RNA New Writers' Scheme Year 2

A year ago I was lucky enough to gain a place on the unique NWS after having heard so many positive things about it. The RNA only accepts 250 writers into the scheme and the hotly contested places are allocated on a first come, first served basis each year. Applications for 2017 scheme are now closed. For more information, please click HERE.
When I joined in January 2016, I'd finished my novel and was in the process of editing it to the best standard I could ready to submit it for my first ever full length critique. I'd been told to try to avoid the rush closer to the deadline of August 31st. Everything went according to plan and I submitted in May and received my reader's report back before the conference.

In that first year, I gained so much from my decision to join the scheme. A detailed and positive critique - thank you, dear Reader, whoever you are! - gave me the confidence and motivation to edit my novel still further. I am now in the process of trying to find an agent/publisher for that novel. I attended my first conference where I attended one-to-one sessions with editors and agents, one of whom was very generous with her time. I got to meet many other writers I only knew beforehand on social media.

And on to year two. Things are very different this year so I'm looking for advice. I've planned my new novel and written about 9000 words. My question is do I try to finish the complete manuscript by August 31st or do I do what I can by a certain date? If the latter, I would then concentrate on editing what I've written thoroughly and accompany it with a very detailed synopsis. Is an unfinished but polished submission better than a complete but unedited novel? 

I've searched back through some RNA archives and it would appear that there are advantages and disadvantages with either approach:

• As long as the partial manuscript is accompanied by a really detailed synopsis, then the Reader should be able to see where the novel is going and what the story line is. Thorough editing should show what the quality of the writing will be like after redrafting and revising the finished novel. 
• The completed novel, on the other hand, would show the reader the story in its entirety and show the novel's structure, pace and how effective the ending is. However, the critique may contain several points you know you'll pick up on when you start to revise and edit the first draft.
• The shorter the partial, the harder it is for the Reader to give the help and advice they'd like. Here, the importance of the synopsis is greater.

I shall knuckle down and get as much of the novel written as I can and see how far I get. Making the decision is months away yet but I'd love to hear about your experiences. 

What do you think?

Have you submitted an incomplete novel for a critique? 

Did you find it helped you finish the first draft more easily?

Did you submit the same novel the following year?

Thank you for reading the blog. You may also follow me on Twitter @JanBayLit and on my Jan Baynham Writer Facebook page.

Reflecting Back, Looking Forward

The house is quiet and the family's gone home. Every chocolate and every morsel of Christmas cake has been eaten and it's back to it! The blog is now three years old and, as is tradition, each January I've reflected back on the previous year and set out what I'd like to achieve in the one to come. 

The last twelve months turned out to be a very lean year on the short story front. It was what I expected as I concentrated on finishing and polishing my novel. I submitted short stories and flash fiction pieces to a small number of competitions and was pleased to be long listed and short listed on a few occasions. Rising From The Ashes was inspired by a true event where a school was burned to the ground in the early hours of New Year's Day 2016 and told how the local community came together to deal with the tragedy. It was shortlisted in the Nottingham Short Story Competition where the theme was Fire. Another story that was shortlisted, this time in the Erewash Open Short Story Competition, was The Bag Lady. This dealt with the theme of dementia and how a beautiful handbag and its contents unlocked an old lady's memories of her life as a young woman. As you will have read on the blog, I had stories published on Cafe Lit and Alfie Dog Fiction and two of my flash fictions appeared in the annual Worcestershire Lit Fest Anthology of Flash Fiction, entitled A Cache of Flashes. 

The blog has continued to attract more readers and I'm grateful to those of you who visit the blog regularly and leave comments. The year started with a series of guest posts about editing. It was interesting to see how different writers approached writing subsequent drafts of their novels. Some were working alone on a debut novel; others were working with editors. A big thank you to Sandra Mackness (Jill Barry), Sue McDonagh, Susanna Bavin, Sam Carrington and Judith Barrow.  

As well as tracing my own writing journey, I was delighted to be able to share the success of some writers' new publications. I interviewed Carol Lovekin, Thorne Moore and Sam Carrington about their wonderful books. 

