popular in the rest of the world as she is in Ireland.

I didn’t enter this year’s competition but they are hoping it will be an annual event. It’s well worth entering because if you are included in the anthology, it gives you a great excuse for a trip!

Myra Duffy

National Short Story Week

2010-10-29T10:45:00.000+01:00

Thought I'd post the link to a very good website for the first National Short Story Week which takes place from 22nd to 28th November.

Lots of great tips for writers as well as stories to read.

Rosemary

Short Story Adjudication

2010-10-25T09:39:00.003+01:00

We had a great session with short story writer Betty McKay on Tuesday, who took us through many of the important points of story telling.

Betty also adjudicated our competition and awarded prizes to the following:

Winner: Marc Sherland
2nd: Elizabeth Gillespie
3rd: Myra Duffy

Commended: Joan Fleming

Well done to all.
Rosemary

NOTES FROM ERSKINE WRITERS: 5th October 2010

2010-10-06T09:27:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone,

Today we had a most interesting session on Text Processing by Wilma Ferguson. There were lots of questions, even from those who have a good working knowledge of the vagaries of a computer. Wilma produced an excellent booklet for us: I have a couple of spare copies if anyone is interested.

There were a number of business items, the most important of which are detailed below.

1. The Albert Hammond Award
Further to our earlier discussions and my e-mail about our meeting on 20th September the following decisions were made:

> This year the age category should be S1-S3. In future years we can alter this - next year it may be the upper school for example. If we try to include the whole range of ages we would have to split the competition and have two awards which would be difficult.
> The theme of the competition (for us as well as for the children) will be ‘The Seasons’- one season or all seasons - and open to a wide interpretation. Kathleen agreed this would accord well with the kind of poetry Albert liked.
> Each poem should have a maximum of 20 lines. As the age group of the children is fairly young, it was agreed this length would be more appropriate.
> All submissions must be made by the end of January 2011.
> The launch of the anthology will be in May 2011.

As the grant has now been received from the Council, I will set up a meeting with the Education Officer responsible for literacy.

2. The Dinner at Ingliston Country Club: 9th November 2010
All payments for the dinner must be made to Hector by 12th October so that arrangements can be finalised. If you have indicated you wish to attend, please ensure you make your payment by the due date.

This year’s theme (in keeping with the venue) will be ‘Equestrian’. Please bring along something to read (it need not be original) of approximately five minutes’ duration.

3. SUBSCRIPTIONS
Please note that all subscriptions to Erskine Writers were due in September so I should be grateful if you could arrange to pay Hector as soon as possible and certainly by the end of October. If you intend to go to the S.A.W you will remember you must be a member of a writers’ group.

4. There has been a request that we consider changing the date of our Christmas Party at Bargarran from the 14th December to the 7th December. This would then be our last meeting of the year.
We will make a decision next week but if you are unable to attend that meeting and/or would like to contact me about this, please do so.

5. The Article competition closes next Tuesday 12th October. The article should be 1000 words on a Scottish theme and the cost per entry is, as usual, £1.

Please ensure that if you cannot attend the meeting your entry (hard copy) is with Joan Fleming by the close of business on the 12th. Late entries cannot be accepted.

Please feel free to comment or add suggestions on any of the above.
Best wishes,
Myra

First Speaker of New Session

2010-09-22T09:20:00.000+01:00

The new session of Erskine Writers began on Tuesday 14th September when we welcomed a few new faces and caught up with members' writing over the summer break.

Yesterday, 21st September, we had a fascinating visit from writer John Steele. An experienced article writer with work in most of the Scottish magazines, John also writes non-fiction books. He soon had us enthralled by the story of how he came to write his current 'sensitive' book.

John left us with two lasting lessons for writing non-fiction. His catch phrase is: 'Not many people know that' - and he illustrated how this applies to finding ideas that editors will want to publish.

The other lesson was curiosity and tenacity. When John started out on his major non-fiction work, it was sparked by a conversation between two elderly women. And his curiosity was peaked. He asked questions, he researched, but it was his dogged tenacity that eventually brought him the answers.

John has kindly agreed to judge an article competition for us. It should have a Scottish theme and be no more than 1000 words. Deadline is strictly Tuesday, 12th October.

Rosemary

Garden Party

2010-06-26T21:19:00.001+01:00

Erskine Writers enjoyed another great end of session garden party at the home of our lovely hostess, Sandra. Excellent company, fabulous food and splendid venue. And the sun shone! We also celebrated Sandra's and Joyce Ward's special birthdays, neither of whom look their respective ages.

Roll on another year!

