Creative Writing in the National Gallery

I am teaching a creative writing class in the National Gallery in Dublin this Wednesday 11th July at 2pm. This is part of the Art for all ages scheme. Anyone can show up. No booking required. No experience required either. The idea is to use some of the fantastic Dutch interior painting there to spark a piece of creative writing, poetry or prose. I hope this is the start of a long relationship. I love the National Gallery and IMMA and the Hugh Lane Dublin City Gallery. I do get inspiration from art.

I got the idea from the Tate Britain who run all sorts of interesting classes. Paul Muldoon has written a book of poetry inspired by the paintings at the National Gallery in London. Lots of writers have been commissioned to write poetry and short stories inspired by paintings and sculptures, particularly by the BBC. Perhaps I could talk to RTE. Apparently writing connected with Visual Art is called Ekphrasis.

Waiting

I have an agent. She is very enthusiastic about my book and sure we will land a publishing deal. I have polished it and taken her suggestions in hand and finished it and emailed it to her. She has sent it out to 4 top of the line, premiership publishers, to editors she knows already. Personal relationships are the key here. And given them a deadline of some kind of a response within 2 to 2 1/2 weeks.

The first one came back. Random House with a negative. The editor couldn't engage with my main protagonist. I'm down in the dumps. This is a senior editor who hasn't got where she is today without knowing what she is talking about. I know I am not the best at showing my character's emotions and emotional characters (the right emotions) are the best for readers to care about so I need to warm her up.

Hum.

Radio 4 Afternoon Read

This coming week the afternoon read is short stories from up and coming Irish writers. 3:30-3:45 and on listen again.

Monday, Gift by David Frazer Wray
Evangelos Patelis spends a solitary existence on an isolated Greek peninsula until he receives a parcel which has an unexpected influence on his life.

Tuesday, Roses by Sophia Hillan
An aging film actor knows he has forgotten something important, but finds remembering is more painful than he could ever imagine.


Wednesday, Hair by Karen Gillece
The realisation that you are losing your hair is traumatic enough but when one woman discovers that that isn’t all she might be losing the distress is almost unbearable.

Thursday, Phoenix Rising by Maggie Cronin
After battling with illness Ralph’s return home is a cause for celebration but his party is crashed by the most unwelcome of uninvited guests.

Friday, Surrender by Claire Keegan
An Irish police sergeant gets a letter that forces him to take decisive action.

The only one I've heard of is the ubiquitous Claire Keegan. How did the others get commissioned?

Arts Council Bursaries

The Arts Council of Ireland have announced the first round of the 2007 bursaries.

For Literature

Multi Annual awards to Peter Sirr (poetry) Sean O'Reilly (literature) Conor O'Callaghan (poetry) and Claire Keegan (short stories mainly)

and annual awards to
Dermot Bolgers (lots of stuff) Alice Lyons (Poems and visual art) Anthony Glavin (poetry) Leanne O'Sullivan (poetry) Mike McCormack (novels mainly)

That's it. Total 105K
another 30K for irish language. (It has to be said, it's hard to make a living writing in Irish without grants.)
They are all well known names. No snifters for emerging writers such as myself. I didn't apply, thank goodness. It would have been a complete waste of time and effort.

Music gets 86K
Performing arts gets 80K
Visual Arts gets 265K

Very uneven if you ask me, which they didn't. Wonder how themomney for New Projects and One Offs will be spread out.

Books for Writers

A really good, classic book for writers is From Pitch to Publication, written by Carole Blake, a well known UK agent. She also writes a great column in Mslexia magazine. http://www.mslexia.co.uk




I also own The Forest for the Trees by Betsy Lerner. An Editor's Advice to Writers.



and every writer should read the very readable On Writing by Stephen King.




and the annual bible The Writers and Artists Yearbook



which I find more comprehensive than The Writers Handbook, although there's not a lot to choose between them.

Nanotales

Eventually I thought to check up on the nanotales in association with the Guardian. Most of the links are dead (strange) but here is what I found. (Not me anyway)

The Winners
Manners by manners-nanotale
Sweet Mother
Tree People
Cataract
Walk a Pavement Once
Export Only
Regrets by
Your grandads horse by
The Freedom Zone by
No Milk by
The Human Species by
alone by
BlacKnack by
A Pencil With Ideas Above It's Station by
Me by
Forget-me-nots by
The Lonely Death of Gloria Alvarez by
Charade by
The half empty glass by
The Orchard by
Ed by
Everybody Wants More by
The Roller Coaster Ride by
Time by
A Year by

And a link to the Guardian as it was going on
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/03/short_stuff.html with some favourites. There seems to have been some mix up with the Guardian entered entries. No idea what the standard was like but they are said to have had more than 2,000 entries. Some multiple I guess.

Contracts

I have a contract with an agent. Yay!
But it's six or seven pages long and I don't really understand it. Is it a good contract, fair, unusual? I don't know.
There is a lot of advice on the web but mainly of the sort saying do not sign with an agent who asks for up front 'fees.' OK. Fair enough but after that?

Here is a great blog about the business of writing with a US slant. It has lots of advice and stories of what to do and what not to do. http://www.annemini.com/