THE WRITERS BUREAU
STUDENT STORIES
"I have enjoyed writing since I was a little girl and although over the years have written many personal journals and letters to friends, always assumed I was not good enough to have anything published.
However, in April 2006 at the age of 42 I decided it was time to take the plunge. As we say up here in Newcastle, 'Shy Bairns Get Nowt' so I enrolled on The Writers Bureau Course and began submitting articles to magazines.
To my delight, the article I wrote for Assignment 2, (A Suffragette in The Family) was quickly accepted by Practical Family History Magazine and I was paid £50. Since then I have had thirteen articles and many letters published in various magazines including Best of British, Cat World, Prima, My Weekly, Reveal and Chat and have earned £1150.
I have also written a pantomime that was performed by staff at work and have written website material for a friend.
Unfortunately, I have only managed to complete assignments one to five of the course so far as I am so busy with other projects! I am amazed at the success I have had. I used to read testimonials like this in E-zee Writer and cannot believe that I am now one of the students submitting my own success story!
The Wrtiters Bureau has opened up a whole new world for me and I cannot recommend the course highly enough."
Christine Kenworthy, UK.
"Getting myself enrolled with The Writers Bureau gave me a platform to register as a freelance writer with an online research center. I worked on a project with them and got paid $84 for my first small assignment with them. I am very enthusiastic to work more and more. Three cheers to The Writers Bureau!"
Mili Mohan, India.
Christine and Mili are both studying our Comprehensive course. If you would like a prospectus for this course, then email us here with your full name and postal address.
Or, to share your success stories with others, just send an email to ezeewriter@writersbureau.com with 'Success Story' in the subject line.
FREELANCE MARKET NEWS
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FREE sample markets are available to view at the website, along with more details about the magazine and how you can subscribe.
www.freelancemarketnews.com
IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE OF FMN:
WRITING FOR A GROWTH INDUSTRY
Writing For Young Readers
by Elizabeth Ashworth
Many writers are interested in writing stories for children and many
discover that they have an interest in storytelling when they begin to
make up stories for their own children. There are, though, some important
factors that you need to consider when writing for younger readers.
The main function of any story is to entertain. But as well as being
entertaining children’s stories may serve other purposes. For example:
- THEY CAN TEACH – I wrote a story about a hedgehog who was looking
for a place called ‘hibernation’ because he didn’t understand
what it meant until he found a place to curl up and go to sleep for
the winter. As well as an enjoyable story I was trying to teach my young
readers or listeners a little bit about animals that hibernate and I
was also trying to explain that there was no shame in not understanding
something new.
- THEY CAN REASSURE – Stories about other children, or animals,
who are afraid of the dark can reassure a child that they are not alone
in their fear. It helps to know that you are not the only person whose
parents have split up or who is being bullied at school. And because
the story has a happy ending the child is re-assured that their own
problems will be resolved too.
- THEY CAN PROVIDE A CHILD WITH STRATEGIES TO COPE with difficult
situations and challenges that they may face. For example, I wrote a
story about a little girl who grew out of her favourite wellingtons
and realised that now she was a ‘big girl’ and this motivated
her to try to learn how to tie the laces on her new shoes. Ways of getting
rid of monsters under the bed, dealing with a new baby or finding it
hard to make friends at school are all helping children to cope with
their world as well as entertaining them.
IMPORTANT POINTS TO CONSIDER
CHARACTER: The main character needs to be someone the child can
identify with. For example another child of the same age, or slightly
older, or an animal with childlike traits. But definitely not an adult.
PLOT: The plot must be about a conflict (meaning a problem of
a physical or emotional type) that the main character finds a way of resolving
by themselves. It must be relevant to their lives - a problem they have
experienced or may experience in the future. For example growing out of
a pair of favourite shoes, losing a favourite toy, having to share with
a new baby.
STRUCTURE: The story must have a simple structure with a clear
beginning, middle and end. There must be no subplots, flashbacks, twist
endings or changes in tense or point of view that you might find in stories
for older children and adults.
LANGUAGE: The language must be accessible, with simple sentence
construction – no complex, compound sentences with subordinate clauses
etc. The vocabulary must be familiar, although the introduction of a new
word and/or concept may be the point of the story e.g. hibernation.
ENDING: The story must end with a satisfying and re-assuring conclusion.
The main character must have solved their problem in some way. The ability
to take control and solve problems on their own, rather than having an
adult solution pushed onto them, empowers children and raises their self-esteem
– and this ‘feel-good’ factor can be experienced through
a character in a story who they identify with.
VISUALISATION: As stories for young children are designed to be
read aloud it is important that they are also very visual and can be illustrated
in a way that allows the pictures to tell the story as well. This is important
because children (and adults as well) find it hard to concentrate on just
listening without a visual stimulus. The pictures in a picture book also
make it possible for the child to understand the story by themselves even
if they cannot read the text.