Rosemary

My Weekly - New Guidelines

2010-05-12T09:22:00.000+01:00

The following guidelines are from Liz Smith. She is apologetic about the time she is taking to get back to people, but she is now the only member of the fiction buying team. These are the updated guidelines (I've abridged it slightly for space).

Only one manuscript per month. Email, postal addresses, phone numbers etc should be marked on the manuscript
Please pay attention to the story lengths as they are important
For your manuscript to be considered, it’s imperative you mark prominently on your envelope or email into which category your story falls and how many words it is. If you don’t do this, I’m afraid your work can’t be considered.
Our author box has changed. Can you please now give me 30 words about your inspiration? Please include this on your manuscript or Word document.
Remember NOT to include any formatting such as tabs or page breakers in your Word document.
Not looking for any more sci-fi themes in any of the categories, at the moment.

PRESENTATION
As we now edit on screen, please take a moment to check your manuscript and ensure that:

Double quotes (“…”) are used for dialogue throughout
You have avoided excessive use of ellipses (…) and exclamation marks
There are only SINGLE spaces between words and sentences (please eliminate all unnecessary spaces)
If you are emailing your story, make sure it is as a Word attachment and not in the body of the email
You are enclosing only a SINGLE MANUSCRIPT, not several at once, and that your story is in a standard plain type of 12pt.
All manuscripts must be typewritten, with accurate wordage supplied.
Still low on Family stories with children at the moment – 1200 words.

LONG READS (2,500-3,000)
- Emotionally engaging
- Light and shade
- Strong continuous plot
- Intrigue - Interwoven plot lines
- Complex relationships
- Recognisable people in recognisable situations
- Escapist - Adventure - Balance of surprise vs expectations

Twist In The Tale (between 1400 and 1600 words)
- Particularly looking for light-hearted themes, or very moving - “clues” must not be misleading
- Positive, pleasant outcome - characters well rounded, need not all be likeable - revenge must not be vindictive
- A nice surprise instead of a “con”
- Ensure crime themes have emotional engagement and some sympathetic characters.

Coffee Break (700 Words Only)

Particularly looking for light-hearted or very moving themes
No surprise endings right now as I have enough
Include a frisson of excitement, hint of passion
Character studies
Unusual, offbeat subject
Humorous - conversation – can be all dialogue - a moment in time - pulse racing, without being sexually explicit

Romance (1200 words + 2000 words)
- looking for light-hearted or very romantic themes
- believable characters
- unusual theme/situations
- try not to be too predictable
- doesn’t have to have a standard happy ending
- engaging dialogue
- must still be hopeful - inspiring - light and shade work well - try to ring the changes with themes
- convincing emotions

You can send your work by email to myweekly@dcthomson.co.uk or lsmith@dcthomson.co.uk or by post to: The Commissioning Fiction Editor, My Weekly, D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd., 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL. Most important! If one of your stories has been accepted already, please mark the email for the attention of Liz Smith.

Rosemary

Magic Mixture Book Launch

2010-04-23T09:25:00.003+01:00

Photo by Barbara Campbell

On 13th April many Erskine Writers, contributors to the EW Children’s Anthology Magic Mixture and guest Councillor Ian Nicolson, gathered in Erskine Library to celebrate the official launch of the book. After a short speech by Councillor Nicholson, Ben Herrington, the young winner of the Children’s Christmas Story Competition read his excellent featured story, The Elf who Shouldn’t have Left. This was followed by a diverse mix of readings from a few of the contributors.

A short address by Alex Gray closed the ceremony but that was not the end of the celebrations. A cake was cut in honour of the occasion and to celebrate twenty years of Erskine Writers.

Copies of the anthology will be distributed to the schools in the Erskine area and to the local libraries. If you would like a copy of the anthology, priced £5.00, please contact one of the EW committee or send an email to erskinewriters@googlemail.com.

More photos can be found on the side bar of this blog.

Magic Mixture – Anthology launch

2010-04-08T21:34:00.003+01:00

Erskine Writer’s will launch their new anthology for children on Tuesday 13th April at 1.30pm in Erskine Library, Bridgewater Place, Erskine, PA8 7AA (opposite Morrisons)

There will be cake!

Poetry Competition Results

2010-03-25T21:08:00.000Z

Poetry Competition

There were 17 entries, and the competition was judged by poet Sheila Templeton.

In her general comment, Sheila said how much she had enjoyed reading our entries, and commented that the standard of work was very high. Where she found poems that could be improved, she pointed out how this could be achieved. Each poem was given an individual critique, which members found most helpful.

We'd like to thank Sheila for her encouraging and supportive adjudication.

