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The Busybird Creative Fellowship Opens Today!

October 1, 2015

When you’re initially finding your way as a writer or artist, trial and error often shapes your path. You’re oblivious to literary communities and usually brimming with naivety. It’s natural. Like a child stumbling out into the world, unaware of all the dangers. And whilst experience is often a great educator, it can also set you back, if not discourage you.

So what do you do when you’re starting out? Especially if you really don’t know what’s out there? In all likelihood, unless you’re born into an artistic family or have artistic friends, there’s a good chance you’re not going to know about opportunities. You’ll simply think you’re a biggish fish in a big pond.

Courses and schooling are brilliant. You get to meet other writers and artists, make friends, create networks, and learn about what’s out there. You’ll also learn that the pond’s a little smaller than you might’ve originally conceived, and you’re not only a tiny fish, but one of just so many fishes.

The one issue with courses and schooling is the commitment. Not everybody can afford them – either financially, or in the time and energy that’s required. You can try shorter courses, if possible. Or join workshopping groups. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that any group will be amenable or informative. Some might be intimidating.

An avenue that Busybird Publishing has introduced is the Busybird Creative Fellowship, which has been designed purely with the fledgling writer or artist in mind. Applicants must have less than three short story/article publications or never have exhibited.

The winning applicant will receive:

actual cash ($500)
use of the Busybird Publishing studio gallery spaces
use of the Busybird team as mentors
free entry to any of our in-house workshops
discounted publishing services.

Whilst all the material goodies are great – and I’m sure everybody could imagine how they’d put those to use – it’s the mentoring which arguably is the most invaluable.

The Busybird Team are comprised of artists who can use their experience to guide you through the formative stages of your journey, and accelerate your development.

The Busybird Creative Fellowship is perfect for any writer or artist trying to find their way.

Applications can be obtained by clicking this link.

It’s Not a Marathon

September 24, 2015

We are writers. So what does that mean?

We write. Simple at that, really.

There can be a lot of build-up around ‘being a writer’ – it’s mostly harmless validation, if maybe a touch self-aggrandising at times. All the descriptor really means is that we define ourselves by creating content – by writing.

That’s easy to say. And it’s damn easy for us to advise you to ‘just write’ as a tell-all answer to every woe we have. Because prolificacy is a greater expectation now. Regular, reliable content: it’s the philosophy of the Information Age, a world where blogs need regular updates and ‘filler content’ is big business. Writers are under greater pressure to stay relevant – and, though some of you may dry-reach at the mere mention of the word, marketable.

Talking about ‘staying productive’ just sounds awful, like you’re forever running the hamster wheel. But it’s easy to get burned out, even when you’re doing what you love. Hopefully some of the advice given here can help prevent that burnout from happening and keep you produ—erm, passionate.

Writer’s block is as real as you allow it to be. I’ve spoken about this before. It’s often treated like a massive affliction, when it’s just a hiccup. Pounding your way through the Google search results for ‘curing writer’s block’ may seem like a good idea, but it’s also validating its existence as some kind of issue you can’t resolve. You can. Just relax and break everything down. It may not be instantaneous, but you’ll find your way through.

Let other people in. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s the last thing in the world you may want to subject yourself to. How you include other people in your life as a writer is entirely up to you – I’ve known people who have superstitions about discussing new work, or need to approach workshopping in a particular way – but whatever the case, just do it. The stereotype of the solitary writer may be popular, but it’s not exactly healthy.

Mix it up. Sometimes it’s just deadening to write the same stuff over and over again, to go through the same tasks without any apparent end. Even if it’s something you enjoy, variety is blah-blah you-know-the-rest. Jump across genres if you’re a fiction writer. Experiment with new ways to lay out your arguments or facts if you’re a columnist. Even a small sidestep can feel invigorating every once in a while.

