First Write Kids Summer Camp

First Write Kids Summer Camp – July

Congratulations to the children who took part in the First Write Kids Summer Camp!
I was so proud of you all. Well done (l – r) Alanna, Eleanor, Dearbhla, Tara and Elle-Mae!
For more details of the programmes on offer for the Kids Write Space and Summer Camps – visit us in the News section. Also listen to what the children had to say and what questions they asked me!
We have one Summer Camp remaining – August 13 – 17th. If you want to ditch the television, and Nintendos then grab a seat at our camp in Dundalk.
We promise lots of games and teamwork exercises to help each child explore and develop their writing in a fun and informative environment.
In between the laughs we focus on short-story writing and grammar, especially the difficult bits we find challenging. The Camp also work on character creation and dialogue. More importantly the child develops confidence and a passion for writing.
There are more details on the News section – we even have an exercise for you to try at home!
Place: The Write Space classroom, Dundalk town centre. Cost 50 euro. Call above number to reserve a place!
Parents – Many thanks for your continued support and nurturing your child’s creative spark.

Write Kids 1st Summer Camp

Kids 1st Summer Camp

“It was class!” says Tara after the 1st Write Kids Summer Camp today (23 July) Monday. Tara, Elle Mae, Eleanor, Dervla, and Alanna composed fantastic characters. We wrote about the girl who lives in the magical forest. We talked about the boy and the dog sitting by the side of the road. We had diet …...

July 23rd, 2012 in Uncategorized by Brenda  No Comments »  Readmore »  Edit »

“It was class!” says Tara after the 1st Write Kids Summer Camp today (23 July) Monday.
Tara, Elle Mae, Eleanor, Dervla, and Alanna composed fantastic characters. We wrote about the girl who lives in the magical forest. We talked about the boy and the dog sitting by the side of the road.
We had diet Coke and biscuits!

End of Week

At the end of the week there's nothing better than a sit down, a chat and a cup of coffee. It was a busy few days with lots of link ups on Facebook and some new contacts making arrangements with me for future meetings.

Today's Friday class was as always productive. But that doesn't really explain what happens during the time we get together.

The Write Space is a secure and safe place where our writers feel comfortable sharing their written work with their friends. There is always plenty of opportunity to chat, to dream and to plan ahead.

The overall feeling should be positive. If not, I am not helping in a proper way.

What I get back from the class is something I can't measure or put into words. Which is ironic! Just to say it's a huge creative plug-in for me.

On another  note - I've decided to go ahead and order The Write Space T-shirts. I am also launching The Write Kids for the younger members. We are going to look - feel and think - writing!

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend. If you get a moment and feel like a look around - "like" us on The Write Space on Facebook.

Happy writing :-)

Martial Arts n Writing!

First mobile Write Kids Workshop

It was a very special day for us at The Write Space today when we launched the first mobile Write Kids Workshop. The venue was Mas-F Martial Arts Centre in Dundalk, under the management of Wayne Rutherford. It was kinda scary venturing into an arena full of dedicated, and hard working children and young adults. But the …...

July 18th, 2012 in News by Brenda  No Comments »  Readmore »  Edit »

It was a very special day for us at The Write Space today when we launched the first mobile Write Kids Workshop.
The venue was Mas-F Martial Arts Centre in Dundalk, under the management of Wayne Rutherford.
It was kinda scary venturing into an arena full of dedicated, and hard working children and young adults.
But the imagination took over and everyone started creating their own characters. Some even gave them secret powers and favourite foods to eat.

The objective was to introduce the writing element in a fun way. This was achieved with the group gradually writing a small story on the reverse of their creative drawings. The results were great.
We had everything. A boy who was called Pen Boy, with the power to destroy with the click of pen. Another who could shine lazers out from his eyes, and had firey breath. One chracter smelled so badly and was a nerd. And that was part of his superpowers!
Aoise helped distribute the pages and pens. It was a lovely way to spend the morning.
Good to know the group’s motto is “I achieve what I believe.”

