Writing – Page 14 – orbific weblog

Reading at Short Fuse, October 23rd

I'm going to be reading at the next Short Fuse event, where the theme is Tales from the Crypt. The event starts at 8:30pm on Thursday 23rd and will be in the Studio Bar at the Komedia. Tickets are £4 on the door.

A few years ago I saw Stewart Home read at Tight Lip. His reading was impressive – partly because he read one story through a ventriloquist's dummy, and partly because he'd memorised his stories. At the start of the reading he announced, "If it's worth reading, it's worth remembering."

I'm going to try memorising the story I'll be reading next Thursday. The interesting thing is whether the reading will work without the prop of a sheet of paper. It may be that my performance looks better when I'm holding something rather than having my hands free. I'll have to see how well it works during my practise.

The 23rd also sees the launch of Ros Barber's new collection, Material. The launch party starts a little before Short Fuse, so hopefully I can catch Ros's reading and pick up a copy of the new book before heading to the Komedia.

Back to Brighton for Sparks Night

I spent a lovely long weekend in Derbyshire. I visited ChristmasWorld (photos to follow), read, and fed the ducks with my niece – or, rather, fed bread to the ducks with my niece. I feel wonderful after the break and seem to have brought some of my calm back with me.

I returned yesterday in time to go to Sparks Night at the Three and Ten. Sparks night is a short story night which distinguishes itself from other local nights by adding a visual element. A photograph is commissioned for each story and projected behind the reader. I've been wondering for a while about the addition of musical/visual additions to spoken word and it seems to work very well indeed, helping to focus attention on the reader.

The standard of the stories and the readings were high. The night started with Joel William's story about dwarves (as seen in Penumbra #3 – full text also available in this PDF). There was also a brilliant story about physics and grief, but my favourite was Porn Mallow by Sara Crowley (full text available here). The reader said she was nervous, but did a brilliant job. The photographs were also very good and had a range of different styles.

It's exciting that Brighton has so many live literature events at the moment and that they're of such a high standard. I'll definitely be at the next Sparks night in four weeks time.

New story – Eat at Lovecraft’s mp3 and text

Liar's league have posted text and mp3 versions of my story Eat At Lovecraft's. The audio is a recording of the performance given by Becky Hands-Wicks and I'm very pleased with how it came out. The story is about Howard Philip Lovecraft struggling with a universe that makes no sense. Download, have a listen, and leave a comment to let me know what you think.

Restorative yoga

From an interview with Toby Litt:
"Q: Is there a secret to writing?
A: Yes. There are no short cuts"

It's been a fun day today. It started with a run followed by coffee with a friend at the Meeting Place ("open 7am till dusk") where I had rock cake for breakfast. I love being back in Brighton and having time to enjoy the seafront.

At lunchtime I went to the restorative yoga drop-in run by Yoga with Socks On with Rosy, Kitty and L. This is a relaxation session involving pillows, bolsters and blankets, recommended by a friend. I wasn't sure what to expect but was very impressed. The session involved lying in a variety of positions and relaxing – self indulgent but worthwhile. One of our group unwound so much they had dropped off to sleep at the end.

Then I came home and did some writing. I sometimes wish for shortcuts, that I could magically produce an exciting novel with no mental effort. But if it were that easy then everyone would do it. So I make a little progress each day, reminding myself to appreciate that.

PS – I love the trailer for Synecdoche, NY

Short fuse reading: Death of a Ronald

The picture above was taken by Rosy, and shows me reading at Short Fuse at the Brighton Komedia on Thursday. The theme of the evening was 'Nights at the Circus', inspired by Angela Carter's novel of the same name. I was very nervous, since I'd not read in a while. To add to my nervousness I was reading a clown story, Death of a Ronald. I wrote it a couple of years ago but this was its first public outing. It isn't a pleasant story so I didn't know what an audience would make of it. I probably didn't need to worry as they laughed in all the right places.

I've missed Short Fuse while I've been away in Coventry and it was good to be back. I enjoyed the other stories, especially one about a highwayman (currently far cooler than pirates) and a beautiful story about tightrope walking in Geneva that I would love to hear again.