Results

1st Joan Fleming
2nd Myra Duffy
3rd Rosemary Gemmell

Commended
Sandra McGruther
Joan Fleming
Wilma Ferguson

SAW 2010

2010-03-24T19:42:00.011Z

Enjoying a catchup before the party.

On the first weekend in March the members of The Scottish Association of Writers yet again took over the Erskine Bridge Hotel.

Kathleen

Elizabeth Injun

Erskine Writers had fewer members attending this year, but those who did had a right knees-up in this Wild Western part of Renfrewshire.

Our successes in the SAW competitions this year were celebrated in a Grand Ole Cowboy and Injun style.

Joan said ‘The weekend was excellent (except for the non-functioning lifts).’

Congratulations to all the winners this year:

Constable Trophy for General Novel: 3rd - Vikki Gemmell

Writers' News Mini Story: Commended - Cathie Devitt

Writers' News Fantasy Story: 3rd - Myra Duffy

General Article: 3rd - Joan Fleming

One Act Play Competition Results

2010-01-25T18:46:00.002Z

One Act Play Competition Results

(Adjudication by Joyce Ward)

1st Rosemary Gemmell
2nd Wilma Ferguson

Congratulations to both!

Children’s Christmas Story Competition

2009-12-14T20:33:00.002Z

Ben receiving his illustrated story

Erskine Writers had the pleasure of adjudicating a local primary school Christmas story competition over the last few weeks.

One finalist was chosen from each of four schools and an overall winner from the finalists. It was a very difficult choice, with some entries only having one or two marks between them.

As part of the prize, the four finalists were driven by limo to the Erskine Christmas celebrations on Saturday, 5th December, where they each were presented with a voucher from a local business. A few of our members managed to be there to see the children arrive.

The overall winner, Ben Herrington, switched on the Christmas tree lights. He was also presented with a beautifully illustrated copy of his story by our very own illustrator and member of EW, Mandy Sinclair.

Ben read his winning story, ‘The Elf who Shouldn’t have Left’, to the gathered crowd. It was a cold, rainy day but all four children looked delighted to be a VIP for the afternoon.

Illustrated winning story

EW Annual Dinner 2009

2009-11-16T19:56:00.005Z

The Proud Winners

On the 10th of November Erskine Writers met for the annual dinner and prize giving event at the Erskine Bridge Hotel. Homecoming was the theme for the afternoon and because the recent article competition was tagged with the same theme we were treated to readings of the winning entries and a few from other contestants.

After the prize giving the photo call the group adjourned to the dinning room to continue festivities with an excellent dinner and a few sherries.

Thanks should go to the capable hands of the efficient and pleasant staff who did a grand job.

The prizes awarded are as follows;

The Quaich was presented to Sarah Smith for winning the Crime Story Competition
2nd Place to Myra Duffy and 3rd Place to Moira McPartlin

Sandra McGruther was presented with an award for winning the Poetry Competition, 2nd Place to Sarah Smith, 3rd Place to Cheryl O'Brien and Highly Commended to Wilma Ferguson and Rosemary Gemmell

The Erskine Bridge Hotel Cup was presented to Senga (on behalf of Joan Fleming) for winning the Article Competition
2nd Place to Rosemary Gemmell and 3rd Place to Wilma Ferguson

The President’s Achievement Award for 2009 was presented to Hector Campbell for his devotion to the group, particularly the good work carried out as Treasurer. The big smiles on the photos are due to Hector's ready wit.

Hector receiving the President's Achievement Award

Congratulations to all the award winners.

You can view the photos on the side bar soon.

Visit: Panopticon and reminders

2009-10-26T15:19:00.010Z

Remember, Remember: There is still time to put your name down for the annual dinner on the 10th November and don't forget we are still accepting submissions for the Children's Anthology

Erskine Writer never shy from getting up on stage to perform a reading or two, but who would have thought they could sing and dance.

If these pictures, taken at last weeks visit to the Panopticon are anything to go by, there's more to EW than the written word!

EW Music Babes singing Daddy wants to buy me a Bow wow

.

Old Posters and Photos

Look up and see what you are missing - Panopticon magnificent facade

Albert Hammond

2009-08-31T17:20:00.004+01:00

Albert Richard Douglas Hammond

It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of our writing colleague and friend, Albert Hammond, on 16th June 2009, aged 84.

A long-time member of Erskine Writers, along with his wife Kathleen, Albert contributed so much to the group each week. From his love of reading and writing poetry and prose to the deep Christian faith he was always happy to share, Albert was a very active member until his health started to deteriorate during the last year.

