Jo interviews David Howarth

Today I am delighted to welcome David Howarth to the blog.

From Park Publications in the Cotswolds, David produces three small press magazines. Scribble and Debut focus on fiction, while Countryside Tales also includes articles and poetry on a rural theme. All three magazines offer opportunities for writers to have their work published, and there are prizes to be won in a range of competitions throughout the year.

David has kindly agreed to answer a few questions, and I began by asking...

What inspired you to set up Park Publications?

I had been writing short stories for many years and, despite some fairly good financial rewards, I got fed up with writing for the women's magazines and started to look for outlets that accepted general fiction. Good quality short story magazines seemed fairly thin on the ground; most of the small press publications were special interest such as horror or sci-fi, etc. I began to think that there must be other writers in the same position. So I launched Scribble. This really took off after a few months and I was soon getting more material than I could hope to use. The first issues were only 48 pages but this has increased to its current 60 pages. Interest has continued to grow and it is still our most popular magazine.

What are the things you most enjoy about running a small press?

The satisfaction of seeing the finished magazines and knowing that I am going to make some writer's day by including their work in one of the magazines. It is particularly satisfying when we publish someone's work for the first time. I also get a real buzz from reading all the submissions we receive and the letters I get from writers saying how much the magazines have inspired them. The hard part is rejecting a writer's work when it is obvious that they have spent many hours on it. One of the reasons I started Debut was to give newer writers a bit more of a chance and also to enable me to offer critiques on unsuitable material. Sometimes a story only needs a small tweak to get it to publishable standard, but unless an editor is prepared to offer advice a writer may go on making the same mistakes.

Roughly how many submissions a year do you receive across the three magazines?

For general magazine submissions the following is a rough guide. This is in addition to the open competitions.

Short stories: Approx. 600 a year. We keep about 180.
Articles: Approx. 250 a year. We keep about 60.
Poems: Approx. 200 - 250 a year. We keep about 60.

In the years since you founded Park Publication, have you noticed any particular trends in the quality, style or subject matter of material submitted?

The quality has definitely improved over the years; this is possibly because writers are continually discovering the magazines. Styles and subject matters are always changing with the times: for instance we get more stories featuring gay/lesbian plot lines than when we first started. We get a lot more contemporary stories with a romantic theme nowadays and there seems to be a shortage of crime fiction (oops, perhaps I shouldn't have said that!). Perhaps that is because there seems to be a much larger proportion of submissions from women writers now?

Whether it is a short story, a poem or an article, what makes a submission stand out for you?

With short stories, I look for something different; something that stands out from the crowd. I like a crisp beginning that takes me straight into the story without too much waffle. I look for interesting characters that I can believe in and want to do well; and I like a satisfying (not necessarily happy) conclusion. Articles should entertain with interesting topics and personal thoughts; I don't like too many boring statistics unless they emphasise a point. I don't mind whether poems rhyme or not but they should 'flow' and sound good when read aloud.

Which authors do you like to read and why?

I like Thomas Hardy and George Eliot for their authenticity - they were actually seeing an England that has vanished. I like Stephen King for his quirky characters and Ian Rankin for his gripping story lines. I have also recently discovered Tess Gerritsen - a brilliant American crime novelist. I also like to read about the English countryside in bygone days - particularly books by the early naturalists such as Gilbert White and Richard Jefferies.

With three regular magazines in production, do you have any plans to expand further?

I think three is enough for now!

Thank you David for giving us this insight into your work. I am one of those writers whose first ever published story appeared in a Park Publications magazine (Countryside Tales, winter 2004). I can honestly say that it marked a turning point in my life, therefore I really appreciate the value of small press magazines such as these.

For full details of how to submit to Scribble, Countryside Tales, and Debut please see the Park Publications website.


An Important Update
October 2012: Please note that sadly David is no longer to publish Countryside Tales. Meanwhile, Debut has this year been amalgamated into Scribble. This means Scribble now has more pages for your lovely stories! It's a very hard climate for small press magazines these days, so it's great that David has found a way to continue giving newer writers this opportunity for publication.

Jo interviews Rosie Edser

Today I have to say a big thank you to Rosie Edser for answering a few questions about herself and her writing.

Rosie regularly has short stories published in women's magazines, including Take a Break and Woman's Weekly. Welcome to Zigzag Road, Rosie, and let me begin by asking you....

How did you get the writing bug?

At school, if we are going back to the sixties and seventies. I definitely preferred words to numbers. I grew up on the classics, and also devoured comics full of tragic heroines. Many school hours were wasted dreaming up dreadful alliterative titles for my English homework. Happily I've forgotten them all now, so can't be tempted to resurrect one!

