The Books have arrived !!

Dive Into Stories Book ready for the booklaunch tomorrow

Here we are in Skerries Bookshop getting ready for the Book Launch of my Student’s short stories. 200 of the 400 copies are already sold! Hope to see you there tomorrow. 5.15pm in Skerries Mills.

It is only three days until we launch our book ‘Dive into Stories’ written by children and adults who attend my writing classes in Skerries and Malahide. The launch will take place in Skerries Mills on Thursday 15th December at 5.15p.m and all are welcome.  Here is a sneak preview of the content’s page ( you can see if there is anyone you know!). Double click on the image to enlarge it.

Dive into Stories Contents

It’s almost Christmas time and once again I have produced a booklet of short stories written by my writing students. This is our largest collection ever. Fifty-six children, teenagers and adults, who attend my Creative writing classes in Skerries and Malahide, have contributed stories. The booklet is entitled ‘Dive into Stories’  and it costs €4. All profits are going to the charity Turn the Tide of Suicide (nominated by one of the authors). Turn the Tide of Suicide is a registered charity founded to raise awareness of the problem of suicide in Ireland and to raise funds to help lower suicide rates through dedicated research, educational support and intervention.  The charity receives no government funding but relies solely on fundraising and donations. I am delighted that all profits generated from the sales of the booklet are going to support this worthy cause. We are printing 400 copies of the booklet and they will be go on sale from 15th December in The Skerries Book shop, The Village Book Shop in Malahide, Skerries Mills and Manor Books in Malahide.

THE LAUNCH

The launch of our booklet takes place in Skerries Mills on Thursday 15 December at 5.15p.m. Everyone is welcome: friends, grandparents, aunts, children and anyone else who would like to come. It is always a very Christmassy affair  with festive nibbles and drinks. Some writers will read their stories aloud. It is very pleasant for everyone to sit, eat and relax while being read to.  After the readings there will be signings by the authors. A book is much more special when it has been signed by the writers!  The launch is usually over within the hour and we’ll be packing up by 6.15p.m.

FINALLY OTHER WRITING NEWS:

My schedule of classes for January 2021 is up on my website.

I am running a one day Adult Writing Workshop on Punctuation, Grammar and Editing on Sunday 15th January 2012 (date has changed from Saturday 14th)  in Skerries Mills from 10.30a.m. – 3p.m. The cost is €45.

The new term  for everyone begins on Monday 16th January and runs for ten weeks until Easter.  There is an early booking deal with a ten percent discount available up until 20th December.  There are already bookings coming in  and a deposit of €50 will ensure a place, however to qualify for the early booking deal, the full amount needs to be paid by 20th December.  It will be a ten week term (with a week off during the February mid term).  You will find more information on course here : http://www.meganwynne.com/writingcourses/

Finally I would like to remind you that a good way to keep up to date with my creative writing classes is to like my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/meganwynnecreativewriting. Here I give news of writing competitions, the Christmas booklet and any writing events that I hear about.

I hope to see you at the launch on December 15th in Skerries Mills at 5.15p.m. In the meantime, enjoy the run up to Christmas, and remember to make lists – they cut down on stress!

I am delighted to report that my novel ‘Eyes of a Boy’ has been shortlisted for The 2011 Impress Novel Award.  It is a great honour to have my book recognised by Impress Publishers. The Award specialises in new, original and exciting writing talent and I feel very lucky to have been included on the list (in fact I nearly choked when I saw my name on the shortlist!). I have found it difficult to find a publisher prepared to take on this novel as it falls between the two genres of literary and commercial fiction. The winner will be announced in December and the book published next year. Here’s hoping I win, and you all get to read it next year!

And I have another writing success story: one of my adult students has had a story shortlisted for the Power’s Whiskey short story competition with The Irish Times. Her story will be published in an anthology which will be sold for charity at Christmas. Go Helena!

And while I’m here, I’d also like to tell you that David Norris came to visit my children’s creative writing class in Skerries Mills last month. We were delighted to meet with him and hear about the poetry he has published. I wish him the very best of luck with his future ventures.

