Wirral Writers Online

National Novel Writing Month Members may be interested in this event/site. I have just signed up for it, only took 2 minutes. The idea is that authors get 1 month - November -  to come up with a 50,000 word novel! I know, it's a lot when you're doing other things like, bringing up a family, doing a job, or enjoying retirement! But I thought some might find it a useful tool if nothing else. I personally could do with having a kick in the pants as far as writing goes - don't get me wrong, I love writing; I'm just so damn lazy.     NaNoWriMo, 'na-no-RY-moh' is an annual, Internet-based creative writing project that takes place during the month of November. NaNoWriMo challenges participants to write 50,000 words, from November 1 until the deadline at 11:59PM on November 30. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to get people writing and keep them motivated throughout the process. The website provides participants with tips for writer's block , local places w...

Judith Railton (Left) presenting the cup to Chris Black The winner of the 2016 Maynah Lewis Competition is Chris Black, with her version of the Hare and the Tortoise fable in a modern setting. Congratulations Chris, on a well deserved win! A big thank you to Judith Railton for judging the competition this year, and for providing detailed and encouraging feedback on every story that was entered. The Maynah Lewis Cup has been awarded each year since 1989, and is a key event in the Wirral Writers' calendar. Wirral Writers' meet every first and third Friday in the month, at Bebington Civic Centre. Prospective new members are always welcome to come along and find out what we do.

Well I’m old(ish), with no dazzling smile and I certainly don’t ooze charisma from every pore. I’m catagorised as severely disabled, as I am quite badly autistic (ASD). I don’t believe in giving in, and I   WON'T  let it spoil my life, but in order to do that I need your help - each and every one of you. I have put this into medical, as  this is a campaign to save my life...  ( Please click here to read more)

The Wirral Writers’ anthology is nearing completion. Now is the time to set aside our famous British reserve and modesty, and get writing some bios. Here’s some tips. Always write in the third person. It is the expected form and it is easier to say nice things about another person than to say them about ourselves. Start by introducing yourself and your writing. Joe Bloggs has had a passion for writing short fiction since leaving school. Mention your biggest achievements first. If you feel you have none you are probably wrong. All writing activity is an achievement in itself. Jo has entered several writing contests and regularly submits work to her favourite magazines.  Mix up the third person use for variety, sometimes using your name, sometimes he or she. If you have any relevant qualifications, mention them. An MA in English literature might be more relevant than a swimming certificate, unless of course your story is all about a long distance swimmer. Inc...

Progression...         Remember way back to 2015 sometime around autumn? The idea of putting a Wirral Writers anthology together was mooted. The idea was received with a mixed response, but generally fairly positive. A rough timeline was agreed upon - the idea being to publish around Christmas 2016. So where are we up to? Everyone who wanted to be part of it has completed his or her submission, some have written more than one; the word count was equal for all. We have played 'Pass-the-Parcel' with each other's words, proof read, pencilled in corrections, added suggestions and so on and so forth. As far as I can tell, we are making good progress - I believe there are around 15 stories and a smattering of poetry to pull together now. The hard work is yet to begin as far as I can tell, from author blogs I have been visiting to gain some insight on how to publish an anthology. We have to agree on the order of the work, we need author bio's, we ...

Now on Sale for e-reader and in print.  What is especially cool about this issue of one of Britain's leading SciFi magazines is that there are two Wirral Writers on the ToC.  Two! Wirral Writers' were once a small provincial writers' group. No longer. Now we rock !

I signed up for the Early Bird Option for the London Screenwriters Festival. This year it starts 2nd September 2016. Right at the start of the school year. If my sabbatical dream comes true then this is the perfect kick start. It will be the third time I've been. First time I went was the first time it ran. I absolutely loved it. The energy was great. Hadn't got a clue about anything, but it made me appreciate how ignorant I was (no idea what a three act story line was!) and to do something about it. Second time was in 2014. I was in a grumpy place and had just seriously injured my ankle. Still gave me a lift though. This time I want to go there with a written, fully edited screenplay plus more and really go for it. Of course, if I haven't been granted my sabbatical I could be in for some interesting negotiations. But then, that's what makes life interesting.

Happy New Year to members of Wirral Writers and to followers/readers of this blog. Well there it was, gone. Another year. Right, let's get cracking. I think we will be rather busy this year what with an anthology to get together, the Maynah Lewis Competition to do and WW in-house competition, plus, all the writing we do for personal pleasure and submissions. There's some competition out there when you consider how many books get published in the UK alone; according to The Guardian newspaper in 2014 -  "UK publishers released more than 20 new titles every hour over the course of 2014, meaning that the country published more books per inhabitant than anywhere else in the world." When I worked at a well-known book store, I read an article that said around 2,000 new children's books were published every week. In terms of quantity only China and the United States publish more than us; and look at our geographical size in comparison too! We're not a ...