If I'd known how wonderful it is to write and create characters I would have started years ago. What actually got me started was akin to the phrase 'necessity is the mother of invention'. I used to do respite foster care for two children. During a visit to my uncle, I took them up on the Malvern Hills in the hope of doing a really long walk. The children soon got bored, so I made up a story about a dragon who was asleep under the hills. They kept going, probably as I spun out the tale till we'd reached my halfway point! We later used it as a project and wrote in characters based on ourselves. I'm sure it will sell one of these days.

Of all the characters you have created in your stories, which is your favourite and why?

There is a composite boy, about nine years old, who appears in a few stories. I used him aged four to thirty in a story once. It was about that moment you realise your parents or grandparents are fallible, and just human after all. He's actually in one I am rewriting now (or should be instead of blogging!). It centres on a woman who is recently widowed. The story is told from the boy's point of view. He's dealing with his own feelings and telling us about his mum's.

For some reason I find it easy to assume this character. I like exploring the viewpoint where life is not that complicated on the face of it, though events are usually out of the character's control. Lots of women are in situations where they have to deal with issues on behalf of others, so not by choice. This makes my nine year old boy easy to identify with - I hope!

What writing related Christmas present would you like to receive?

Practically speaking, a new printer. Especially if it is one that never jams, needs ink at the wrong moment, or makes a lot of noise while I'm thinking!

Let's imagine you're on Desert Island Discs. Which book would you take and why?

Can I take four? I have read a book by Antoinette Kelsall Bird many times over the years. 'The Daughters of Megwyn' deals with relationships between mother, daughter and grandmother. It starts in the mid-fifteenth century, and is set in the Cotswolds. Annoyingly the author has not written anything else, so if anyone knows this lady please ask her to!

I loved 'The Book Thief' by Marcus Zusak, and 'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold. Both cleverly use a character with universal viewpoint to tell everyone's story.

The last book I read (and want to read again) was 'The King of Sunlight' by Adam Macqueen, former editor of 'The Big Issue'. In his own words, Mr Macqueen describes his work as 'a sort of biography', but it is so much more. William Lever founded the company that later became Unilever. The author makes him come to life as a wonderfully caring, yet dedicated and obsessive person. My favourite snippet was that Mr Lever referred to his wife as 'his better three-quarters'. What a lovely man! 'The King of Sunlight' is partly the story of Sunlight Soap, Lever's infamous product. It is also about Port Sunlight Village which he built for his workers, but more about a gentleman with very high expectations and values.

When thinking about a new story, writers often begin with a setting, a character, a situation, or maybe a memory. Do you have any particular starting point for your stories?

Usually it is something that sparks an emotion in me, or insight into another person's emotion.

While writing a story about adoption I heard the phrase 'we chose you' was often voiced to children. It occurred to me that however well meant, this could be a good or a trite phrase to hear. 'We chose you' in context of 'that's all you need to know' was not good for my character, given her desperation to fill the void of knowledge about her birth mother.

I find it easy to explore a starting point while doing something mundane like washing up. Often the setting arrives unconsciously, maybe drawn from a place I already know.

And finally, in the hope of picking up some useful tips, I always like to ask my guests whether they have any advice for newer writers.

Never delete or throw anything away, no matter how many times it is rejected. With the benefit of more practice you can edit and sell any story that has that spark of emotional hit. Magazine requirements change also, so something that is too long, too short, too controversial may be absolutely fine in a few years.

Allow plenty of time to write at each sitting. If you can write in bits, you are lucky! I find it is much the same as getting stuck into a good book, you need a clear stretch of time to do it justice.

Go to a writing class, or start one. When you read to each other, agree to be fair and honest in feedback. There is no point being too nice to be any help, although being too blunt is just demoralising.

Never ask your family or friends for feedback on a manuscript unless they are qualified to advise. My sister is not a writer, but she compiles reports and wrote a dissertation, so she does help me. I asked a friend to read something once, and I was desperate for her comments. She apologised for not getting back to me, and admitted to taking a phone call halfway through and not picking up my manuscript again! (I did sell the story later, which restored my battered ego!)

Read 'how to write' books when not actually writing. The following are very good and I recommend reading the whole book in each instance. It will be worth the time spent.

