The One With Ghosts, Fish, and Roses
Despite her unexpected ‘trip’ earlier in the evening, Maggie B had dusted herself down, nursed her wounds, and stoically welcomed a gang of eight writers into her home for our second Summer Readaround.
We made ourselves comfortable in Maggie’s sunny conservatory (Imagine? It wasn’t raining!) and the readings from our works in progress began.
We kicked off with a crime – an intriguing chapter from an almost completed novel with a strong Scottish setting and very believable (and scary) characters.
Then, in no particular order, we heard :
A ghostly tale involving a child, which may, or may not be, adapted to a children’s story.
A ‘ blooming’ short story inspired by the real-life gardening skills of the writer’s relative.
A monologue from a quirky character with a distinctive voice.
A laugh-out-loud children’s story based on the adventures of a cute ‘fishy’ character.
A grisly chapter from a historical crime novel set in Ayrshire.
A beautifully written chapter, continuing the story of the boarding school child, told from the point of view of the world-weary headmaster.
Two poems – one humorous, the other capturing the evocative scene of the poet’s favourite river.
And lastly, we finished the Readaround with a chapter from yet another crime novel. This one, aimed at the young adult market, was literally out of this world.
Plenty of advice and useful feedback were shared. For example, we pondered on how many characters are too many in a short story, discussed the value of the debateable and confusing competition critique comments given to one story, and chewed over the quandary of getting historical details just right.
Tea, cakes and holiday chit-chat were savoured at our half-time break. It was so lovely to catch-up with a great bunch of wonderful writers. A thoroughly good and productive evening. Many thanks to our host for her generosity.
Heading home, we waved Maggie goodbye, and prayed she didnae have a keeker o’ a black ee in the morning.
Linda Brown