bsfa focus no 60 sampler

7/27/2019 BSFA FOCUS No 60 Sampler

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FOCUS Magazine #60, Summer/Autumn 2013

FOCUSTHE BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION ASSOCIATIONS MAGAZINE FOR WRITERS

SUMMER/AUTUMN 2013 No. 60


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THE BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION ASSOCIATIONS MAGAZINE FOR WRITERS

British Science Fiction Association LtdRegistered in England and Wales. Company No. 921500

BSFA Website: www.bsfa.co.uk

Registered address: 61 Ivycroft Road, Warton,

Tamworth, Staffordshire B79 0JJ

President: Stephen Baxter

Vice President: Jon Courtenay Grimwood

Chair: Donna Scott [email protected]

Treasurer: Martin Potts [email protected]

Membership Services:Peter Wilkinson, Flat 4, Stratton Lodge,

79 Bulwer Road, Barnet, Herts. EN5 5EU

[email protected]

BSFA MEMBERSHIP FEES

UK 29 per annum (Unwaged: 20 pa)

Joint/Family +2 to the above prices

Life Membership 500

Outside UK 40

Cheques should be made payable to BSFA Ltd. (Pounds

Sterling only) and sent to Peter Wilkinson at the address

above; alternatively you can join via the BSFA website at

www.bsfa.co.uk

BSFA AWARDSAdministrator: Farah Mendlesohn [email protected]

ORBITER WRITING GROUPSOnline: Terry Jackman

[email protected]

The cover image is a plate taken

from the special edition of Kim

Lakin-Smiths Tourniquet: Tales

from the Renegade City, which

is due for release next year by

Jurassic London.

26How Annoying Are You?Martin McGrath takes a not-so-light-heartedlook at those all-important annoying Critters.

16Reflections in OrbitAdrian Faulkner has been in a few WritersGroups, and here shares a few experiences...

EDITORIAL 3 NEWS FROM ORBIT/BSFA 8 POETRY 28 TALES FROM TURKEY CITY 31

18An Alternative Weekend AwayAlex Davis knows a lot of things about puttingtogether a Residential Writing Weekend, andhas plenty to share with the rest of us.

10Running a Writing Group

Alex Davis reveals that its a tough job butultimately a very rewarding one, too.

04Story Structure

Dev Agarwal takes on the knotty topic of storystructure, and breaks it into itty-bitty chunks.

07BSFA TweetFiction UpdateMartin Potts provides an update to all things

Twittified, or at least some TweetFiction efforts.

42Wishful ThinkingAlex Bardy wonders where all the FOCUScontributions are, and why were not receivingmuch in the way of reader opinion/comments?

12Orbit Groups

Terry Jackman is at the helm of the BSFAsbest kept secret. Best get in there then...

24Write On, or Not?

Roderick Gladwish decided to investigate analternative online option Writers Group, andthis is what he found...


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Science fiction is the most importantliterature in the history of the world,because its the history of ideas, thehistory of our civilisation birthing itself.So said the great Ray Bradbury Nopressure then! If ever there was anindividual who must soldier on and en-dure, it must surely be the lonely sci-ence fiction author, ever intent on ex-ploring new universes, transformativetechnologies and creative evolutions.But what use are these Big Ideas if theyexist within a vacuum? And if we areultimately striving for progress, should-nt we start by progressing our skills as

writers?

With the entire weight of civilisationresting on our shoulders (Lord helpus!), it seems only right to dedicate thisissue ofFocusto the coming togetherof authors, either in our physical formsor as more transcendental entitiesonline. Writers groups exist to inspire,support, nourish and nurture. They giveus hope and friendship and spark allmanner of creative genetics whichwouldnt have otherwise existed. As

Adam Craig remarks in his expos on aresidential writing weekend: Writersare as much made as born.

So how does the lone author even startto go about looking for like-minded voices?This magazine is an excellent place tostart, from advice on organising your veryown writing event to something a littlemore intimate taking part in a residen-tial writing course, for instance or join-ing the BSFAs Orbit Groups. Along theway, Martin McGrath has the low down on

writing group etiquette and Terry Jackmanon Orbiter Netiquette. In other words, itsall here, like some post-apocalyptic SF writ-er survival kit.

