Mentoring
I should set out my stall as a writing tutor here. I should let you know that I have taught creative writing since 2001 in colleges, on MA courses in universities and as a tutor for the Open University and the Open College of the Arts. I also have a Creative Writing MA (distinction) from Northumbria University, where I won the Blackwell Prize. I was awarded the Andrea Badenoch Prize and have won awards and grants from New Writing North and the Welsh Arts Council. I have worked for a small press editing collections of short stories, as well as having had my own short stories and a collection of poetry published. I write a column for Mslexia Magazine. Mainly, however, I write novels and have had four published with another to be published in February 2012. That repetition of published – a bit much, do you think? OK, to sum up: for a living I mess about with words and make up stories in the hope that others will find them entertaining enough to read (buy, let’s be honest).
But what’s more important is that I think about writing all the time – either the novel I’m working on or an idea for a novel. When I’m mopping the kitchen floor or weeding the garden I think mostly about the minutiae – whether P really would have said that to E whilst smoking a cigarette in that particular way whilst remembering X. I store these thoughts for later, when I’m editing, when the real work is being done. The real work is shaping each sentence that goes into each paragraph that goes into each chapter; painstaking work; work that involves stopping and thinking and staring out of the window a good deal. There is a lot to think about: plot; clarity; truth – would P do that/say that to E? Really? Truly? Why? Doubt creeps in; I edit again – make P more interesting, less of a fool or a prig or someone that speaks like a 21st century straight woman when he’s a 20th century homosexual man. Editing keeps the doubts at bay for a while, until I edit again, doubt again; re-write, re-write, and re-write again. For the hundreds of thousands of words I’ve had published (that word again) I have thrown many more hundreds of thousands away. (Now I’m thinking of cake decorations – but I’m sure you follow my meaning). Writers with ambition for their work must write a lot and most of that writing will never be read by anyone, not even your most beloved, even if it is so tempting to ask your partner/mother/friend to read it. And then there’ll be that It’s Great! No, Really… (Should I point out the Spelling Mistake on Page 6?) moment as they hand back your m/s. I’ve been there; it’s a wonder I’m still married (although I no longer have friends…)
This is where my services come in. I’m not a member of your family or your friend but a professional writer who will read your work and give you honest, constructive, detailed feedback. You may be thinking of enrolling on a Creative Writing MA and unsure if this would be right for you; you may want to understand why your novel was rejected by an agent or publisher; you may want reassurance that you are going in the right direction – well, I may be able to help.
Contact me through this website for more details.