It was a measure of the group’s love and respect for Albert that he received the President’s Achievement Award at the annual dinner in November 2008, for outstanding commitment to Erskine Writers and his continuing enthusiasm that was an inspiration to us all.

Originally from the isle of Sheppey in Kent, Albert served in the Admiralty in Greenock, before moving back to England. A recipient of the British Empire Medal and the Imperial Service Medal, Albert was also a devoted member and preacher of the Methodist Church. Along with his beloved Kathleen, he was an equally devoted foster-parent to over forty children and beloved father to Ruth, Stuart and Martin.

Albert did not show any signs of slowing down in his latter years and never lost his love of the written word, becoming an enthusiastic member of the Scottish Association of Writers, the Scottish Federation of Writers and the Scottish Fellowship of Christian Writers. One of his greatest delights was the first day he attended a meeting of the SFCW in Stirling and discovered a long-lost friend from his days in Kent.

Albert and Kathleen returned to Scotland to support their son, Martin, through his progressive Multiple Sclerosis. It was after the sadness of Martin’s death, that Albert began to suffer a series of strokes, from which he gradually recovered, until the final one took him to his Maker.

Although he was increasingly frail this last year, we will remember Albert as someone who never gave in to his frailty. At the SAW in March, he was one of the last people to leave the disco on the Saturday evening. He might not have been able to dance (although he had a little shoogle on the carpet) but he was as keen to enjoy the fun and friendship as always.

Towards the end of May, only a month before he died, Albert was at the Erskine Writers’ end of session Garden Party just as he was every other year. Our writing group will never be the same without this remarkable man. His son, Stuart (fellow writer Marc Sherland), summed up his father’s life perfectly on the Order of Service:

‘A Life lived full – and full of Life’

Written by Rosemary Gemmell

Garden Party

2009-06-04T20:56:00.008+01:00

The Usual Suspects

The 26th May 2009 started dull and drizzly but cleared to a few occasional showers and bright sunshine just in time for the Annual Erskine Writer's Garden Party. The usual suspects turned up armed with enough food to feed the whole street.

Drinks and Nibbles

Before the proceedings could begin properly, Alex Grey read out her adjudication and placings for the Crime Story competition.

1st Sarah Smith
2nd Myra Duffy
3rd Moira McPartlin

There were nine entries. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to Alex for her excellent adjudication.

Kathleen and Albert admiring the garden

After munching on many helpings from the laden table the party moved outside into garden were we enjoyed the warm sun and kept a wary eye on those rain clouds. Thanks to the hostess for organising this grand affair.

Honorary EW Member

Erskine Writers AGM

2009-05-21T17:30:00.003+01:00

The AGM was well attended this week with eighteen people crammed into that wee meeting room at Barrgarran. Spirits were high and the business was attended to in brisk fashion.

All of the office bearers have agreed to remain on the committee for another year but the jobs are being divied (?sp) up between all the regular attendees of the meetings.

The new organisation for the group 2009-2010 looks like this.

GENERAL
Chairing meetings and overseeing arrangements (Myra/Joan)
Syllabus /sending out (Margery/Karen/Andrina/Moira)
Syllabus printing (Wilma)
Arrangements for speakers: invites, organisation and thanks (Karen)
Competitions (Joan/Rosemary)
Alerts re weekly meetings/fees etc to keep members up to date (Mandy)
Success list (Senga)
Funding arrangements (Hector/Myra)
EW website and blog (Moira)

SPECIFIC
Competition certificates (Wilma)
SAW delegate/SAW: arrangements for EW stall (Elizabeth)
SAW Schedule for members (Elizabeth)
EW dinner arrangements: booking hotel etc (Andrina)
AGM notice of meeting/papers (Myra)
AGM minutes (Jack)
Garden party (Sandra)
Christmas party arrangements (Rosemary)

Congratulations! Well done to all!

2009-03-23T17:44:00.009Z

Les, Karen and Alex celebrating Karen's Pitlochry win

Erskine Writers have proved they are a fine bunch of wordsmiths judging from the successes at the recent Scottish Association of Writers Conference.

SAW Successes 2009 in order of adjudication:

Castles in the Air Moira McPartlin Commended
Marc Sherland 1st
Humorous Article Joan Fleming 2nd
Unpublished Authors Wilma Ferguson Commended
Drama Cathie Devitt 3rd
Children’s Story Wilma Ferguson 3rd
Woman’s Short Story Rosemary Gemmell Commended
Andrina Connell 2nd
Poetry Sarah Reynolds* Highly Commended
Moira McPartlin 3rd
Pitlochry (crime novel) Sarah Reynolds* 1st
Constable (general novel) Moira McPartlin 2nd

*aka Karen

And they know how to celebrate in style too.