Bear these things in mind and you should be well on the way to writing
a successful children’s story for either a book or a magazine. Just
remember to keep it fairly short – under a thousand words –
as most children won’t be able to concentrate for more than about
ten minutes. But if it’s something they love they will want to hear
it over and over again.
AUTHOR'S BIO
Elizabeth Ashworth has been a freelance writer for over twenty five years.
She contributes articles and short stories – mostly women’s fiction
and children’s stories – to a wide variety of local and national
magazines. She is a qualified teacher with many years’ experience
teaching both children and adults. She lectures in creative writing at
a local college, as well as conducting writing workshops for adults and
children.
TOP TIPS...
for creative characterisation
Long after readers have forgotten many other features of your book or short story, it will be your characters who will live on in their minds. And the stronger, the more colourful and the more striking your characters are, the more memorable they'll be.
So, here are some tips for ensuring that your characters are unforgettable:
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It should be your aim to create individuals who leap off the page, exuding energy and creating dramatic impact. They must be more exciting and more attention grabbing than the ordinary people we meet in our normal workaday existence.
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But they must still be believable! Even if you create characters as exotic as Mary Poppins, Count Dracula or Hannibal Lecter, you must draw them so vividly and give them so much presence and personality that they come alive. By doing this your readers will be prepared to suspend their disbelief and be ready to believe that in the fictional world you have created these people could easily exist.
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In order to do this give every character an individual personality, quirks, mannerisms and a clearly understood motivation. Make them three-dimensional and equip them with a full range of emotions and responses.
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Make sure you know your characters intimately – why not create a 'character profile' for each of your major characters listing their background, appearance, hobbies, habits, strengths, weaknesses and much, much more?
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But don't give this information to your readers in a big 'dollop'. It will slow down your narrative. Instead, feed in descriptions in small drips and let your characters show the reader what they are like, rather than you, the author, telling them. Alternatively, show how your protagonist looks through the eyes of one of the other characters.
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Make sure you choose good names. You can suggest a great deal about a person's age and background by the name you give them. It's important that you select a name that accurately reflects the personality and background of the person you are creating. As a rule, aim for short, sharp, powerful names for strong characters and longer, more fussy names for weaker characters. And remember, names can tie your characters to a particular age group. If a female is called Doris or Edith she will probably be elderly; if she's called Chelsea or Brittany she will probably be in her late teens.
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Always ensure that your characters are as different from one another as possible so that readers won't get them mixed up. Give each a distinctive way of looking, talking and acting. Give each a unique personality and background.
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Never try to introduce too many characters at the same time – this will only end up confusing your readers. Give each character time to become established in the story before introducing the next.
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It's a useful plotting device if the hero and his main enemy have a close connection – former friends, ex-lovers or members of the same family. It makes the antagonism between them all the more sad. But if you are casting the 'baddie' as someone the hero may once have loved or admired, then he or she has to have some good points too. After all, most people have some redeeming features, so don't always make the antagonist a monster or a villain. It's not necessary.
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Avoid stereotypes at all costs! The bumbling vicar, the brain-dead blonde bimbo, the beer-swilling rugby player – they're great for a quick, cheap laugh but they aren't realistic or believable. I make no apology for repeating earlier advice: inhabit your stories with memorable people – fully-rounded, surprising and intriguing individuals.
"Are you a writer longing to be discovered? Submit your manuscript for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. It’s the perfect opportunity to become the next great novelist: the winning author will receive a publishing contract from Penguin Group, including promotional support for their book on Amazon.com, and a media suite from Hewlett-Packard. Enter your manuscript for consideration by November 5, 2007."
http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=332264011
"ScriptShare is a site dedicated to writers working or looking to work in the British Television and Film Industry. It’s aim being to assist you as a writer in the development of your scripts through peer to peer criticism." Membership is £10 per year. www.scriptshare.co.uk
Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest is a US based quarterly print mag that accepts fiction submissions that fall under a 'dark sci-fi' remit. Full submission guidelines can be found at their website: www.apexdigest.com
Wrestling with a grammar query? Doing the final checks before sending a piece off to an Editor? This site aims, "to solve common problems of grammar and usage for those people who want answers but who do not want a lot of technical explanations."
www.grammartips.homestead.com
www.writersmarket.co.uk aims to help writers to find markets for their work by offering a constantly updated comprehensive online database of publishers, magazines, broadcast media and agents. Plus it has a growing collection of in-depth articles by industry professionals on all aspects of the writing and publishing process. No Catch, No Fee.
That brings us to the end of this month's issue. Next month, Phyllis Ring tells you how to conduct professional interviews.
As usual, if you've any suggestions or would like to comment on content then please contact Teresa at:
ezeewriter@writersbureau.com
And don't forget – if you've enjoyed this issue of E-zee Writer and found it useful, tell your friends about it so that they can subscribe too!
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