As an author stuck in my 2x2 cell (akaoffice) every day, I revel in the inspira-tional atmosphere of a literary conven-tion, writing course and/or workshop,whether Im an attendee or running partof the event. There is nothing as mind-expanding as being in the company offellow storytellers and there is nothing asuseful as feedback from folk outside myown thought bubble. As a guest authorat one of Alex Daviss excellent residen-tial weekends, I have seen first-hand theamazing bonding that takes place be-tween strangers over a common love ofwriting fiction and how Alex really does

create a feeling of mutual support andpersonal progression. Ive also experi-enced what happens after dark and howwriters, those eternal creatures of thenight, can make a tableful of booze dis-appear in one weekend!

For me, one of the most rewardingaspects of being a writer is seeing newtalent come to the fore. Whenever I runa workshop, I always try to soothe anynervous newcomers usually by reas-suring them that they dont need to

read their work out aloud. Rather thanfalling at the first hurdle, my hope is tofoster in them a passion for the genreand writing as a whole, and that theywill go on to join a writers group ortake part in a course, and find the self-belief to share their stories.

After all, as Ray Bradbury concluded,Science Fiction is central to everythingweve ever done. And if that isnt moti-vation enough to put pen to paper andengineer brave new worlds, I dont know

what is!

Kim

FOCUS is published twice a year by theBritish Science Fiction Association. It is a

magazine about writing, for writers, andaims to present high quality articles

about the art and craft of writing, with afocus on science fiction.

Contributions, ideas and correspondence

are always welcome at the contact ad-dress below, but please get in touch firstif you intend to submit a lengthy article.

When submitting work through conven-

tional postal services, please enclose anSSAE.

Individual copyrights are the property of

the contributors and editor. The views

expressed herein are not necessarilythose of the BSFA or committee mem-

bers thereof.

Errors and omissions are the responsibil-ity of the editor.

ISSN 0144-560X

guest editorsKim Lakin-SmithDonna Scott

design editorAlex Bardy

contributorsDev ArgawalMartin PottsTerry JackmanAlex DavisAdrian FaulknerAdam CraigRoderick GladwishMartin McGrathKim Lakin-SmithCharles Christian

cover artKev Rooney

With special thanks to S t e v e G r o ve r andC li ve Ande r so nfor their invaluable helpwith proof-reading.

Contact:Alex Bardy, 6 The Crescent,Kexby, York YO41 5LB

[email protected]: @mangozoid

K L-S S...

Kim Lakin-Smith is a science fiction and fantasy author. Her work includes CyberCircus, Tourniquet, and the YA novel, Queen Rat. Her new novel,Autodrome, isout soon through Snowbooks and is being officially launched at the World FantasyCon, Brighton in October/November 2013.

Donna Scott is Chair of the BSFA, and a freelance editor, writer and occasionalstand-up comedy poet. She can be contacted via http://www.donna-scott.co.uk/if youd like to offer her some work or see where shes performing.

Abou t ou r Gues t Ed i to rs


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Over the years, I've had a lot of experi-ence with writing groups, both in a vol-untary capacity and in my role as Litera-ture Development Officer for Derby.Even as a freelancer, I'm often visiting groups togive workshops and talks.

I think that writing groups do often come underunfair criticism people sometimes lament themas being too 'social', or not being sufficiently'serious'. First of all, I think that the social elementis important many of my current friends andacquaintances came out of running my writinggroup, Sepulchre Dark Fiction (cheery name orwhat?). Second of all, these are not literary festi-vals they are small meetings, generally run outof the goodness of various people's hearts. Eachgroup is also made up of a vastly different rangeof people. This is why I always say to anyonelooking for a group, do go and check out a fewyou'll eventually find the right one for you.

Writing groups provide important opportunitiesfor writers to get feedback on their work, to getsupport from their fellow writers, get consistentencouragement and momentum and generallyshare the trials and tribulations of life as a bud-ding author. Importantly, they are also regular in

a way that many festivals or larger-scale litera-ture events are not it's all very well getting aglut of advice in a large dose at a lit fest, butwhat do you do the week, fortnight or monthafter that?