Stephen King - 'On Writing'
Della Galton - 'How to Write and Sell Short Stories'
Iain Pattison - 'Cracking the Short Story Market'
Sol Stein - 'Solutions for Writers'

Finally, seeing your story in print is the most amazing feeling. There is nothing like it. You will want to tell everyone you meet and find your success slides into conversation several times a day. This is healthy and should be embraced. Buy copies of your magazine from every shop it is sold in, the elation outweighs a new pair of shoes every time.

Thanks again Rosie for such an interesting interview. I have forwarded your request for a new printer to the North Pole.

Jo interviews Angela Pickering

Today I am delighted that short story writer Angela Pickering has agreed to answer a few questions about herself and her writing.

Angela lives in Essex, and her stories regularly appear in such magazines as Take a Break's Fiction Feast, My Weekly, Woman's Weekly, Yours, The Weekly News, That's Life (Australia), People's Friend, and in the small press. Her competition successes include winning the Annual Ghost Story Competition run by Writers' News in 2006, and also two of their monthly competitions.

So, Angela, welcome to Zigzag Road and can you tell us how long you've been writing?

I have written on and off since I was a child. I used to take episodes of a rambling tale set in Russia to school on a weekly basis and make my friends read them. I also wrote a few ghost stories and then there was that little hand written, hand illustrated magazine called 'Quest' that survived for two issues.

Then life got in the way and I didn't take up the pen again until 2000 when someone I met at work mentioned a writing group she'd joined. "I always wanted to be a writer," I said and she took me at my word. Everything spiralled from there. I shall always be grateful to the writer, Carol Purves, who dragged me along to my first meeting.

Are you someone who plans out stories before beginning to write, or do you like to plunge straight in and see what develops?

Both, actually. Mostly I simply start writing from a title, a character or just a vague idea and see where it leads me. Sometimes the beginning and the end are already set in my head when I start. It's rare that I have a whole story before I begin, but it does happen.

A lot of your stories feature ghosts and hauntings. How do you come up with so many spooky ideas?

I've always been a fan of the strange and spooky tale. My family thought me a strange child, especially when I announced that I'd seen fairies in my bedroom. So it's a question of writing what one loves. My best ideas seem to arrive in that strange time between waking and sleeping. I try to write them down in the notepad beside my bed, but sometimes I think they're so brilliant that I'm sure I'll remember them, and then I don't.

How do you fit writing into your schedule alongside the demands of work and family life?

This is the difficult one. I'm lucky in that I only work part-time, but trying to keep on top of the house and garden in between work shifts means I live my life in a state of perpetual confusion. I call it 'spinning like a top'. I expect everyone calls it something different. Writing is what I do to make myself happy so when I've got a good idea, I drop everything else apart from the washing and ironing. A family of five needs a lot of clean clothes. When I'm not writing though, I'm generally thinking about writing. Many's the tale that has been born over the ironing board.

Imagine you can have lunch with any writer, living or dead. Who would it be and what would you ask them?

I can't choose here between my first hero M.R. James and the amazing Stephen King. In either case the question that springs to mind is "Will you marry me?" To be honest though, I expect I'd be so awestruck that the power of speech would be denied me. I might just curtsy instead and then tremble in their presence. I wouldn't be eating the lunch either.

And finally, have you any advice for newer writers?

Yes, it's this. Love to write. If it's not your passion don't do it. Writing is like breathing to some of us; once you start you can't stop. This passion is what will keep you going when the rejections come through the letter box like confetti. This passion is what will one day see your work in print and if you have it don't waste it. Write. (And join a writing group, read a lot and maybe do courses as well.)

Thank you Angela for these words of inspiration! It's been a real pleasure to discover more about you.

Guest post by Liane Carter

My March guest here at Zigzag Road is Liane Carter. Liane's first novel for children, 'The Chronicles of Joya', is proving a real hit. Living between England and Spain, Liane's writing credits also include a regular column for the Costa Blanca News, and articles for Writing Magazine, plus numerous published short stories and poems. On top of all this, Liane writes songs with her husband. She does the words. He does the music. What a lovely combination. I asked Liane to tell me a bit about how the process of writing a song compares with that of writing a story, and this is what she said...

"I began writing poetry at school and had the vague notion that I went to some other place to write it - I thought up on the clouds, dangling my legs.

When I learned the basic chords on guitar I started writing songs. At about seven or eight I wrote my first song, 'Momataro', inspired by the delicious Japanese book about a boy who emerged from a peach. The book, strange like me, taught me something fundamental: I had a problem chip in my brain: impatience.