Your routine needs both on and off time. It’s common to say that you need to block certain times of each day for writing. But never forget that you need time to just step away from the computer or notebook and, for the love of all that is sacred, do anything else. Have your modules of time for writing, but pad it out a little. No one expects you to run a marathon every single day. Which leads to the next point:

Sometimes, god damn it, you just need a break. Don’t beat yourself up for needing a breather. I know you do it. I do it. Everyone seems to do it nowadays. Leisure isn’t so much a guilty pleasure for many people as much as it’s simply a guilt-trip waiting to happen. Just treat it as leisure. Stop yourself from Facebooking about it beforehand or afterwards – that’s part of the negative process even if you dress it up as a joke. Take the break and enjoy it. That’s it. Then you’re back in the game, no regrets and no extra baggage.

When there are big projects like a novel you’re trying to power through, or just general freelancing, it can be hard to keep perspective. Never forget how important it is to keep that balance and keep yourself fresh. Keep looking after yourself.

Beau Hillier | Editor, page seventeen

Formatting and Punctuating Attributors

September 10, 2015

Something a lot of people struggle with is the punctuation and format of attributors. Attributors are the ‘he said’, ‘she asked’, ‘he shouted’, tags that precede or follow dialogue.

Arguably the mistake that people make most with attributors is this:

‘No, I don’t think that at all,’ Said Bob.

The attributor is always lowercase. Without exception.

‘No, I don’t think that at all,’ said Bob.

That also applies if the punctuation in the dialogue is an exclamation mark, question mark, or ellipsis.

‘No, I don’t think that at all!’ said Bob.

And:

‘Is that what you think?’ asked Bob.

And:

‘I’m not sure what I think …’ said Bob.

Despite the end punctuation in the dialogue, you need to look at the dialogue and the attributor as a singular sentence. Just as you wouldn’t have a word randomly Capitalised in a standard sentence, neither should the attributor be capitalised.

What if you use a full stop, though?

‘No, I don’t think that at all.’ Said Bob.

Surely, in this situation, you’d use a capital? No. This construction is a grammatical impossibility. An attributor cannot follow dialogue that ends with a full stop. Once the full stop is employed, you’re beginning a new sentence. So if you have something like the above, either change the full stop, or remove the attributor.

When attributors are employed, the only things capitalised are names.

‘No, I don’t think that at all,’ Bob said.

And proper nouns.

‘We should tax the use of attributors,’ the Liberal Party vowed.

And the pronoun ‘I’, which is capitalised as a matter of rule.

‘No, I don’t think that at all,’ I said.

Other pronouns are not capitalised.

‘Don’t capitalise!’ they shouted.

The exceptions (names, proper nouns, and the pronoun ‘I’) aside, this convention applies regardless of what follows.

‘Stop!’ most of them shouted.

And:

‘Are you following me?’ the choir sang.

When the attributor precedes dialogue, this is something we see often:

Bob said, ‘no, I don’t think that at all.’

Now, the dialogue begins with a lowercase letter. No. Dialogue should always begin with a capital. It’s the beginning of what somebody’s about to say.

Bob said, ‘No, I don’t think that at all.’

Something else we see often is something like this:

Here, the attributor is on one line, and the dialogue begins on the next. Dialogue should always be connected to its attributor.

I went out to the shops, and scoured the shelves. Elsie waited impatiently behind me, tapping her foot, so I said, ‘I’ll just be a minute.’

Or you could reformat this sentence entirely:

This has been touched on in previous blogs about dialogue, but always be aware of what is a legitimate attributor and what’s actually an action.

‘You can’t do that,’ I laughed.

And:

‘Oh, if you say so,’ you sigh.

A laugh is a sound of amusement. A sigh is an exhalation of breath. There are other examples. These sort of things are physical actions. At no point can they describe the way dialogue is articulated.

If you disagree, try it. Laugh a sentence at me. Laugh at me, ‘You are wrong.’ It’s impossible to do, without producing some singsong parody that would sound like a kookaburra singing. Sigh at me, ‘Oh, very well, if you’re going to browbeat me, I give up.’ How does that sound? These things are actions. They’re not the way somebody talks.