For the first time I have planned my classes for almost a year ahead. I know this is what most educational institutions do, however for me it is a first and I’m delighted with myself. In November I will be celebrating my fourth anniversary of teaching creative writing; I’m so grateful to be still in business, doing a job that I love.

In this blog I have posted about what is coming up and I hope you find something to tempt you! The winter months are an excellent time for writing and I have some workshops scheduled that I hope you, or your child, might be interested in attending. There are also competitions and writing events taking place all over Dublin, that are worth checking out.

In other news, my students are working hard on stories to submit for the Christmas booklet, and I am working hard on finding a printing company to produce it. The launch date is Thursday 15th December at 5.15p.m. in Skerries Mills. Please put that in your diary as everyone is welcome. Last year we had a great crowd and we hope to top our sales for charity this Christmas.

WORKSHOPS

In October/November, I am running two One Day Writing Workshops:

HALLOWEEN SPOOKY STORY WRITING WORKSHOP FOR CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS
I will be running a SPOOKY STORY writing workshop during the Halloween break for children and teenagers (8 – 16 year olds) in Skerries MIlls on Friday 4th November from 10.30a.m. – 3p.m. It will be a special price of €35 (the usual price is €45). This is my third year to run a Spooky Writing Course and it is always a lot of fun, involving vampires, dragons and witchtes etc. Students will learn how to plot and create a story to scare themselves, friends and family!

ADULT ONE DAY WRITING WORKSHOP – THE SHORT STORY
I am running a one day workshop for adults in Skerries Mills on Sunday 6th November from 10.30a.m. – 3p.m. The topic for the day is the short story.  We will study its structure, examples of the genre and how best to write one. The cost of the course is €45. It is suitable for beginners and improvers.

WRITING COURSES IN 2012

ADULT ONE DAY WRITING WORKSHOP  – GRAMMAR AND EDITING
The writing year begins on Saturday 14th January 2012, with an ADULT WRITING WORKSHOP focusing on grammar, syntax and editing text. This course will suit anyone who feels rusty on English grammar or that they never fully got to grips with it in school. It is a follow on workshop to the one day workshop I ran on punctuation last May (however it is not necessary to have attended the previous course).  The workshop takes place in Skerries Mills from 10.30a.m.-3p.m. and costs €45.

TERM COURSES

Term courses for 2012 begin on 16th January and I am now accepting bookings. The children’s classes, in particular, fill quickly so the sooner you book the better. You will find my class schedules on the Writing Courses page.

And, I know that the summer of 2012 is far away, but last summer I had to turn away many children who wanted to attend camps on certain dates, so this year I am giving plenty of notice in advance. You will find the schedule for adult, children’s and teenage summer courses on the Summer Camps page.

As always, I am offering early booking deals for term and weeklong courses – you will find details on the relevant pages on my website – and Paddy, in the Skerries bookshop is kindly collecting fees for me (or you can post me the amount if that suits you better).

WRITING EVENTS

There is lots going on for writers this autumn:

Firstly, Fingal Libraries’ annual writers’ festival is taking place from 15th – 22nd October.  There are many interesting workshops from comedy to screen writing, and places are free. Find out more here:  http://www.fingalcoco.ie/writing3.0/index-35099.html

Irish Pen is holding an information evening on Writing For Children on Thursday 13th October at 8p.m. Tickets are only €5 and there will be a top agent and publisher telling keen writers what they are looking for. Find out more here:  http://www.irishpen.com/wordpress/

This month and next there are writing events taking place all over Dublin in the Great Writers in Great Places festival.  There will be Spooky Stories for Children in the crypt of Christ Church Cathedral, Crime writers speaking in The Four Courts   and Women’s commercial fiction authors  talking to readers in Powerscourt Shopping centre. To find out how to book a place go to:   http://writing.ie/com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=348&Itemid=214