For me, I took to running a writing group be-cause I couldn't quite find the group to fit me.Those who know me will testify that my first loveis horror, and that often bleeds into the SF, fanta-sy and even literary work that I turn my hands to.After visiting many writing groups in Derby, I did-

n't quite feel that there was a place where I couldsafely share some of my edgier work and get apositive response. And so Sepulchre was born agroup aimed at those writing fiction or poetry with

a darker lilt. This was at a time when I was freshout of University, and personally it was a very val-uable experience, involving many of the factorsthat go into a larger scale literature event, and soit stood me in good stead.

There are many key steps in putting together awriting group, and getting started can be a fairtask in its own right. It's also important to keepyour group building and to keep the numbers andstandards of activity up. I've attempted to sumthese up below, with a few pieces of advice bothlearned and acquired.

WHAT IS THE GROUP ABOUT?

Some groups like to meet up for feedback,

to share their work and give constructive criti-cism. Some groups offer a workshop eachsession, led by a member of the group on aspecialist area of their choice. Some groupsshare their favourite work, or have discussionsessions on a range of subjects. It's importantto decide up front what the agenda for yourgroup is, as this will have a huge impact onhow you run things and what sort of audienceyou'll be attracting.

WHAT IS THE GROUP CALLED?

What's in a name, eh? As with any type ofevent, coming up with something snappy thatcaptures what the group is about is important.There are often references to the place ortown where the group is held, and you will ofcourse need some kind of reference to books,writing or authors.

WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO RUN?

This is a really important issue, as finding justthe right venue can be something that trulymakes or breaks a writing group. The firstquestion is can you afford a venue that isgoing to charge? Many library rooms and mu-seum rooms will charge for space, as will com-

R A W G

Alex Davisprovides some solid advice for anyone who

may be looking to start their own Writing Group...


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munity arts venues, so you may need to havesome kind of subsidy or charge per session frommembers to cover this. Often there are pubs orbars that are willing to give up spaces for free ontheir quieter nights of the week, and providedyou and the group are bringing in a few quid atthe bar then they'll generally be happy to haveyou there. Of course the other issue as per ven-ue is location if you're running somewhere along way out of town, or off the beaten track,again this can have an effect on draw and num-bers. I've always found central locations to workbest, but if you can tap into an active writingscene in a small town or village this can be everybit as good.

WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO RUN?

It's another decision that can make a big dif-ference to the make-up of the group. First and

foremost, it's an important factor to decide whattime and day suits you if you're running it, youneed to make sure you can be there! Manygroups run in the evening, as it means that awider demographic and more of a range of peo-ple can make it down. However a daytime groupcan be just as successful, although odds are itwill lead to more retired or unemployed mem-bers coming down after all, you do have toconsider who will be free at that time of day.

HOW WILL YOU MARKET YOUR GROUP?

This is a key factor in the success of any writinggroup you have to make sure that you spreadthe word as widely as possible, as this gives themaximum number of people the chance to attend.Of course we're not in the world of billboards orfull-page newspaper ads here, so we need to thinka bit more local and a bit more targeted in ourapproach. Press releases and radio appearancesare probably the highest profile you can go for,and both local papers and radio stations do have aconsiderable reach around any given region. Thejob is now a little easier for writing group organis-

ers because the power of the internet is on ourside. There are a whole host of events listings andclassified websites out there where you can easilypromote your activities, and you also have theaspect of social media to tap into. Facebookevents and pages can be very effective, as can asteady and intelligent use of Twitter. Finally, don'tforget to look up any local arts organisations orarts officers who may be able to offer their mar-keting support. Flyers can still be a good way tospread the news of your group, but there are ob-viously many costs involved, including design,

print and distribution. If you have the money tospare, then great, but it's not always an option.

ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE SPECIAL EVENTS?

Naturally the regular running of your groupwill largely be organised amongst the membersof the group, but there could be the opportuni-ty to have one-off specials in the future. Thesemight be visits from local authors, tie-ins tolocal literature festivals, partnerships with local

libraries or more. It's worth keeping your eyesopen, as these kinds of special events can bringvaluable profile as well as important income forthe group usually any special events wouldcarry some sort of charge.