Get Going

Get Going
Different fiction writers have different approaches for getting started. Here are some of your options:

• Start with a character. Invent a character. Think of something your character desperately wants. Then invent obstacles or problems that will get in the way of the character’s achieving his or her heart’s desire. Show the character trying to overcome these problems, and you’ve got yourself a plot.
• Start with a problem. This might be anything from a disease to a career crisis to a difficult mother-in-law who decides to move in. Then invent a character who might have this problem and who would react in an interesting way. Put it all together, and you’ve got the beginning of a plot.
• Start with a setting. Is there a particular place that you can write about vividly? Maybe your neighbourhood, the city where you grew up, a creepy house on the corner, a woods where you go camping? Great, now you have a setting for your novel. Next, you need characters and some kind of problem or conflict that you can turn into a plot. What kind of problems do people have in your particular setting? Snakes, crime, forest fires, pollution? What kind of person is likely to react to your setting in an interesting way? Maybe a small town girl who feels lost in the big city? A real estate developer who will immediately want to turn your nature preserve into condominiums… unless the locals can find a way to stop him? You have the beginnings of a novel.
• Start with a concept. Some people think in abstractions. Maybe you want to write about “Creativity” or “Religion” or “The Corrupting Influence of Power.” Great! Since you will be writing a novel and not a philosophy dissertation, your next step is to turn the abstract idea into a specific situation where your idea plays a central role. For example, if you want to write about “Religion,” you could invent a character who has a crisis of faith after something terrible happens to his family. Come up with a concrete problem related to your abstraction, and invent a character that this problem will happen to. Your abstract idea will be the novel’s theme, and the character’s battle with the problem will be your plot.

Shades of Gray

Shades of Gray

Kim Sanders is one of the top US romantic fiction authors. Her book Shades of Gray, stormed to No. 1 in the Amazon Top 100 Books in March this year. Kim provides encouragement for those interested in producing an e-book. Thank you Kim for taking time out to chat with us! Can you tell us a little …...

July 16th, 2012 in Uncategorized by Brenda  No Comments »  Readmore »  Edit »

Kim

Kim

Sanders is one of the top US romantic fiction authors. Her book Shades of Gray, stormed to No. 1 in the Amazon Top 100 Books in March this year. Kim provides encouragement for those interested in producing an e-book. Thank you Kim for taking time out to chat with us!
Can you tell us a little about yourself please?
My name is Kim Sanders, and I’m the author of the best-selling romantic suspense Shades of Gray. (www.kesanders.com) I love saying this because I am new to the world of fiction writing and the success of my novel still shocks me. In reality, I am just your average person who has written a romance novel. I’ve loved romantic fiction since I was a teenager. I love the escapism and the happily ever after. As an adult, I love this genre for the same reasons.
I grew up in small towns in the southern United States. My mother was an English teacher and my father owned a small variety store. I met my husband in undergraduate school and we have been happily married for 34 years. We have two wonderful adult children who love to read as much as I do.
I majored in journalism in undergraduate school and worked for years as a journalist on small newspapers and as an editor for in-house publications at a couple of universities. When my children were toddlers, I enrolled in law school and became an attorney. Writing fiction was a lifelong dream and it is now my third career.
How did you motivate yourself to keep going, to publish your books?