May contain clowns: Reading at Short Fuse, 18/9

I'm going to be reading for Short Fuse this Thursday (18th September) at the Komedia, starting 8:30pm. The theme for the night is 'Nights at the Circus' and I will be reading a clown story called The Death of a Ronald.

It's been ages since I did a reading (there aren't many spoken word nights in Coventry) so I'm really looking forwards to this. It's going to be an interesting piece to read too – what does Mr. Giggles sound like?

Meanwhile I need to finish packing up the flat in Coventry. It's seems almost finished but the last stage is always the most difficult. I've reached the point of putting things into boxes randomly now. If all goes to plan then last night was my last in Coventry. As of Sunday I will be fully moved back to Brighton.

My visit to the Liar’s League

I spent yesterday evening at the Liar's League spoken word night in London. I'd decided to walk to the Wheatsheaf pub from Victoria which turned out to be a bad decision. Central London was very busy and by the time I arrived I was sweaty and flustered. I definitely didn't exude the calm, contemplative air of an exciting new writer.

The main difference between Liar's League and other short story nights is that Liar's League features actors reading the stories. This means the performances are guaranteed to be good whereas sometimes an author can produce a bad reading of a story. The actors work particularly well with first person stories, such as the comedian in Jim Murdoch's story and the gangster in Richard Meredith's Crime Caper.

My story, Eat at Lovecraft's, was read by Becky Hands-Wicks, who did a far better job than I would have done. It was exciting to hear my story read by someone else. By the time I've submitted a story I will have read it out loud repeatedly. To hear someone else read the story, with different emphases and pauses, makes it sound fresh again.

The League was also very friendly and I chatted to a few people afterwards, including Jonathan Pinnock, who wrote Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions, a funny story about dead mathematicians (he's blogged about the night here). Thanks to everyone for a lovely evening – hopefully I'll be able to make it to the next one, whether or not I have a story being read.

I had a couple of hours to kill before my bus so I walked back through London. The weather was better and I enjoyed drifting through the streets. Victoria Coach station near midnight was much less peaceful, as was the coach journey. Throughout I kept waking then looking at the dark road outside and wondering how I knew I was on the right coach. I reached Coventry without problems, but it's very odd to be back here – I'd been feeling very at home in Brighton.

I'll post links to the audio of my story from last night once it's up on the Liar's League site.

Short Story at Liar’s League, London, 9th September

A new short story of mine, Eat At Lovecraft's is going to be read at Liar's League. This is a regular night featuring short stories read by actors and the theme for the night is Crime and Punishment. Liar's League also publish the stories online with a podcast of each story after the event. The event starts 7pm on September 9th and is at The Wheatsheaf, 25 Rathbone Place, London, W1T 1DG.

New story in Penumbra #3

I had some post dropped off this afternoon, including the new issue of Penumbra Magazine which contains a new story of mine, riddled.

I’ve just finished reading the issue, which includes poetry and prose from the UK and several other countries. I particularly liked the poems by Ed Harris (‘Chasing Hurricanes in Derbyshire’ and ‘Pterodactyls in Devon’) and the stories by David Yost (‘And every man a king’, about micronations) and Joel Willans (‘Rumble Tumble’). Joel William’s story starts with the line “When I got the Oakland greyhound to San Fran, the bus was full of dwarfs” and then gets even better.

The magazine is available by mail order for £3.95 +£1 P&P.

riddled: “Recruitment consultants sometimes call about incredible jobs. They
can’t give details because of the NDAs, but sometimes, if you’re
bored, you let the seduction play out to see what they offer you. It
was one of those calls that led to my break-up with Helen …”

Literary Adventures

One of the great things about creative writing is that it doesn’t cost very much. Anyone can grab a pen and some paper and write a poem or story. You can publish on a blog, print off some pieces at work, or read at an open mic night.

Or you can spend money on it. Creative writing courses are springing up everywhere. There are workshops in scenic locations where successful writers pass on their experience and techniques. And now there are literary adventures – creative writing workshops in exotic locations.

Many writers make more money from providing
advice and services to aspiring writers than from their books: creative
writing is a pyramid scheme. I find it troubling that publishing success is the implied or stated aim of many courses (for example, CCE’s Agents and Publishers Day) when it might be more useful to have modules on how to teach creative writing.