Joan, Rosemary and Gillian Philips time travelling

Cathie and Marc love-in the results

Poetry Competition Winners

2009-02-16T16:25:00.002Z

Congratulations to the winners of the Erskine Writer’s Poetry Competition.

1st Sandra McGruther
2nd Sarah Smith
3rd Cheryl O'Brien

Highly commended;

Wilma Ferguson
Rosemary Gemmell

The competition was adjudicated by Marc R Sherland, Chairman of the Federation of Writers and Secretary of the Scottish Association of Writers. As part of his adjudication Marc gave Erskine Writers an excellent insight into what poetry was all about.

A big thank you to Marc and congratulations again to the winners.

EW Annual Dinner 2008

2008-11-16T18:02:00.005Z

The Proud Winners

On the 11th of November twenty plus Erskine Writers met for the annual dinner and prize giving event at the Erskine Bridge Hotel. Poetry was the theme for the afternoon and we all enjoyed the ups and downs of a varied selection of fine verse.

After the prize giving the literati adjourned to the dinning room to continue festivities with an excellent dinner and a few sherries.

Thanks should go to the capable hands of the efficient and pleasant staff who did a grand job.

The prizes awarded are as follows;

The Quaich was presented to Rosemary Gemmell for winning the Fantasy Story Competition (December 2007)
2nd Place to Moira McPartlin and 3rd Place to Cathie Devitt

Myra Duffy was presented with an award for winning the Poetry Competition (February 2008)
2nd Place to Cathie Devitt, 3rd Place to Alex Gray and Highly Commended to Sarah Smith

The Erskine Bridge Hotel Cup was presented to Joan Fleming for winning the Travel Writing Competition (November 2008)
2nd Place to Moira McPartlin and 3rd Place to Wilma Ferguson

The President’s Achievement Award for 2008 was presented to Albert Hammond for his unstinting enthusiasm and sustained devotion to the club. He is an inspiration to us all.

Congratulations to all the award winners.

You can view the photos on the side bar.

Screenwriting and Writing Opportunities

2008-11-07T09:32:00.005Z

Screenwriting and Writing Opportunities

EW member Linda McIvor thought some of you might be interesting in these great screenwriting resources

Hi to any budding screenwriters. Just a wee note to say, if you fancy giving it a try here are the name of two books that will get you well on your way.

Teach yourself – SCREENWRITING by Ray Frensham.

. Have you an idea for that script to end all scripts?
. Want to break into screenwriting but are not sure how it works?
. Do you need practical advice to improve your screenwriting skills?

SCREENWRITING shares with you Ray Fresham’s extensive knowledge of this demanding but exciting industry. It takes you through the processes involved in transforming your ideas into a format that will really work on screen and shows you how to present your finished work to its best advantage. Everything that you need to know can be found between these covers.

MAKING IT AS A SCREENWRITER by Adrian Mead.
(Extract from Adrian’s Book)
THE AIMS OF THIS BOOK

“This stuff works – but only if you use it!

Keep this book next to your computer at all times and apply liberally when stricken by bouts of frustration.
This isn’t a book about how to write. It’s a manual that explains how to get a job and build a career as a writer. It’s meant to be an easy read but don’t be fooled by the non- academic tone. Everything in here works. Read it through once, then go back and check out the links and publications I recommend. All of them are useful.

I changed careers from bouncer and hairdresser to professional screenwriter and director. I did it despite having no formal training or contacts in the industry. I now have a career that excites, challenges and constantly inspires me.

It happened because I planned it.
This book will give you the tools and the info to do the same.”

I really enjoyed both books and found them to be invaluable. MAKING IT AS A SCREENWRITER by Adrian Mead can be purchased at www.meadkerr.com . All proceeds from the sale of this book go to Childline.

Linda

-----------------------------------------------

ALSO

This mail came through on the EW email and might be of interest

"First Edition Magazine is a new monthly glossy solely dedicated to publishing works by new writers and authors. We require talented authors who want to see their work in print.

From complete novels and short stories to poems, plays and scripts, First Edition offers a selection of the very best unpublished material. We are looking for writers to submit their work for possible inclusion in our magazine. Aside from the opportunity of having their work published, we are also offering cash prizes and awards, both monthly and annually.

If you, any of your group or your students, are interested in submitting, please find attached an information sheet, submissions guidelines and submissions form. Alternatively you can visit: http://www.firsteditionpublishing.co.uk for more information.

We would be very grateful if you would put the word around! The magazine will be on the shelves in time for the Christmas and New Year ‘rush’.