If you want help with writing a novel this November, a great way to get motivated is to sign up for National Novel Writing Month. The idea is to write 50,000 words in one month and there are numerous tips to help you achieve this. To find out more go to: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/whatisnano

Finally, the Irish Writers’ Centre are running an interesting competition for unpublished writers. You must post the first 10,000 words of your novel to them by 12th November, and you need to have the remainder of the novel complete by 13th January 2012. The entry fee is €35 and the prize is to attend a writers’ fare on 10th March 2012, where you will have a chance to pitch your novel to  leading Irish editors and agents. You will find out more information here:

http://www.writerscentre.ie/novelfairtermsconditions.html

So that’s it from me. Thank you very much for reading this. If you would like to keep up to date with ongoing writing events and competitions, please like my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/meganwynnecreativewriting

I hope to see you soon!

I was lucky enough to attend the seminar ‘Getting the Novel Done’ at the Mountain to Sea Festival last weekend, where Chris Binchy, Claire Kilroy and John Boyne talked about how they complete their novels. I could have listened to them all day long – they were honest, intelligent and very entertaining. If any of them are looking for a new friend please count me in!

Each of them gave five top tips on how best to write a novel. Here they are:

John Boyne: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

1. Stand up and read your work aloud to hear the rhythm.
2. Never re-write the beginning of a story when still on the first draft
3. Don’t attempt to write a cross-over novel. If you’re writing for children, then write for children.
4. Know when to set a book/story aside and begin a new one.
5. The healthier you are, the better you will write. Go for walks, eat well and watch your alcohol intake.

Claire Kilroy:   Tenderwire, All Summer, All Names Have Been Changed.

1. Accept the first draft is crap
2. Delete lots of little sentences that you don’t need.
3. Seek an internal logic to the piece. Mesh the story and its characters in any way that you can. Use objects to connect.
4. Use specific verbs. Don’t write he went, use an appropriate verb.
5. Don’t tell anyone you’re writing a novel.

Chris Binchy:  The Very Man, People Like Us, Open Handed

1. Balance self-confidence with self-doubt. Ask yourself which attitude is appropriate for the stage you are at i.e. employ self-confidence for the first draft when you need to finish it, and use self-doubt during later drafts when you need to be critical of your writing.
2. An edit can improve anything.
3. When you get an idea write it down – he uses the notes pages on his phone.
4. When plotting a first draft, keep it simple and straightforward. You can build in more complex details later on.
5. If you want to get published, be nice to everyone – it is a very small pool and everyone knows everyone.

September has sneaked up very fast indeed, and now I’m already thinking about Christmas. Not for presents, I can assure you, but because of the booklet of students’ stories I produce every Christmas for charity. Planning for this project begins in my first class in September – I ask all students (ages range from eight to eighty) to come up with ideas for the story they’re going to submit.  Last year we published stories by students from Malahide, Donabate, Swords, Rush, Lusk, and Skerries, and sold three hundred booklets for St. Vincent de Paul.  In December we have a launch in Skerries Mills, where we eat mince pies, listen to readings and students sign booklets for family and friends. My absolute favourite part of the whole project is when I give each writer a copy of the booklet for the first time. The delight on their faces while they read their own story, in print, is priceless.

I’m very excited about the Mountains to Sea Festival taking place in Dun Laoghaire from 1st to 11th September. There is loads going on. I keep re-reading the brochure to pick which events I’m going to attend. I’ve heard that there are still places available on the writing workshops, even though the deadline for applicants has passed, so if you’re interested get in touch with the box office.

Children can meet Darren Shan, Roddy Doyle, Judi Curtain and Cathy Cassidy amongst others. There is a special lunch where children can book to sit at the table with their favourite writer! Also there is a half price workshop  for adults on ‘Getting the Novel Done’ on Sat 10th Sept – only €10 if you quote writing.ie when booking your place on the phone 01 2542414 Check it out: www.mountaintosea.ie

For more updates on events like this, stay in touch on my facebook page !

I hope to see lots of familiar faces there.