If I couldn't think of a few key lines for a song, I'd search my brain until I found something - anything - to throw in to have a completed project. If I left the song half-done, I couldn't concentrate on anything else. I'd walk into things, be unable to concentrate and make myself more visible in a world I tried desperately to shrink from.

Years later I still had the problem of the first verse flowing and then the slam on the brakes from my inner genius to block the second verse. I wondered whether my ego had sabotage plans. My husband, who does all the music for the songs, told me I had self-destruction stamped across my skull.

I didn't mean to keep going back and tweaking the melody, changing the words and causing him more work. But that's the penalty for rushing, for having to finish, for impatience.

When I started getting serious with writing short stories and novels, I uncovered the truth: the ideas, my genius, wanted time to grow and take different turns. They wanted to delve on deeper levels. I had to be stripped raw with editing to uncover the gold within. And the sick thing? I loved the pain of it.

I discovered fear blocked me from that second verse: fear of not being able to top the first one; of boring the listener; of giving them less than perfect; of facing emotions within me.

The joy of digging deep and discarding impatience came in one of our songs, 'Damage Done'. Truth is painful to write; this song had me crying the first twelve times I sang it through. Yet when I decided to be editor and warrior on that second verse, to go deeper in truth, I unravelled a superior second verse I fell in love with.

It proved two things for me. Firstly, whether it's a song, a poem, a short story or a novel, expose yourself. Throw the truth out on the page and the treasures will fly not just into your lap. They'll flood your heart. Your writing will breathe and bring life into the people who share it.

Something painful that happened to me went into 'The Chronicles of Joya' and so many people have resonated with it. If I hadn't been brave enough to write the pain, many people would have lost out on the pleasure.

Change names where necessary: you don't want to hurt anyone else. And maybe once you go back to edit, you'll lose that piece altogether. It may just have been a healing process to write your pain on paper.

Secondly, I learned the incredible power of the inner child, who will not come and write her genius if I refuse her demands. She's more stubborn than I am. She's also stronger and wiser. I have a lot to learn from her. I'll play up and push her too hard and whip her to work.

She'll stop mid-step and strike. Sometimes I listen to her and sometimes... I don't. So for those of us who sometimes 'forget' to feed our inner child with play, here's a song I've written which helps me vent some frustration at myself and at her for running off. Happy writing!

Sing to the tune of 'Yellow Submarine' and clap. She likes it.

Inner child wants to play
She doesn't want to write today

I try to drag her by the hair
She runs a mile, leaves me despair

I thump my skull and shake my head
I may as well return to bed

Chorus:
We all live with a bolshie inner child
The genius who's wild
Who likes to run a mile
We all live with a bolshie inner child
The genius who's wild
Whose words we have on file

If I don't feed her with fun
She folds her arms or sucks her thumb

She stamps her feet and turns away
Waits for treats and time for play

But I push for her to write
Ignore her needs for some respite

Chorus:
We all live with a bolshie inner child
The genius who's wild
Who likes to run a mile
We all live with a bolshie inner child
The genius who's wild
Whose words we have on file

So I buy her Plasticine
Watch a film with Mr Bean

Dance around the room and sing
And watch the magic in me begin

Her genius begins to flow
She writes and tells me, "I told you so!"

Chorus:
We all live with a bolshie inner child
The genius who's wild
Who likes to run a mile
We all live with a bolshie inner child
The genius who's wild
Whose words we have on file."

Jo: Gosh - thank you so much, Liane, for taking the time to write this. I will never listen to 'Yellow Submarine' in the same way again!

For more about Liane and her novel 'The Chronicles of Joya' please visit her websites here or here, where you can also listen to samples of her music.

Jo interviews Rosalie Warren

Today I am very happy to welcome Coventry based author Rosalie Warren.

Rosalie's novel Charity's Child was published by Circaidy Gregory Press in 2008. She followed this with Low Tide, Lunan Bay, published in 2009 by Robert Hale.

With her next novel, Rosalie aims to attract younger readers...

So, Rosalie, would you like to share your news about the progress of your latest book?

Hello Jo, and thank you very much for inviting me onto your blog. I'm delighted to say that my first book for children, Coping with Chloe, has just been accepted for publication by Phoenix Yard Books, and should appear sometime early in 2011. It's aimed at age 11+ and will probably appeal mostly to girls, though there's no reason boys shouldn't read it too.
Is it possible to describe the feeling of having a novel accepted for publication?

No! Oh, hang on, I'm meant to be a writer, so I'd better try. All I can do is compare it to (a) getting my first swimming award - aged 10, (b) passing my driving test - aged 23, (c) discovering I was pregnant - aged 24. No, it's not quite as good as having a baby. Not quite...

