Welcome to Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group and the third story on this blog. This 3,100-word piece is by literary author, poet, interviewee and first contributor to 'Novel Nights In' Rose Mary Boehm.
Please do comment in the section below telling us what you liked about this story and, what if anything, the author could do to improve upon it.
Here are your four exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
Here are your four exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
Last Saturday I started this section of the blog to say what I’ve been up to. It did go on a bit (you can read it here) and although a lot’s happened this week, I’ll try to keep this short (I do waffle for England).
Last Sunday morning while going round the park with my dog, I came up with the idea (although it had been milling for a while) of expanding, or at least diluting, the red pen critique I do, and build a blog where others can more involved in critiquing short stories.
Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group was then born… and a few minutes later Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group… then by the end of Sunday, Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group, and the following day Morgen’s Online Script Writing Group.
So, there are now four groups where… readers and writers critique each others’… short stories, poetry, novels and scripts. I then created Facebook pages for them (listed at the end of this post’s footer), inviting some of my Facebook friends. If you’re on Facebook, feel free to join in.
I put a shout-out on Facebook and Twitter that these blogs / groups exists and have had almost a dozen submissions already for the first three groups (so if anyone has a <5,000-word script extract they’d like to submit…!).
To-date I’ve posted:
Plus I’ve started daily exercises with four prompts for each so an hour’s worth of writing every evening for those who say they can’t find the time, or inspiration, to write… most of us, I think.
Because of these groups, I’ll be stopping the Red Pen Critique slot after the two I have booked in (tomorrow and Sunday 20th) – (a) because I’m doing the same thing in the short story and novel groups (I’m not qualified to really comment on poetry or script as I don’t write much of them but no doubt I will have something to say!) and (b) because I’ve been doing my red pen and then typing up the notes which takes a few hours each – for example I’ve written 14 sides of a shorthand notepad (about A6-size) just for a 2,200-word story!
The Short Story Saturdays (sss) slot has also now stopped because it was also posting and reviewing stories so is duplicated by the new short story group.
I’ll also be cutting down on the blog interviews: I’m currently booked up (still at one-a-day) until the end of June, when they will go to weekend mornings only, with the author spotlights then moving from Wednesday and Saturday evenings to weekday mornings. I am now charging (£10 / €12.50 / $15) for the interviews (because they take at least an hour a day to do – I add in comments as if we’re chatting) but everything else will still be free of charge. Wednesday evening will become another guest blog spot and Saturday evenings… not sure yet, maybe I’ll be posting some writing of mine. 
I’ve also handed over the reins of my (in-person) Monday night writing group to a colleague who’s now going to host it every other Monday at her house. I’ll still go from time-to-time but it’s one less thing I have to do.
Last Sunday saw the start of the new Novel Nights In slot, where I run a guest novel in a maximum of 10 instalments. The novels can be self- or traditionally published but if the latter, I’ll need permission from your publisher that they’re happy to run it.
The 5pm Fiction has had a break since I started NaNoWriMo at the beginning of November but that returns February 1st. The idea was that it would give me three months to edit novel number two (a mystery written in 2009) but it’s making slow progress.
So, all-in-all a busy week with a lot of changes (I’m hoping for the better). No writing of my own done (not even the exercises – tut tut!), but hopefully the groups will more or less take care of themselves with a bit of admin from me. I will critique each one but the plan (from now on) is not to put the critique on the blog but provide links to scans of my markings. Invariably they’ll look scary but hopefully everyone will learn something from them. Each blog group has a ‘Submissions’ page stating what I need but do email me (morgen@morgenbailey.com) if you have any queries.
I quit my job in March 2012 so I could spend more time writing, I’m hoping 2013 will see me actually doing just that!
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As I post an interview a day (amongst other things) I can’t unfortunately review books but I have a list of those who do, and a feature called ‘Short Story Saturdays’ where I review stories of up to 2,500 words (and post stories of up to 3,000 words), or posted for others to critique (up to 5,000 words) on the new Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group. Alternatively if you have a short story or self-contained novel extract / short chapter (ideally up to 1000 words) that you’d like critiqued and don’t mind me posting it online in my new Red Pen Critique Sunday night posts, then do email me. I am now also looking for flash fiction (<1000 words) for Flash Fiction Fridays and poetry for Post-weekend Poetry and Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group.
Four new online writing groups:
Welcome to the six hundred and tenth of my blog interviews with novelists, poets, short story authors, biographers, agents, publishers and more. Today’s is with novelist and children’s author Michael Rowland. A list of interviewees (blogged and scheduled) can be found here. If you like what you read, please do go and investigate further.
Morgen: Hello, Michael. Please tell us something about yourself, where you’re based, and how you came to be a writer.
Michael: I am 63 years young and I divide my time between Yorkshire and Cheshire England. I am also currently out of work, seeking employment! They say there is a book in everyone? Well in my case it took nearly 60 years to find my first one.
Morgen: Oh dear. Sorry to hear you’re looking for a job. I hope you find one quickly (I’ve been made redundant twice, although I’m lucky enough – thanks to having two lodgers – to be at home full-time now). I was two-thirds of the way to your “nearly 60 years”; I wrote my first novel when I was 41. You write children’s books, was there a reason to choose this genre?
Michael: Writing children’s novels means I can go back to my own childhood.
Morgen: What have you had published to-date? Do you write under a pseudonym?
Michael: My first novel was about 9/11 – 9/11: Official Complicity by Michael Rowland.
The idea for my first children’s novel has been on my mind for a number of years. It was only after finishing the 9/11 novel when I decided to write Leap Year by Daniel M Warloch. (Anagram of Michael Rowland) I didn’t want to associate a serious topic with a children’s novel so I used a pseudonym.
Both the 9/11 novel and Leap Year are self-published, but I have now a book deal with Mira Publishing Leeds, and my next children’s novel – Christmas Presence by Daniel M Warloch will be published in November 2012.
Morgen: It’s a good idea, if you’re known for a genre already, to have a pen name. I’ve always written a variety of genres so that helps. What age group do you write for, and do you think it’s easier writing for children than adults?
Michael: The age group for the children’s novels are 8 years and upwards. I did find it easier writing the children’s novels, as you can use your imagination.
Morgen: I kill people in most of my writing so I definitely have to use my imagination! Do you get a second opinion on your stories before they’re published – if so from adults, children or both?
Morgen Bailey is a freelance writer and blogger, writer blog designer, host of the weekly Bailey’s Writing Tips audio podcast and two in-person writing groups based in Northamptonshire, England. She is the author of numerous short stories, novels, articles, has dabbled with poetry but admits that she doesn’t “get it”, and is a regular Radio Litopia contributor. She is Chair of another local writing group (which runs the annual HE Bates Short Story Competition), belongs to a fourth, and can regularly be found on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. When she’s not researching for her writing groups, she is a British Red Cross volunteer, walks her dog (often while reading, writing or editing) and reads (though not as often as she’d like but is spurred on by her new Kindle) and somewhere in between all that she writes. Her blog, which like her, is consumed by everything writing-related, is http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com and she loves hearing from writers and readers. You can also read / download her eBooks and free eShorts at Smashwords, Sony Reader Store, Barnes & Noble, iTunes Bookstore, Kobo and Amazon, with novels to follow. She also had a quirky second-person viewpoint story in charity anthology Telling Tales. She has a writing-related forum and you can follow her on Twitter, friend on Facebook, like on Facebook, connect on LinkedIn, find on Tumblr, complete her website’s Contact me page or plain and simple, email her. Most recently she has set up http://icanbuildyourwritingblog.wordpress.com designing blog sites especially for other writers.