As with so many things in life, advance thought andplanning are important in getting any writing groupoff the ground. However it is not always easy to keepthings going many groups run for a while beforepetering out, so it's always necessary to keep a senseof momentum going. Make sure that sessions are var-

ied, and get as many people involved in the runningof the group as you possibly can. The more hands youhave on deck in terms of organising meetings, andindeed the content of those meetings, the better. Youmay be the initial brains behind the group, but devel-oping a committee of people is a valuable process inthe long-term. It's also a help to get along to someother groups if you can become a part of your local'scene', it's a great way to attract new members andco-operate with other groups in the region.

On the whole, running a writing group can be a

hugely rewarding and enjoyable experience. It'ssomething I relished for a number of years, and arole that was really my first step into the world ofliterature. There are times when it can be hardwork, but that can be more than paid back in manyways if you truly put the effort in.

FIN.

Alex Davis is a freelance author, eventsorganiser, writing tutor, proof

-reader and

copy editor specialising in science-fiction,

fantasy and horror fiction. He has taught

writing courses and workshops in Derby,

Nottingham, Wolverhampton, Spalding and

other towns, and has worked with leading

genre authors such as Iain M Banks, Peter V

Brett, Mike Carey, Paul Cornell, Raymond E

Feist, Harry Harrison, Brian Lumley, Robert

Rankin, Charles Stross and many more. To

get in touch, feel free to email him at:

[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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The British Science Fiction Associations ownwriting groups date back so far no one

seems to know when they started. The earlygroups existed via brown envelopes no,really people added a new story to a big paddedpacket, put actual stampson and carried it lovingly toan actual post officeto send on to the next name ontheir list. And in the fullness of time the envelopecame back around so that they could remove thatstory, and its critiques, and send out a new one. Andthats the reason they were called Orbits.

I got into an Orbit group by word of mouth afterattending an Arvon week. (With manythanks to Mar-

tin Mcgrath for the tip). Incidentally, I like the focusand, frankly, the isolation of a goodresidential course,but do advocate spending wisely. I can recommendArvon; its usually fun, even if the tutors vary a bit.Nowadays I go to Milford, which I love but, yes, itcosts, doesn't take complete beginners, and doesntcover the other fifty-one weeks of the year when youmight need feedback on your writing.

So I tried a couple of online forums. The problemwas I never knew what quality of feedback Id get,how informed the critter was, or even if Id get anyfeedback at all. Face-to-face groups were out too,partly because its very rare indeed to find a localgroup that gets SFF writing, so the feedback is likelyto be misinformed, even if its not too amateurish. Inmy case, I also found it hard to even admit I waswriting, let alone assimilate comments before Id hadample time to think about them, so I didnt wanttobe face to face with my critters. (Yeah, wimp, butIm better now, honest. It just took a while.)

Orbit groups, however, provided everything I want-ed... except I didn't really want the posting bit. So Iasked if there was an online version. Answer: no. Ah

well. But then, hey presto, along came a couple oflike-minded souls, Jetse de Vries and Ian Whates(Yeah, the one who had to leave us because he soldfive novels to two publishers, simultaneously! How

he copes with that as well as publishing books Illnever know). And so the first online Orbit was born.

I took over running it around 2005-6, I thinktime flies! Things were changing, postal groupsshrank, online groups grew as some of those mem-bers moved in with us. We just expanded, slowlybut surely, from word of mouth.

Not all of our members live in the UK, since youdont need UK residence status, or a visa, to join theBSFA and there are quite a few members fromabroad. These days we run around 6-8 groups, aspeople move in or move on. Some people move on

because theyve reached the point where they need towork with a particular editor or publisher and no long-er have the time to spare. We wish them all the best,and hope they think fondly of us. Occasionally, andsadly, someone leaves us because of ill health, andwe hope they can make it back. I was once almostone such member myself but escaped with only a fewrounds missed, which people were great about.

Sometimes someone arrives, gets a crit they dontlike, and basically scoops up their ball and flouncesoff home. Warning: crits will be honest and con-structive; prima donnas will not get their egosstroked; the stated aim is to improve the writing!The worst case of this was someone who took oneweek to say goodbye, after taking about threemonths discussing it with me before getting roundto joining! Presumably it wasnt because of me,since he did join, and no, it really wasnt becausethe crits he got were so nasty. As always, the crit-ters had looked for both the good and the could beimproved but apparently his was perfect. Evenmore unbelievably, one member left after only tworounds because the crits are too detailed?!?

