Meeting of June 2026, by Annette Puzey
Writing news and updates
Annette has been looking at writing for Peoples Friend however finds it difficult to write to a particular genre, style or form and would rather write for herself to find her own particular style.
She shared some copies of Peoples Friend for those who may like to have a go submitting a short story to the editor for consideration. Those interested can find submission guidelines for People’s Friend easily on-line.
Annette read out a draft of a short story (The Green Cup) which was more in keeping with her style of writing. The group gave constructive and positive feedback.
Annette plans to leave it for a few days before making any necessary changes then submit it to a short story competition by the next WWS meeting (August 10th).
Ann has been away for a couple of weeks and found it very difficult to write during the recent heatwave.
Ann has taken a copy of People’s Friend and will consider submitting a short story to them.
Howard has been finding it difficult to proceed with his story Gizmo. He would like to develop the story into a novel however is struggling to build the protagonist’s character. Howard felt that he needed to introduce other characters and also give the protagonist a back story to give him more depth of character. It was suggested that Howard try writing a character CV which can include the characters physical description, where they were born, what they do for a job, there favourite meal, do they drink, are they married, any siblings, fears and hobbies, what they may do in a certain situation etc etc. It was agreed that this might be useful and
Howard plans to consider the idea of writing a character CV for the Gizmo protagonist.
Guy continues to write daily. He has nearly finished his Dr Who story based on a previous Dr Who but unsure if the BBC would be interested in publishing/producing a story based on past Dr Whos. Guy is waiting to hear back from the BBC.
Guy has nearly finished the book on Warwickshire Mills but having technical difficulty with getting the files and images to the appropriate person. In the past he was able to get all of the manuscript with photographs on a memory stick where now they require the content to be delivered via a ‘drop box’ which is proving to be difficult.
Guy read out a short story entitled ‘Constance’. A speculative piece of fiction regarding a Jamaican woman considering staying in England or moving back home to Jamaica.
It was suggested that GRANTA might be a suitable magazine to submit the story to however It was agreed that although an excellent piece of writing, as the subject matter was potentially quite sensitive, publishers may feel reluctant to print it.
Guy is looking for someone to read his novel ‘Theory of Death’ which is available on Amazon. Guy wants to be sure that the plot/outcome is believable.
James has come up with a story about his first experience of a train journey although he did not bring it with him today.
He plans to bring the story with him to read out at the next meeting.
Alex is working on getting Shelley’s book ‘Beastly Magic’ published. There have been a few corrections made to the manuscript and it is now with Trevor to finish off the cover and get it ready for printing.
Alex has been asked by SWWJ to consider managing the Society’s membership; however, Trudy is not in a position to take on anything extra at the moment so has declined.
Alex fed back to the group details of the SWWJ summer meeting held recently. Both Guy and Trudy attended and feedback was that it was a very good event, which including afternoon tea, prize giving and a raffle.
Writing exercise
This month’s writing exercise suggested by Howard entailed creating a short story in 5-10 minutes starting with the opening sentence:
He dunked the biscuit in his tea and took a bite…
Everyone had a go at the exercise and read out their short story. Each story was very different and it was agreed that whilst it was good fun it also helped us move out of our comfort zone. It was suggested that we aim to have a writing exercise at each meeting.