Review of the meeting on 1st July 2025
by
Piers Rowlandson
I was in the chair in place of Lesley, who was unable to attend and sent apologies. Nine members were present and two guests were welcomed, one on holiday from Sheffield.
Members News.
Christian Johannson has had his 125,000-word murder mystery novel, Leopard, accepted by Conrad Press, which does not demand a fee.
The Meeting.
Following Christian's news, there was a discussion about all aspects of publishing, including the merits of having an agent, paying to have your novel published or printed and self-publishing.
We followed Lesley's idea of each person reading out their favourite opening paragraph from any novel or short story. Both guests contributed, as well as each member. There was a wide variety of authors represented, but no one chose Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Presumably because everyone thought it was too well known! John Buchan's The 39 Steps, Paula Hawkins' The Girl on the Train, George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman and Dylan Thomas' Holiday Memory were some of the other novels quoted. One person used their own novel to a round of applause. It was an amusing and interesting evening.
The 1500 word pieces on a supernatural theme are to be handed in to Nicky at the August meeting, (see below).
Review of the meeting on 3rd June 2025,
by Piers Rowlandson.
Nicky was in the Chair.
Seven members were present and one guest. There were apologies from two members.
Members' news: Janet pointed out that the WordPress CWC website is still out there which is confusing. Nicky said that in the past we had tried to take it down but were unable to, for some reason. I have put a warning on the home page of our present site.
Four pieces were read out, the longer pieces only in part since they had already been circulated.
My piece was the beginning of a chapter about a sailing adventure inserted into my novel about Alex and her pony. It was generally thought to be out of place in the novel. I am going to correct the many mistakes and it will become a short story.
Neill's complete short story, The Old Guy, was greeted with great pleasure and praise. It was suggested that it should be entered for a competition or submitted to a magazine.
Janet's chapter continues the story of Karl, who is reluctantly going off to war in 1939. On the spur of the moment, he and his friend Ernst decide to join the Luftwaffe. There was an animated and enthusiastic discussion.
Nicky's piece concerned Lana, who is home from university during a storm. Clearing up after the storm, she finds a curious gemstone which seems to have magic properties. This is the prologue to a much longer piece in which Lana is the hero. The group was intrigued and much discussion ensued.
Lesley is in the Chair for the next meeting and asked members to bring their favourite first paragraph from any novel.
Sharon is running a competition for the best 1500 word piece on a supernatural theme, to be handed in at the August meeting.
- Any supernatural theme.
- Not more than 1500 words
- Must have a beginning, middle and end.
- If there is a twist at the end, that would be great, but quite unusual for a story with this theme.
There is a £1.00 entry fee to be handed in to Nicky. Entries must be anonymous but pinned to an envelope containing a slip of paper with the author's name on it.
Review of the meeting on 1st April 2025
by
Piers Rowlandson
Eight members were present and apologies were received from three.
Piers Rowlandson was in the chair.
The meeting started with a brief AGM which included a review of our financial position: healthy. We have a new bank account with Virgin Money which does not incur charges.
Subscriptions are not due until June.
Piers Rowlandson was appointed secretary.
The website is coming back to life. It may be that the secretary is the only person who can add to the forthcoming events and meetings, write a blog or add to the chat room. I will ask Ian to add user names and passwords for all members.
Outside speakers were discussed and the general view was that once or twice a year would be a good idea but no names were put forward. It was mentioned that a speaker might expect to be paid in the region of £50 to £75 for an hour.
In the second half of the meeting, three contributions were read out.
1. The Leopard by Christian Johansson.
This is part of a chapter of a murder mystery thriller, the main character being a psychopath. Vivid writing and chilling was the verdict.
2. Near Hagen, Germany 1939 by Janet Denny.
In some ways, this novel is a follow-up to her first book about her father who was killed in WWII: The Man on the Mantelpiece. Near Hagen deals with the experiences and feelings of a nineteen-year-old student living near Hagen in 1939 as the Nazis rise to power. Beautiful descriptions of the wildlife and the countryside contrast with the political situation and the smoke from factories churning out war machines.
3. Ann and Tom by Lesley Pardoe.
This is a time-slip novel about the Lord of the Manor's daughter Lady Ann and her father's shepherd, Tom. Aimed at twelve-year-olds it has a lovely simplicity and the local West Country dialogue adds to the atmosphere.
Piers Rowlandson
Review of the meeting on Tuesday, 4th February 2025.
Lesley invited Nicola Garrard to come along and tell us how she got involved in writing two novels. She started by saying that she had never imagined writing a novel but had always enjoyed writing poetry. Then, after one of her pupils from the school in Hackney where she worked for fifteen years, was murdered, she felt she had to tell his story.
29 Locks is written from Donny’s point of view in Multicultural London English. It deals with the injustices suffered by the Windrush generation, the impossible situation a single drug addicted mother finds herself in, local gangs, drug dealing, county lines, and knife crime. Naturally a lively discussion was had about social issues as well as how 29 Locks came to be published. The crucial fact being that the novel was short listed for a prize and so caught the attention of an agent. 21 Miles continues Donny’s story as he and his girlfriend, Zoe, cross the channel (21miles from Dover to Calais) and get involved with the children and teenagers in a camp in the woods, who are waiting to cross the channel and seek asylum with relatives in England. The publisher who took on 29 Locks was naturally keen to publish 21 Miles. Nicola’s eagerly awaited next novel is set in Devon. The focus is on rural poverty and social injustice
January, 2023
Christine, our chair, opened the meeting and presented the evening's topic - submitting to magazines. Robbie led the talk and pointed out the variety of specialist magazines. A submission could concentrate on almost any topic you can think of, so everyone has a story to tell, if you are knowledgeable on the subject matter. She suggested ideas for bio, or 'a day in the life of' and she described a story she wrote that had been accepted for The Lady magazine.
Robbie explained that monthly magazines require your story to be submitted up to 3 months in advance, and for an annual up to 12 months in advance. All mags have a website with guidelines, check the magazine guidelines. They will say what sort of material they want, or dont want, the length etc. Make a note of the editior's name lways write to the editor in person.
Records office in Chichester is a good source of material, for example photographs. Create a story, with anecdotes, not just a list of facts. For example, Robbie had a story accepted by the magazine Bygone Kent about a cottage that was dismantled from it's original location in Kent and relocated in the Weald and Downland museum.
Rather than write a story and then think about who to send it to, identify a publisher first and then write the story in the style of the other stories in your target magazine. Start with a hook, an interesting aspect of the article and make sure that flows comfortably into the main story.
After our break for tea and biscuits, Robbie announced a competition. Members were asked to write an article on any subject, aimed at a named magazine. Maximum 500 words. Johnathan talked about his experience writing for the student magazine at Chichester University. The meeting closed with Christine asking for suggestions for future meeting speakers.