Yes, it takes all sorts, as they say, and thats partof the fun, but some do make more work for methan others. One problem that does make work, forboth me and the group leaders, is when occasionally

O G :

Make Friends and Influence PeopleTerry Jackman tells you all you need to know about the

BSFAs best kept secret, the Orbit Writing Groups...


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a member starts slacking they stop meeting dead-lines, and miss a round without informing anyonethat theyre unable to take part. Simply put, theystop pulling their weight within the group. If thishappens it can damage the group as a whole so wetry to keep tabs on the situation, and, if necessary,have a quiet word. Fairs fair after all, and eachgroup thrives on its members input.

Happily theabove are the ex-ceptions ratherthan the rule:most people whocome in stay, andthe most I have todo for them isplace them in theirfirst group, or,occasionally, rejig

a group, or form anew one, as num-bers fluctuate upand down. In factmost membersstay as long asthey can, so thatmany of the current Orbiters have multiple publishedworks to their credit (shorts, novels and scripts),have won awards, edit and/or publish as well thelist goes on.

Yes, editors and publishers join as writers. So doteachers, various species of computer geek (sorryguys but how else can I describe you?), healthworkers, accountants, scientists, students, retirees...and, again, the list goes on.

I mentioned the time it can take for someone to getstarted with us. So how long does it take? Answer: itcan vary enormously, from a single week to severalmonths. Why? Because its up to you. Ill ask you forthe following:

1). Contact details: your name, email, telephonenumber, and address

2). A BSFA membership number, since thats yourentry ticket

3). What kind of group(s) you want to join

4). Your first piece of writing, ready to go to a group

For some this is as straightforward as it looks.They send in the above and I arrange their groupplacement, hence getting them going within a

week. My volunteer group leaderswho deservemedals for the time they save me usually respondimmediately when I call.

But then there are others... Some want to askmore questions, which Im perfectly happy to an-swer till they feel okay about it. Some just takelonger getting that first submission ready, and thatsokay too. Then it gets interesting. Some ask thequestions, say theyll be back, then vanish without aword. Sometimes I think its because they see thereis a commitment required here, realise theyre notthat serious about writing after all, and duck out.

Thats also okay Orbit groupsare for peoplewho really wantto write bettertheyre honestwith themselvesthan come in andlet their groupdown. Othertimes I think its

because theyrecomplete begin-ners who havelost their nerveat the last mi-nute. If thatsyou, please dont

be put off. Every Orbiter is, or was once, a completenovice. Weve all been there, we all remember it, sowe have every sympathy. (And trust me, no one,but no one, can ever be as paranoid as I was!)

So I guess I should discuss the reasons I thinkthese groups have lasted.

1). The Continuity:

A tight membership commit to regular input,which means they get to know each other prettywell (some do meet face-to-face, say at cons),can judge how each others mind works, andoften become real friends. Another aspect of thegroup system is that theres always someonespecific you can turn to if you have a query orproblem, namely either your own group leader or

me. You never need to suffer in silence or worryabout whats acceptable and what isnt.

2). Group Size:

I aim for around five members per group, espe-cially in novel groups. Think of it as a group ofpeople sitting down and talking together, enoughfor a discussion where everyone gets heard. Itsbig enough for a decent variation in the feedback,but small enough so that people can easily copewith the amount of reading and critting required.

3). The Time Factor:There is a deadline for each round, which is agood writerly habit and stops us putting thingsoff. All groups short or novel currently run a

Orbits do not set out to be a mutual

admiration society. We think the best

feedback to receive is what makes your

work better, not what makes you feel

better. Members are trying to let you

see how your writing appears to othereyes, maybe an editors? And they

want you to do the same for them...


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two-month round, so far tested out as best suit-ed to members in terms of keeping up. Plus, thephysical distance between members, as I said,allows us all time to think twice about the critsweve received. (That Nonsense, what do theyknow stage has time to reach the Ah, hmm, Isee what they mean stage, without goingthrough the swearing in their face stage.)

4). The Feedback:

The quality of feedback is amazing and usuallyvery detailed people really work at the wholedo as you would be done unto approach sometimes surprising, often amusing, and alwaysuseful. And it doesnt always stop at critting thewriting. Ive had encouragement, trade gossip,news about open submissions, suggestions aboutpossible markets, discussions about science orwriting technique, and more.