‘You can’t do that.’ I laughed.

And:

‘Oh, if you say so.’ You sigh.

Admittedly, the context and delivery of the verbs change here to the way they were intended when they were being used as attributors. Sometimes, simply flipping where the verbs appear can address this.

I laughed. ‘You can’t do that.’

And:

You sigh. ‘Oh, if you say so.’

If this doesn’t remedy the context, try finding another way to communicate your meaning. It’s writing. You can do anything. Except flagrantly break the rules because it’s the easiest solution. That’s not innovative. It’s just wrong.

Lastly, note that in all these examples, the punctuation separating the dialogue from the attributor is tucked inside the dialogue. It’s not:

‘I wonder where the comma should go’, Bob said.

Or:

‘Do you know where the question mark goes’? Bob asked.

It’s:

‘I wonder where the comma should go,’ Bob said.

And:

‘Do you know where the question mark goes?’ Bob asked.

There are times that the punctuation might sit outside quotation marks, but this usually occurs when somebody is being quoted, or partially quoted:

Bob had told me that he was confused about ‘the use of attributors’, and that he ‘was about to give up’.

Here, the punctuation belong to the narration, so it sits outside the quotation marks. When the punctuation belongs to the dialogue, it sits inside the quotation marks.

The formatting and punctuation of attributors is simple. Read any book and you’ll see how they’re done. The reality is when they’re done right, you don’t question it, you don’t even see it, instead unconsciously inferring the visual cues, which allows you to absorb whatever you’re reading. Do them wrong and people will stop and say, ‘Huh?’

And that’s when you lose them.

LZ.

Page Seventeen 2015 Competition Shortlists

August 31, 2015

It’s been months in the making, but we’re finally closing in on the release of Issue 12 of page seventeen. And how do we always kick off this last leg? Why, by announcing the competition shortlists of course!

The entries here have been selected from all the competition short story and poetry entries to feature as the competition shortlists in Issue 12. We won’t reveal the winners and runners-up until the issue launch event at the end of the year – details will be posted here closer to the date, so watch this space!

So without further adieu, here are the shortlists, listed by author surname:

Short Story

‘Cold Currents’ by Susi Fox
‘Rooms Without Doors’ by Willa Hogarth
‘Ships of the Desert’ by Carmel Lillis
‘Macalister’ by Paul Mill
‘Louis’ by Edie Matsuda

Poetry

‘The Glass Reverie’ by Virginia Danahay
‘Oral Sex’ by Judith Green
‘Ironing’ by Jenny Macaulay
‘Alice and Edward’ by Janine McGuinness
‘In Defence of the Bodhran’ by Leonie Needham
‘Beginning with a Given Line’ by Rodney Williams

Firstly, congratulations to everyone listed here – all these stories will be available to read in the new issue. To everyone who wasn’t able to make the list this year, I’m sorry we couldn’t make room for everyone in what was a tight race – keep faith in your stories and your own writing, and opportunities will always present themselves.

In the meantime, spread the word! Issue 12 is coming and it promises to be a great collection of prose and poetry, a real something-for-everyone package. I hope you can all celebrate it with us.

Beau Hillier | Editor, page seventeen

First Impressions

August 13, 2015

So you’re going to submit to a publisher, and have – according to the publisher’s guidelines – only a single chapter to hook them.

This first chapter is pivotal because it will be the publisher’s first impression of your book. You don’t make a great first impression, that will be it. They’ll either dismiss you, or you’ll be struggling to win their favour.

So how do you make your first chapter as tight and sparkling as possible?

Here’s some things to look out for …

Clichés
Cliches are phrases like, ‘In the blink of an eye’, ‘As quick as a flash’, ‘left me with a broken heart’, etc. They have become so overused in today’s vernacular that they’ve lost all meaning.

When you need to describe something – like the suddenness of something happening, or somebody dealing with the pain of a relationship breaking up – look for original ways to communicate what’s going on.