This magazine will be available in all major high street shops and via mail order from http://www.uniquemagazines.co.uk/firstedition

At 100+ pages and just £3 per issue, First Edition will be the essential source for untapped creative writing talent.

Yours sincerely,

The First Edition Team

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First Edition Publishing
PO Box 7110, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 9ER
http://www.firsteditionpublishing.co.uk
info@firsteditionpublishing.co.uk

Happy Writing

Moira

Days Like This and National Poetry Day

2008-10-07T11:41:00.004+01:00

Days Like This

I have just submitted my piece for BBC Radio Scotland’s Days Like This project.

Have you?

There is still time before the 1st of November deadline. You can submit on line here.

Days Like This - Creative Writing Workshop for Adults

National Library of Scotland Tuesday 14 October, 6.30pm – 8.30pm

To tie in with Days Like This – and with the fast-approaching deadline for submissions - the National Library of Scotland is offering a special creative writing workshop. Poet Ken Cockburn will help you to develop a piece of writing based on your own memories, stories and experiences, using photos and objects as inspiration.
The workshop is free but booking is essential as places are limited. To book a space call 0131 623 4675 or email events@nls.uk.

National Poetry Day

Don't forget that this Thursday (9th October)is National Poetry Day.

Events.

National Poetry Day ~ Theme 'Work' ~ Thursday 9th October 1 - 6 pm
In GoMA Library - Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow

The Federation of Writers (Scotland) will be holding an open mic session for readers of poetry fitting the National Poetry Day theme of 'WORK'. The event will start at 1 pm and will run on to 6 pm with frequent breaks (The Library has a well stocked cafe and eating is allowed in the area used).

We welcome readers and people simply wanting to come along and participate as audience members.

If you are able to attend and read register with Marc Sherland at marcsherland@btinternet.com

Marc will also be hosting an later the same evening at the Tramway.

National Poetry Day ~ Word Factory.
Thu 9 Oct 2008
7:00pm ~ 9.00pm
Tramway Cafe Bar ~ Balcony area
Free Event

Tramway will mark National Poetry Day with an experimental spoken word event, which will include, amongst a host of performers, Tramway’s new writing group Word Factory.
This spoken word event marks National Poetry Day. The theme of ‘work’ will be explored through spoken word, image and sound by a range of established and emerging word artists. The ambiance of Tramway’s Café Bar will enable you to relax allowing the spoken words to work. This event is curated by Marc R Sherland the chair of the Writers Federation and facilitator for Tramway’s new writing group, Word Factory.
If you would like to attend as part of the audience or to perform as an artist please contact Marc at marcsherland@btinternet.com
Work_Word_Working_Wording_with Words

Kelvingrove visit

2008-09-16T20:28:00.004+01:00

A few intrepid Erskine Writers braved the 40 millimetres of rain that fell in Glasgow today to spend the afternoon in the Kelvingrove Museum. Vera, our colourful guide, herded us through throngs of schoolchildren and pointed out the Museum's most famous pieces. Dali, Whistler and Rembrandt were top of the bill with the Glasgow Four giving us an admirable finale.

And of course the afternoon wouldn't be complete without tea and cake to set us up for the swim home.

What The EW Summer Group Did

2008-09-15T10:24:00.003+01:00

Erskine Writers Summer Group

I feel a wee bit sad writing this as I have nothing to do with my Tuesday evenings now.

Looking back over the syllabus reminds me of what a good and varied time we had.
The good thing about having an evening group during the summer months is that you always have enough members attending to make every meeting viable.
Granted sometimes we were down to 5 but mostly we made it into double figures.

This year we managed to have 4 guest speakers:

Rowena Love hosted a poetry workshop with special attention to Haiku. This was at the request of the group as we felt like branching out and being a bit daring!

Marjory McKellar came along to help us polish up out grammar and, typical of the summer group, things got a bit hysterical at one point. We can be very informal but Marjorie took it all in her stride.

Jennifer Stevenson kept us all in order with her ‘Building Character’ workshop. Not our character, that’s a lost cause, but our fictional characters. The great thing here was that Jennifer brought along lots of props for us to use as inspiration. She also had cuttings of the beginning and ending of books and articles. We all chose 2 or 3 and had to have a go at writing the ‘ bit in the middle’.

Children’s author Dawn Nelson was our final speaker. Dawn’s first book Dark Isle has been nominated for the Royal Mail Children’s Book of the year and, having read it myself, know that the nomination is well deserved. Not so much a talk as a blether round the table and a very enjoyable evening.