5) The Cost Factor:

BSFA membership costs me 29.00 for a year,which gives me access to Orbits as a bonus dealwith the package. That aint much at all comparedto several hundred pounds for a single-week resi-dential course, or around 100 for a one-daycourse. Yes, there are sometimes big-name writersfor those big bucks, but while some (my personalpick being Juliet McKenna) are good value, othersfrankly arent; being a great writer doesnt neces-sarily make them great teachers. Ive found thatout the hard way. Cost-wise, even travelling to my

quarterly NorthwriteSF meetings probably costsme as much as my annual sub, and thats despitegetting lifts most of the way. (Yes, I have a sort-of-local group now, if the whole north of Englandcounts as local, and, yes, a local group is great,but Ive only recently found one and how many ofus are that lucky?) So pound for pound an Orbitgroup is amazing value too.

So to sum up, I stick with Orbits because thesegroups give me more feedback than anyone elseever has. Plus, I get to read lots of interesting fic-

tion, often before it goes on to be published. Veryimportantly, I get regular feedback from SFF-informedwriters from all walks of life and writingexperience. I get people who become friends as wellas helpers. I lose the inevitable sense of alonenessthat goes with most writing, and I get the occasionalmuch-needed lecture. (Usually its Garhh, youresupposed to submitthe stuff after you write it!)

All of which tells you the Why, but not the How?

So here goes. Basically there are short story groups

and novel groups and the option to invent some-thing else if people want, such as a script group.Weve had one of those when people wanted one.We havent to my knowledge had a poetry group,but if there are people out there interested, why not?

You can join as many groups as you can keep upwith, at no extra charge. As long as you keep up.Why split the groups into types? It was decided thatthe skill sets needed both to write and crit differedsignificantly between these types of writing, so itworked better that way.

At the start of each orbit, you submit your story.

To clarify, this can be anything that counts as specu-lative fiction, thats science fiction, fantasy, horror orcross-genre. Then you settle in and read and critwhat your fellow group members have sent. You dothat politely but honestly, and send back any timebefore the next deadline. Where possible, I like tocrit in the first month. Everyone likes feedback fasterrather than slower and it also leaves me free to focuson my own writing.

Each submission is a maximum of 15,000 words,unless by agreement within each individual group

(each group can vote to alter its rules. Some haveexperimented with shorter times, longer word-counts,etc. but oddly we seem to keep returning to thestandard package). You send this as an attachment,which couldnt be easier since you can send submis-sions, or crits, to the whole group in one email. (If indoubt your group leader will tell you how.) And youset your work out in standard publishing format.

Why? Because, again, its a good writerly habit,and lets you practise for when you decide to sendsomething out to a magazine or publisher.

So what is standard format? If in doubt just ask,or even send what you think is right and Ill check itfor you before I send it on to your designated groupit wont be the first time. Basically, it means youuse double space, 12 point, and Times, Ariel orCourier. Times is probably the most popular thesedays. Courier, once the industry norm, much lessso. And if you thought a prettier font, or, heavenforbid, a different colour would attract a publisherthink again, they really, really dont like that. Youalso need to add a header with your name and/or

title, and page numbers. Page numbers are thething most often missed. Yes, the computer screentells people that, but, believe it or not, some read-ers, especially for novel segments, choose to readpaper copy; some writers know they editbetter thatway and want to give you their best efforts, so theydont want to be faced with rearranging forty oddun-numbered pages after theyve dropped them.

And that about covers it. Emailing is a very simplesystem, and for a reason. We tried out a Googlegroup format once and it didnt work half as well, so

if it aint broke, dont fix it.

Bottom line: Orbit groups have lasted becausethey work for most of the people who genuinelywant to improve their writing. Theyre available to


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absolute beginners and much-published authors;both benefit and no one minds which you are, itswhere youre going that counts. Theyre a fantastic,essentially free resource, theyre fun, and theyvehelped a lot of writers get published. Of all the vari-ations Ive tried. theyre still one of the best, mostregular ways to get decent feedback I know, anddefinitely the best as far as not mattering where

you are in the world, or how flexible your time is,yet still focussing on genre-specific writing.