The highlight of 2016 for me was becoming a member of the RNA's New Writers' Scheme. I worked hard on getting my manuscript to the best standard I could and submitted my novel for a critique in May. I couldn't believe how nervous I felt as I pressed 'send' that day! The detailed reader's report was both very positive and encouraging and yet constructive in suggesting ways in which I could improve it further. I can't thank my reader enough for looking at my 'baby' in that objective way. My first RNA Conference in July motivated me still further and as well as attending excellent workshops, it was so good to meet on-line 'friends' in person. 

I've travelled further along my journey as a writer in 2016. I am very fortunate to be a member of a very supportive critique group where we meet up every few weeks. We are all at different stages with our novels. So, what does this coming year hold for me?

In the coming year, I would like to:

• find a home for novel number one by approaching agents and publishers 
• having rejoined RNA NWS, finish writing my second novel in time for a critique by the end of August
• write new short stories and flash fiction and submit them to a few competitions, in between novel drafts
• attend the RNA Conference in July
• support other authors by inviting them onto my blog 
• continue to enjoy my writing and learn more about the craft.

Thank you for reading. What are your intentions this year? I'd love it if you left a comment. :-) Good luck in achieving your goals in 2017. If you have a new book coming out or would like to share some writing news, please message me. 

You may also follow me on Twitter @JanBayLit and on my Jan Baynham Writer Facebook page.

Happy Christmas

I'd like to wish you all a very happy Christmas and thank you for reading my blog throughout 2016. It's been a pleasure to know how many have read the posts and I'm particularly grateful to those who've left comments. 

We shall be a full house this year with everyone coming down from Manchester. On Boxing Day, when my other son, daughter-in-law and their baby join us, there will be seven adults, three grandsons and two dogs! I'm really looking forward to having the whole family together.

I look forward to starting the blog again in the New Year when I shall be reflecting on the year that's just gone and looking forward to what 2017 may hold.

A Busy November

A few weeks ago, I announced with confidence to the world - well, to the readers of this blog, anyway! - that I'd been preparing for NaNoWriMo 2016 and was ready to write 50,000 of a brand new novel. Did I achieve my goal? I'm sorry to say that I fell way short. I wrote 15,352 words, in fact. In terms of word count, it could be considered as a big fail.

But was it? Isn't writing more than word count? I think so! November turned out to be a very busy month with meetings, visits and two weekends away. As a 'bottle-half full' girl, I decided to look back on the positives. Out of the thirty days in the month, I didn't write on eighteen days. Therefore, writing almost 15.5k words on the remaining twelve wasn't too bad, was it?

The month started well and the planning I'd done throughout October helped me start writing novel two with flying colours. I was enjoying getting to know my characters and I was transported to the sunny climes of Greece where the story was set. 

Then I received a much appreciated email with suggestions for edits and changes to my first novel, with the offer to read the final draft when I'd finished. The words of each new scene or re-write were added to my word count but much of the time I was substituting words or amending scenes which didn't add any more to the total. Even though my focus changed unexpectedly during NaNo, I still think it was a very valuable few weeks. Novel number one is hopefully much sharper and I shall return to my second novel in the new year.

Are you a NaNoWriMo 2016 winner? If so, huge congratulations! I can remember the feeling when I achieved my goal two years ago. If you didn't, what positives can you draw from participating? I'd love to read your comments. 

On the short story front, this week I was pleased to learn that my entry, 'The Bag Lady', was shortlisted in the Erewash Open Short Story Competition. 

Thank you for reading my blog. You may also follow me on Twitter @JanBayLit and on Jan Baynham Writer Facebook page.

A Cache of Flashes

Published by Black Pear Press

It's that time of year again when Worcestershire LitFest & Fringe launches its annual flash fiction anthology. The anthology, A Cache of Flashes, contains a selection of flash fictions that were submitted to the competition earlier in the year. In the opinion of the judges, the best flashes have to invite one into another world, intrigue us, make us wonder...we want to understand the characters, learn about their lives and feel their emotions. They commented that every word must count, and what is not said is as important as what is.

This is the third year I've attended to read out my flashes and it was good to see familiar faces and meet new writers, too. As it did last year, the launch took place in Drummonds Bar in The Swan with Two Nicks pub. In this anthology, both my stories involve ghosts but the ghosts are very different. In The Empty Chair, the spirit of a much loved drinking partner is more of a reassuring presence rather than a frightening spectre. In The House Viewing, on the other hand, a young couple are completely spooked by a menacing crone who is haunting the house they go to view. 

