Was it the prospect of listening to a jam-packed night of excellent writing, or the irresistible lure of Jennifer’s promised lemon drizzle cake, home-baked of course, that enticed nine writers to attend our summer readaround at Prestwick? A delightful mixture of both, I think.
During the first half of the evening we heard a sweet children’s story just begging to be illustrated as a picture book for the under-fives, another absorbing chapter from a novel we’ve previously enjoyed extracts from, a scary 
children’s tale (soon to be published in an anthology) and the beginning of a short story which left us, just before our tea-break, dangling on a cliffhanger. Tune in at next readaround for part two, perhaps?
Coffee, tea and slices of lemon drizzle with cream (absolutely delicious) were duly scoffed while we enjoyed a good natter. But not for too long. After all, we still had four more readers to hear before home-time.
Our second half featured a well-considered example of academic writing, the tantalising beginning of a novel which left us eager to know more, and a trio of poems – the first atmospheric, the second humorous nostalgia and the third powerful, poignant and packed with beautiful imagery.
Constructive feedback and comments were offered as usual. We mused the issue of finding a good title. Discussed how our old writing could be successfully resurrected, polished up and improved. Considered the pros and cons of using cultural touchstones to anchor our work in a specific era. Suggestions were made on how to tighten up a poem – start with the action and don’t be too heavy handed and overstate at the end!
This advice applies to blogs too.
So, without further ado, many thanks to our kind host, Jennifer for overseeing a very successful evening. Keep writing, folks, and see you in two weeks.
Linda Brown