I understand that with all three novels you have dealt directly with publishers rather than through an agent. How have you found that?

I've found it very straightforward. I met my first publisher (Kay Green of Circaidy Gregory Press) through having a short story shortlisted in a competition she ran. So, I already knew and trusted her, and she was wonderful to work with. When my second novel was accepted by Robert Hale I took advice from the Society of Authors regarding my contract. Hale were very good to work with too. And now, with my children's book, I again approached the Society of Authors for help in negotiating my contract. I've every confidence that, once again, I've found a great editor to work with. An agent would be good at some stage, but I'm in no great rush at the moment. I'd rather wait and find one who is exactly right for me, and who understands my need to write lots of different kinds of books.

How much time do you tend to spend working out the plot of a novel before you start the actual writing?

Very little. Usually the main character comes first, with a hint of the situation they are in. I scribble and doodle like mad, trying to get to know and understand them. Other characters emerge and I let them talk to each other, write emails to each other etc. Sometimes my characters even write poems (sadly their poems are not much better than mine!). This gradually merges into starting the story, which is always longhand at this stage. The first draft is my way of finding out what happens. If it's going well, I can't stop - it feels like reading and I can't wait to find out what happens next. It's not always as easy as that, of course. Sometimes I get stuck and it's painful to squeeze out my 1,000 words a day (that's the minimum I set myself to write). When the first draft is done, I rest it for a month or so, then I read it through and try to extract the plot. I write a long synopsis, then base my second draft on that. My books go through at least 4 drafts before they are ready for submission.

Do you dream in colour, and has your writing ever been influenced by a dream?

I think I dream in colour... yes, I do. When I'm working on something new, I try to start writing early in the morning, before I'm properly awake. That way, my dreams are still accessible. The end of my first novel, Charity's Child, was decided by a dream. My editor wasn't keen on the original ending. I could see she was right, but I didn't know how to change it. I struggled for several days, then went to sleep one night, still thinking. The dream I had wasn't exactly about my book - it was predominantly an intense feeling - but as soon as I woke I knew it was the state of mind my character had to have at the end of the book. So I rewrote the end to go with that - and it worked. Or at least, my editor was happy and so was I.

What do you enjoy doing when you're not writing?

I love the sea and spend time beside it (or in it) whenever I can. I like swimming, reading, messing about in the garden, cooking things, eating things... going to the theatre and spending time with my partner and my (grown-up) kids.

If you ever appear on Desert Island Discs, which book will you choose and why?

That's a really difficult one. It would need to be a long book because I read very quickly. And one that would bear reading over and over again. Perhaps an inspiring biography. Or maybe I can have a complete works? I know, I'll read Homer's Iliad - about time I did.

Is there any advice you would give to newer writers?

(a) Don't become a writer unless you absolutely love writing. If you don't, it's a terrible way to live. If you're meant to be a writer, you'll know it - possibly from a very early age. In that case, go with it - you'll be unhappy if you don't. But don't expect anything from it beyond the thrill of making up people and stories (and, if you're lucky, seeing other people enjoy them).

(b) Read lots. Write lots. Rewrite lots. Don't give up. Get used to disappointments - I get the impression they never stop.

(c) Find a way to turn off you inner editor/censor/monitor - whatever you want to call it. While you write your early drafts, that is. You'll need to turn it back on later.

(d) Write what you would most like to read. Ignore trends, unless they coincide with what you want to do.

(e) Find ways to console yourself (for rejections, days when you're stuck, poor sales figures, etc) that don't involve consuming zillions of calories. (If you discover any, please let me know...)

(f) Ignore advice from older writers - unless it clicks and you know it's for you.

What's next in your writing life, Rosalie?

I've just finished a novel for adults. It's short, more of a novella, so finding a publisher may be a challenge. I've no regrets - it was a book I had to write. I've another novel for age 11+, which needs further work. I'm also writing a fantasy/SF novel for slightly older readers. I have ideas for a series for 7-9 year olds, and two further novels for adults, one of which may be a sequel to Charity's Child. I want to write across as many genres and age-groups as I can - the ones that interest me, anyway. Perhaps eventually I'll settle down and stick to books of a certain kind, but in a way I hope not. I'd quite like to have a go at scriptwriting, too.

Well, thank you Rosalie for being my first guest on Zigzag Road. I'd like to wish you every success with Coping with Chloe, and with all your other future projects.

Thank you - I really enjoyed it.


For more about Rosalie and her work, please see her website.