Overwriting
Writing is a field where less is more. Don’t take pages delving into a character’s emotional state, or describing a setting. If you’re trying to build up something awesome, don’t think spending one thousand words on it is going to make it any more awesome. All that happens here is you’re diluting what’s going on.

Use specific details and impress the reader with how distinct they are.

Predictability
It’s harder and harder to be original nowadays. Most stories have been done, so people know what to expect. For instance, the formula of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy and girl live happily ever after isn’t going to cut it anymore. Now, more than ever, it’s become a case of how you go about your story. If it’s predictable, the reader will grow bored and switch off.

Bad Spelling and Grammar
It’s astonishing that so many writers won’t run a simple spellcheck. Reread your work and iron out issues with grammar. Get other people to read it.

It’s very hard to get into a piece of writing when you stumble on spelling errors or grammar issues. They jar the reader out of the writing, and shake their confidence in the author moving forward.

Repetition
As with overwriting, be wary of repeating yourself. If you’re describing a storm, you don’t have to tell us every sentence that thunder’s booming, lightning’s flashing, the wind’s howling, and the protagonist is cold. We get it. There’s a storm. Pounding it into us doesn’t make the storm any more ferocious.

Or the repetition might happen over pages (or chapters). On page one, you might explain how distraught the protagonist is. On page three, you might do it again. You’re not writing an infomercial, so we don’t need to be told the same thing over and over.

Trying to introduce too much
You don’t have to try to supply the reader everything they need to know at once. This can often result in lengthy digressions, or just so much happening that it’s impossible to keep track of it all. Take your time. Be patient. Seed (and foreshadow) the information as required.

Using Metaphors and Similies that have no relationship to anything
Going with something like, ‘His anger rose, like my dog’s when the neighbour’s cat comes into the yard’, isn’t exactly evocative for a reader.

Overdramatic speech attributors
The attributors are things like ‘said’ and ‘asked’. There’s a school of thought that’s all you should use, and if your dialogue is written well enough, the reader will infer the tone. Some like to use adverbs, e.g. ‘he said angrily’. Some look for a stronger attributor, e.g. ‘he demanded’. Just don’t overdo. E.g. ‘he obliterated’.

Story mightn’t begin in the right place
If you’re going to run a race, or play some sport, you’ll usually do some warm-up exercises to get you ready. Writing often involves the same principle. When we’re starting something new, we’re often feeling our way into the story. Many people struggle with openings. Because of this, some of the early prose – whether it’s a matter of sentences, paragraphs, or pages – is just warm-up before we launch into the real thing.

Look at what you’re writing, and ask whether it’s starting at the right place, or whether it was just warming up before you started at some later point in earnest.

Fluency of dialogue
Dialogue doesn’t reflect real life. In real life, we stutter, we ‘um’, we begin a sentence and then cut-off midway and go in another direction. If we tried to do that in a book, it’d be frustrating for the reader.

Book/story dialogue is the essence of how we speak in real life, and yet tries to capture all the nuances and affectations.

For some bizarre reason, a lot of writers introduce dialogue with ‘Well’. Most times it can be cut. Writers also lose contractions. We’d say ‘don’t’ and ‘can’t’ in real life, but in writing it becomes ‘do not’ and ‘cannot’. These are just a couple of things that happen in written dialogue.

Read your dialogue aloud. Emote it. Act it. Find out how natural it is.

Looping
Many writers introduce the premise, e.g. a woman walking at night to a rendezvous. Mysterious? Exciting? But then they loop back to what brought the woman to this point, and give us her back-story – she’s unhappily married, and after dinner she said she was going out with friends but is actually meeting her lover, but she’s feeling guilt because yesterday her husband spontaneously brought her flowers, which is the first bit of affection he’s shown her in years … Um, do you remember where we came in? Be wary of how much exposition you’re offering to try set up your premise. Either start your story back where all this exposition began and show the action unfolding as it’s happening, or seed it in subtly.

They’re just some things to consider when submitting.

You have one chance to make a first impression.

Do all you can to make it the best first impression you can!