We repeated our Song and a Story project as everyone enjoyed it so much last year. Basically what happens is: During the first session of the season everyone takes a lucky dip and chooses a song. They then have 8 weeks to write a poem/story/article using the song as inspiration. Results night was a bit of a riot (told you we were informal). Jeff, using the Simon and Garfunkel song ’America’ wrote a two person conversation between the statue of George 3rd and his neighbour about the expectations of the USA (missile silos in the back garden etc). This was ably performed by Helen and Jennifer.

Victoria, Leona, Wilma, Elizabeth, Hilary and myself contributed stories and articles. Helen and Sandra wrote poems. Sandra’s, based round Michael Jackson’s ‘She’s Out of My Life’ was a very telling piece written from the perspective of Ruth Ellis’ mother. Helen set her poem to music and we all had to sing the chorus.

Our two new members, Wilma and Elizabeth in their second week, did not make a dash for the door but would have been forgiven for wondering what they had landed in. Bless them they stuck it out to the final session.

Our last night was 23rd August. We like this to be a bit special and invited Gillian Allan back to read for us. Drinks and nibbles and a professional performing our work. Who could ask for more? This year there were so many manuscripts to chose from that I chickened out and left the selection to Gillian. She chose 6, rehearsed like mad for 2 weeks, brought along her props and acted her wee socks off. There is something about seeing your work performed that is indescribable. I recommend Gillian to Writers Groups planning an event. She doesn’t just read, she becomes the character.

If we are still in business next year and have another performance evening I would recommend that you come along. Well worth it.

Hey ho! Winter is upon us. Christmas is coming and the whisky bottle is nearly empty. See you all in the Spring.

Best wishes,
Jacklin

A chance to be inspired

2008-09-03T22:40:00.000+01:00

Below are the details of the Lapidus Residential Conference. I have been a fan of Lapidus for over a year now. They are a worthwhile group who believe in the power of the word. This year's impressive lineup are sure to inspire you.

I first saw Seeds of Thought last year at Glasgow's West End Festival and try to catch them whenever they make an appearance. Their performance poetry is stunning.

The Line Up

Words In The World - Residential Conference at Newbattle Abbey

A rich line-up of poets, storytellers and environmentally-friendly writers has been announced for a Residential Conference in the beautiful setting of Newbattle Abbey near Edinburgh from Thursday 9th to Sunday 12th October.

The theme is Words in The World and you’ll be exploring the power of words to change yourself and the world. To inspire you there will be Seeds of Thought, an urban poetry group who share words, art and music; Valerie Gillies, the former Edinburgh Makar and Ted Bowman of the National Association for Poetry Therapy (USA).

The Conference aims to encourage personal, political & ecological explorations for writers, singers, activists, environmentalists, health and social service workers... anybody who wants their words heard in the world. There will be Open Space sessions facilitated by Larry Butler & Margot Henderson to maximise those fruitful, between-speaker spaces.

This conference is the harvest of a year-long project run by Lapidus Scotland. Contributors from previous workshops such as land-artist, Gerry Loose; storyteller/poet/singer Margot Henderson and crofter-poet, Mandy Haggith from Assynt will report, share and create new synergies out of the work done throughout the year.

Words in The World is like a river flowing over stone, each event deepening the relationships and embedding the insights made over time. Come and add your unique voice to the flow.
Contact: lapidusscotland@yahoo.co.uk or Lapidus Scotland, 2/1 14, Garrioch Drive G20 8RS.
Info:www.lapidus.org.uk
Rates: inc. full board: £190 (conc); £240; £290 (organisational)

Supported by Awards for All, Scottish Book Trust, Glasgow City Council and Lapidus [Literary Arts in Personal Development]

New Jotters

2008-08-26T17:22:00.006+01:00

I hope you have been snapping up the exciting and trendy notebooks on offer at the moment. Now the school term is well under way there are some fantastic buys for jotter junkies

Erskine Writers new day time term begins next week which means reams of inspiration and encouragement to induce the scribbles over the coming year.

The group are meeting; same time - 1.30pm to 3.00pm; same Venue - Bargarran Community Centre

To view the new syllabus click here

Pencil sharpeners to the ready.

Something for the reader

2008-05-14T11:33:00.001+01:00

New website

A few weeks ago I heard about an interesting new website that is still in its infancy, but has the potential for greatness.

http://beta.booklamp.org/aims to find and recommend the right books for you. Using new analytical software the founder, Aaron Stanton, hopes to build a huge database of titles, analyse elements of each book and construct a sort of book DNA. Once this database is crammed full it should be possible to pick a book or books you particularly enjoy, and then start a search. Booklamp will give you a recommendation list. It is a bit like the recommendations Amazon do but based on the information you give Booklamp. No more being offered a crazy selection after you’ve Amazoned all your Christmas pressies.

