Friday 27 February 2015

Bea Diverse

Conducting research as to where to send my writing is fun. I buy a lot of magazines to analyse the type of stories and articles they publish and to discover what interests their readers. Most publications are a good read although there are one or two (no names mentioned!) which are cringe-worthy. Still each to their own and there are magazines and journals to suit every taste.

Many have a letters page or seek in some way to interact with their readers.
I recently came across two useful books both of which suggest using your writing skills to send in letters and fillers, hints and photographs. And so I thought, why not give it a go? Diversify a bit.

And hey, it worked! Out of the 20 letters I sent out in January, four have since been published. Perhaps I should make this a habit?
So many thanks to Linda Lewis and Maggie Cobbett for the encouragement.
  • Linda Lewis ‘How to Make £10 in Ten Minutes!’
  • Maggie Cobbett ‘Easy Money for Writers and Wannabes’

Wednesday 18 February 2015

Bea Critical

I admit to being a grammar nerd. I am the sort of person who rubs out unnecessary apostrophes on pub blackboards. I even correct spellings on other people's shopping lists. It is easy to be critical of others.

It's much harder to be self critical. I fail to spot my own gaffes. I suppose I read what I expect to be there, because I wrote it.
The Writers' Forum magazine has a 'First Draft' section every month where readers are invited to deliberately input 20 errors into the work of a published writer. It's an interesting exercise and a bit of fun too. In Issue #161, March 2015 you will find my ruination of an excerpt from 'The Woman Who Died a Lot' by the great Jasper Fforde. To whom I offer my humblest apologies.

Tuesday 17 February 2015

Bea Brief

I enjoy writing Flash Fiction. I use the phrase to mean very short pieces of writing, perhaps less than 100 words. It's an exercise in conciseness, of finding the right words and making each one count.


I have a short story today on www.paragraphplanet.com. My stay on the 'Planet', like my 75 word story, is brief. If you are reading this post on any day apart from Tuesday 17 February 2015 my story will no longer be there. 

Why not try it for yourself? 75 words is all it takes.

Monday 16 February 2015

Bea Afraid

It happens throughout our lives. We celebrate the first of each new achievement. Baby's first word, a child's first day at school, our first kiss.

Today I'm celebrating another first - my first blogpost!
It's scary. Not writing. I like writing. But publishing my words and thoughts for all to read, that is scary.

So please be gentle with me as I venture into the world of blogging. And as the proverb states, each journey begins with a single step.