I find that reading in front of fellow writers is always daunting but I'm sure I was not alone in appreciating the applause at the end of each reading. Hearing each story read aloud made them come alive in a different way from reading them on the page. Again, I was impressed with the wide range of subject matter and the variety of the writing styles of the authors. Whereas I try to intersperse writing short pieces in amongst longer stories and, currently, my novel, some writers told me that they write flash fiction exclusively. I thoroughly enjoyed my return visit to Worcester and I look forward to writing more flash fiction over the coming months. 

Do you write Flash Fiction? Do you need different skills from those you need to write a short story? A novel? How easy is it to transfer those skills? I'd love to hear what you think.

*** SHORT STORY NEWS
My short story I Want Gets Nothing was one of the new stories published on Alfie Dog Fiction yesterday. If you'd like to read it, you may download it HERE. 
Tracey lives in the shadow of her outgoing sister who can do no wrong in her mother;'s eyes. When Sharon buys a beautiful gold leather designer handbag on payday, Tracey becomes obsessed with owning one for herself. But how can she? She's just a school girl.

Thank you for reading my blog. You may also follow me on Twitter @JanBayLit and on my Jan Baynham Writer Facebook page.

Heroes, Heroines and Happy Endings

Last Thursday, along with my writing buddy, Helen, I attended a library event to celebrate the re-opening of Ystrad Mynach Library after recent refurbishment. It was presented by three Choc Lit authors, Chris Stovell, Evonne Wareham and Christina Courtenay who also writes her YA fiction as Pia Fenton. They introduced themselves and talked about their novels.

Chris writes contemporary fiction. She often sets her stories in sleepy villages, places on the edge of things. Her novels involve involve family secrets, exploring relationships and generally making sense of the world through fiction. 
Evonne writes romantic thrillers and romance with a darker edge. She noticed early on in her writing career that her stories always contained a crime. Not wanting to write police procedural novels, she enjoys mixing crime and romance where things are going to be alright in the end for both the hero and the heroine.
Pia writes historical romance and time slip (dual time) fiction, writing under her pseudonym of Christina Courtenay. Her novels have a trace of the Far East. She has always loved reading romantic stories and fairy stories where there was always a happy ending. Sometimes she likes to break away from all the research that historical writing involves and writes some contemporary YA stories. The New England series is the result. 

Interesting discussion was interspersed with questions and answers and covered various topics - irresistible Choc Lit heroes, what makes a good heroine and that vital ingredient in a Choc Lit novel, a satisfying and happy ending. We learned whether the writers were 'pantsters' or 'plotters'. As a lover of time-slip novels, I was particularly interested in the way Pia talked about colour-coding her characters' points of view. She was able to to check that she'd achieved the right balance and whether each story carried equal weight. 



All three authors talked about their research. Chris showed us how she had to dress for the weather whilst sailing and feeling decidedly sea-sick  - all good research for a novel.

Although Evonne couldn't bring props in the forms of weapons and guns to the talk (!!), she told us how she researches the crimes in her novels by visiting exhibitions, art galleries and museums to get her details right. She has also attended folk lore, forensic and crime courses.

Pia lived in Japan at one time and had brought along a selection of props for us to see. By knowing what it felt like to wear the beautiful red and gold silk wedding kimono and shoes, use the fan and parasol gave added credibility to the heroines in her Japanese trilogy. One of the librarians modelled the kimono and confirmed that it was very heavy.

Note the chocolate flavoured pencils, too!

We were given the opportunity to browse the wide range of the authors' books on display.






A big thank you to Chris, Evonne and Pia for giving up your time to share your tips and advice...and your chocolates! It was a very enjoyable afternoon. 

Thank you, too, to the library staff for making us all so welcome. 

Does your local library put on literary events like this? Perhaps you've given a talk on your books. I'd love it if you left a comment. 
Thank you for reading.
You may also follow me on @JanBayLit and on  Jan Baynham Writer Facebook page.

A Story for Remembrance Day

This weekend has been one of poignant tales of sacrifice and remembering men and women who laid down their lives for our freedom. Many of those who survived still bear horrific scars both physically and mentally. Here is a short story I wrote a few years ago that was published on Cafe Lit. It's a tribute to all those who came back from World War II but had seen and experienced things that they'd never forget, about a young soldier coming home to the girl he left behind. 

The Girl in the Photograph