A couple of months ago one member emailedme saying, Ive had a short story accepted forpublication. This will be my first published storyanywhere so Im very excited. I think being anOrbiter has significantly improved my writingskills, and Id like to thank you all very much foryour help. He even put it on Facebook, whichwas much appreciated as we do tend to be ratherbackward at coming forward when it comes to

shouting about our successes.

Hes not the only one, as you can see from thecurrent Successes list on the Orbit page of thisissue (see page 8). Youll see that Im on that listtoo. Ive just signed a novel contract. Ive no idea ifthe book will sink or swim when it eventually comesout, but Im quite sure it wouldnt have so much asdipped a toe in the publishing ocean if it werent forthe input Ive had from other Orbiters.

Maybe Ill meet some of you here sometime too.

Terry Jackman is the current OrbitGroup coordinator, reachable at the

email address below. She started out as a

teacher, turned into a Clarks shoe fitter

for a while then morphed into an inter-nationally-known picture framer, writ-

ing articles and speaking to pros and the

public, from North Scotland to Cornwall,

with stops at London Olympia and Alex-

andra Palace along the way. She now

teaches creative writing, among other

daft things. She knows she writes about

things her village neighbours never

dream of, and isnt at all sure how theyll

take it when, or if, they learn about her

novel, especially if they actually read it(and gulp at least one is a SF fan).

But shes gritting her teeth. And no, her

nearest and dearest still arent allowed

to read the coming novel, not until its

published anyway. Only other Orbiters

have had that privilege.

[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


10/12page 10

Alex Davisprovides some solid advice for anyone who

may be looking to start their own Writing Group...

Ive always been a big fan of writers groups.Theyve served two main purposes for me;firstly they have aided me in improving anddeveloping my craft as a writer but also toremind me that I was not alone on my path to pub-lication and that there were others going throughall the same trials and tribulations as myself.

My first writers group experience came in theform of a ten-week adult education class. Idwanted to do a night class and since Id alwaysenjoyed writing it seemed like the logical option.The lessons were a little haphazard and I remem-ber being annoyed when it was announced that,due to a request from a bunch of students, nextweeks lesson would be on writing articles formagazines. Id come to do a creative writingcourse, not one on writing non-fiction! Strangely,that one lesson resulted in me submitting an arti-cle to a magazine, getting my first publishingcredit and then embarking on a decade of non-fiction writing.

My true love had always remained fiction, and sowhen thoughts turned, a decade later, to taking myfiction more seriously, I enrolled with the OnlineWriting Workshop. Via a webpage, members postedtheir prose for critique. The workshop worked on

the basis that you read and critiqued others workwith a view that you would get critiques in return. Isubmitted a story called Fever, a fairy tale told indreams as if envisioned by Tim Burton. Lookingback now, it was a terrible story, clichd in placeswith a main character who lacked agency, but it didhave some lovely imagery. However, despite allthese faults, it got the Editors Choice Award thatmonth and received a critique from Kelly Link, whopointed out all the flaws but deemed it a salvagea-ble first draft. It even got a mention in their news-letter. I felt quite proud.

Maybe because my first submission had been sowell received, or because there were a number ofmembers, at least at that time, whod just say nice

things about your work to fish for praise for theirown, I only stayed there for about a year beforemoving on. Ive been told I write quite detailed cri-tiques and Im a very slow reader so it took quite alot of time. The Online Writing Workshop continues

to this day and has an impressive roster of alumni.

Around the same time as I joined the OWW I hadalso joined a real world writers circle who metevery week. Id originally queried a more localgroup. When they didnt reply to my emails, Ichose one that was further away but, from theupdates on their website, clearly very active.

People would read extracts of their work in pro-gress and then the group would comment and cri-

tique. I enjoyed this, maybe because it was easierto discuss it in a group than tag copious amountsof notes to a word document. But more than justthis, you got to talk face to face with people whowere trying to do the same thing as you, usuallyover a very civilised cup of tea and a biscuit. Therewere all levels of people from published authors topeople who just wrote for a hobby, writing acrossall genres and giving the group a really nice mix. Imust admit there was some snobbery towards gen-re from elements of the group, but I used that as areason to work harder to try and win them over.My short stories did well in circle competitions andone even went so far as to get highly commendedin an Open Story competition organised by NAWG(National Association for Writers Groups).

However, as I progressed I found myself wantinga harsher, genre-specific critique. