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Welcome to The Literary Pig's blog - a safe haven for all those afflicted with
the unbearable urge to write.

Thursday 3 October 2013

September round-up

With the onset of dark mornings and plummeting temperatures I've dug out the winter woolies and fluffy socks. Just need to stock up on tea for a head's down month of writing. September was a bit of a poor show (sorry) due to taking 2 weeks off, as Handsome Hubby on hols. We had some lovely days in Swanage walking along Purbeck Way and the South Coast Path, then a week of walking closer to home up on our own South Downs. Many blackberries were harvested, crumbled with apple and served with hot, hot custard. A lot of time has been devoted to reading as the MA is underway and I also began a 5 week course in Radio Drama (1 night a week) with the talented, and lovely, writer Sue Teddern (click here for more details on Skribita and their courses).

A significant highlight was the performance of my first One Act play: Grave Goods. Earlier this year it won the West Sussex Writers Short Play competition (10-15 minute plays), which was a surprise as this was my first attempt at a stage play. Part of the award is a live performance and this was produced/directed by Ian Black and staged at West Sussex Writers' AGM on 12 September. Ian also starred in the play along with Sarah Higbee and John Eddleston (all WSW members). I was completely overwhelmed that they all dressed in character, brought along props and learned the entire play. At one point the character Noushka has to strip off her dress and to everyone's delight Sarah threw herself into the role - thankfully Ian quickly removed his overcoat to cover her modesty (this was part of the script). Can't describe how it felt to see my words come to life, to hear them performed by actors and to hear the audience laughing (in all the right places too). It was simply magical. Unfortunately, the euphoria is addictive, which is driving my desire to complete a radio script ...

Now for September STATS: 

Write 1 Sub 1:
New - 5 x radio comedy sketches (new R4 sketch show), 1 x Flash, 1 x one act radio play (20 mins)
Total subs - 9 (including 2 articles)

Income: £10 for letter in WOTV. Better than zilch ...

The Good News: 
NONE. OH CRAP!

The Not-so-good News: unsuccessful in the following ...
Bridport failed to recognise my genius in the Short Story and Flash categories (AGAIN!). HISSAC. Booktown and GKBinc Crime story - made the shortlists but no further. Swanezine. BBC National Short Story Prize. Word Factory mentorship scheme. Telegraph JustBack travel competition.

Other projects:
As mentioned above have started an Introduction to Radio Drama course with Skribita. Have an idea for a radio sitcom too so have signed up for their 'Writing a sitcom for TV or radio' (9/10 November in Brighton if you're interested, details here). 
I'm not mentioning the novel ...
Four short stories still out with womags - LitPig has his trotters crossed (bless him).

Recently have hit a run of making the shortlist but not getting higher. Starting to wonder what I need to do with my writing to raise it up a notch. Short-listings are lovely but they don't cover costs.

What have you been up to? Any successes to shout about? Please share.

Keep writing and submitting...

12 comments:

  1. Time making and eating blackberry and apple crumble is definitely not time wasted!

    My competition news is much like yours. Oh well, I have other things still out. Maybe they'll do better.

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    1. As always, Patsy, the trick is keep plenty of plates spinning. The more subs you have out the better ...

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  2. Remember, Tracy, you have entered very high standard competitions so don't be too hard on yourself. Sorry I wasn't able to see your play - sounds like I missed a treat. I've had a very good month magazine sale wise but that made up for the rubbish previous month. The ups and downs of writing eh, and of course 'Just back' obviously failed to recognise the two most talented travel writers in Sussex!

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    1. Thanks, Wendy. This year I was sooo hoping for a Bridport shortlisting, but just have to keep trying. Yes, sorry not to see you at AGM it was surprisingly a fun evening! Keep trying with Just Back - I'm planning to write and submit something for next week on Swanage trip ...

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  3. Of course you need some lovely days out, away from writing, and it will probably inspire new ideas. Very well done on the play - and I see you're highly commended in the same comp as me (Ifanca)!

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    1. Thanks, Rosemary! Oh didn't mention Ifanca as wasn't sure if results published yet. Will go and check that now...

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  4. Inspiring as always Tracy - I wish I was half as productive as you are. I'm sure the successes are just around the corner with the quality of your writing. Have to thank you for recommending Diving Belles by Lucy Wood. I downloaded it and read it in one sitting (sorry family!) Loved it. I've tried Just Back twice now with no success. I'm thinking that it's justification for another holiday - just to try again. Best of luck with the MA - look forward to hearing all about it.

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    1. Thank you, Tracey, for such lovely comments. Glad you enjoyed Lucy Wood - I love her fairytale lyrical style. Good thought about Just Back, though don't think I can justify another break right now. Really MUST do some writing!

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  5. How wonderful to have your play brought to life and performed. Well done!

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    1. It was a great experience, quite magical. Thanks, Sally :)

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  6. Well done with the stage play. I've not had any success in that area. Good luck with the radio drama. I've submitted stuff to the BBC but again no success. Have a story in the current Yours mag.

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    1. Thanks and well done on story in Yours -I've never had any success with them. I know getting anything into the BBC will be tough, but I am enjoying the writing and it's all good experience (that's what I keep telling myself...).

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