Please be patient, Booklamp is still in its baby stages, they have only a short list on offer, mostly SciFi, but they aren’t claiming otherwise. They welcome people to join, have a play around and see their potential, and there is a forum that allows users to leave comments and ideas.

Book Heaven

The Bibliocafe, Woodland Road, Glasgow

This is a word of mouth sort of place, but now I know where to find it I am hooked. The Bibliocafe sits on the corner of Woodlands Road and West End Park Street in the vibrant West End of Glasgow.

The concept is easy. Before you leave the house, pick up those books you've read but won’t read again. Take books to the Bibliocafe. The lovely lady there will tell you how much the books are worth to her, you strike a deal. She gives you a credit note to the value of the books and you spend the next few hours drinking coffee, eating yummy cake and browsing the shelves for a quality second hand book to replace the ones you took along. If the value of your purchases does not meet the credit note, the note is marked up and you can use it next time around. Good eh?

I didn’t have any books to trade because I can’t bear to part with any printed material, but that didn’t stop me enjoying an organic ginger tea while people watching from the large picture window upstairs. Oh and I bought a book, well I had to. My request for The Poisonwood Bible has been in the library for six weeks and Bibliocafe had a once read copy for £3.00 – what would you have done?

Competition and Blog news

2008-04-30T19:44:00.005+01:00

Competition alert

We had another lively meeting at Bargarran yesterday. Myra led the discussion on how we want to take the club forward, Joan read the minutes from the S.A.W. delegates meeting. We even had time after all that for some great readings from Kathleen, Marjorie and Myra.

Some of you might be interested in the competition details Rosemary brought along;

The Independent Travel Competition.

Write a travel article and win a trip to Kyrgyzstan. The Independent On Sunday will publish the winning entry and offer a commission for a 1200 word article based on the winner’s prize holiday.

The closing date is noon on Friday 16th May 2008. The short listed entrants will be invited to the prize-giving ceremony at Stanfords in London on Tuesday 22 July 2008.

Full details can be found by clicking the link here.

Good luck.

Ideas4writers blog

I don’t know how many of you know about this writer’s blog, but I have been subscribing to ideas4writers for a wee while now. They are a good source of information about writing and publishing. I have attached the link here. It is possible to subscribe to their blog and receive email notification whenever they update it.

http://ideas4writers.wordpress.com/

I will add the link to the list of our favourite blogs unless anyone has any objection.

Call for Members’ Blogs/Websites

If you have your own personal website or blog, can you contact me and let me know the address and I will include it in the site’s favourite list? I have added my blog and website just to start us off.

Instructions for the Blog

2008-04-28T17:31:00.003+01:00

Hi Welcome to Mandy, the second blogger to join the Erskine Writers Blog. It would be great to have more of you writing on here. I think the idea for the blog was to have a start up period with a few guests and when the swing started to sway I would invite more of you to join.

If you are interested in becoming a EW blogger please give your name to Mandy and she will pass that on to me.

In the mean time I hope to put a couple of items on this week for you to try out your new RSS feed.

Whats That?

I am sending out instructions along with the notification of this post to you all. A RSS feed will alert you to each new post every time you launch your Internet.

Good Luck with that.

Moira

Rookie EW Blogger

2008-04-17T14:19:00.002+01:00

Hello!

Here I am in cyberspace blogland.

I don't really know what to write at this point but it's good to be here at last anyway!

Mandy

Twelve go to Govan

2008-04-15T19:31:00.005+01:00

Govan Church

Today twelve of us ventured out of Bargarran to spend a splendid afternoon in Govan Church. The Church is tucked away between Govan Road and the Clyde and holds wondrous treasures from our ancient past.

The site has been Christian ground since the time of St Constantine and the current church was built in the Victorian times.

The stain glass windows depict Old and New testament scenes but the star of the church is the exquisite collection of Hogback stones and Pict standing stones. You can read more about it here.

The ladies who guided us round the church also served a welcome cup of tea and biscuits.

Welcome

2008-04-08T18:19:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the new Erskine Writers Blog.

Erskine writers is a vibrant writing group based in the West Of Scotland. With this blog we will bring you news and views from all our members as well as report on our many successes.

See our profile and website http://www.erskinewriters.co.uk/for more information about the group

A Recent Success

Erskine Writer Alex Gray launched her fifth novel 'Pitch Black' last Thursday evening at Waterstones Bookstore in Glasgow.

The evening attracted a large crowd who gathered to listen to Alex read an extract from the novel after which she answered questions about her writing process and entertained the gathering with gruesome tales of her research and recent course in forensic science.