Shades of Gray

Over the years, I have published feature stories as a journalist, legal articles as an attorney, and photographs as a photographer. When my husband and I moved to a new city three years ago, I found the time to pursue a new career as a fiction writer. I started small. I wrote a short story and entered a contest with Writer’s Digest. I won a small payment and publication. The win gave me the confidence to finish my book, Shades of Gray, which I had been working on for years. I completely rewrote it.
I sent my novel to numerous publishers and agents, and I entered it in writing contests. The novel placed first in the writing contests and received positive rejections from agents and publishers, but no publishing contracts. As with all writers, I found that waiting months and months to hear back from each agent or publisher was extremely frustrating. My husband suggested that I self-publish the book and move on to the next novel. A few years ago, I would have never considered such an avenue. I’ve always considered self-publishing as a failure and the kiss of death. Publishers still refer to it as vanity publishing. But it turned out to be a wonderful opportunity, and my novel has been a success.
I was recently a featured author at a book festival. I was one of the few self-published authors invited, but I was featured along with published authors like Pat Conroy, Kieran Kramer, and Signe Pike. (http://www.scbookfestival.org)  I found a new attitude among many successful authors who have agents and publishers. Several have begun self-publishing some of their novels which are either out-of-print or do not fit the mold desired by their publishers. They admitted loving the monthly paychecks versus the bi-annual payments from publishers.
I admit, I didn’t expect my novel to be successful, but to simply be a publication I released for the enjoyment of a few friends and family while I fine-tuned my writing skills. I wanted to keep revising and editing the book in hopes that I might find the right publisher. Having people read and review Shades of Gray was much more personal than comments on my journalistic or legal writings. I, like most authors, poured a lot of myself into the fiction. When I received a positive review from Kirkus Reviews (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kim-sanders/shades-gray/) and my book became one of their Critics’ Picks, I was thrilled.  Shortly thereafter, Shades of Gray climbed to number one in contemporary romance and number two in romantic suspense on Amazon’s Best Seller Lists. My book is currently in its fifth month in the top 100 of romantic suspense.
Keep Going
I’d encourage your readers to publish their own book if they can’t find a publisher, but make sure the final product is high quality. At the very least, hire an editor and a cover designer before releasing a book.
Are e-books the way to go?
I love e-books, but I haven’t always felt this way. I love sitting on the beach with a paperback novel in hand. One Christmas, my husband gave me a Kindle from Amazon. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the gift, but I soon discovered it was like having a library at my fingertips 24 hours a day. The screen of my Kindle is like a book page without the glare of computer screens. It’s wonderful. I even slip it in a Ziplock bag to read in the tub or by the sea.
As an author, I believe e-books have provided a wonderful opportunity into the new world of publishing. For example, Amazon gives authors up to 70 percent profit on the sale of e-books—a much higher profit margin than paperbacks. (I sound like an ad for Amazon, but it is only because publishing with Amazon has worked for me.) Over 60,000 people have downloaded the e-book version of my debut novel Shades of Gray since it was released on in October 2011. I can’t image I would have this many readers on a debut novel that was only available in paperback.
Is it difficult for women writers to get noticed these days?
I don’t believe it is anymore difficult for women than men. In fact, in the romance genre, I’ve found most of the writers getting publicity are women. I think women should promote their books with social media, public appearances, contests, and book reviews. But I’d say the most important step for a woman author to get noticed is to make sure their book is well written. If readers love your book, they will recommend it to other readers

Between a Grey and a Black place

The University of Lancashire's image of Christian Grey, the protagonist in EL James's 50 Shades of Grey novel Photo: UCLAN

Ok - this is Mr Grey himself. Really no idea if this is what he looks like, because I have not read one single word between those hot sheets. But I possibly will. Just in the name of research of course. What I really wanted to say, was my heart is cracking in two or more pieces right now because I have just read in The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.com/ that Christian may be played by Ryan Gosling. So what? I hear you mumble while holding the cursor down ready to get out of this blog. Well so nothing really - except I am as I said in achy breaky heart mode. Not that I think RG is super cool or anything. It's just that I had him tagged for my film. You know that mega blockbuster - from the soul of the Eastern US seaboard in a land lost to the past, with a man who knows nothing, but knows too much? I spent manys a night trawling through the net to find my own exact "photo fit" for my character - who incidently has the same initials as Ryan Gosling - R.G. And now that I found the "face" for my protagonist, I find his "face" will be used on another character that I am not all too sure about. This film of mine, which is currently viewing in my head is of course only half scripted, so Hollywood can go ahead and use Ryan and see-if-I-care!

Again it is a case of always feeling like I am catching up. Why is that? Is it something to do with age? Ability or laziness? Now look what I have gone and done - let another good character go by the away side.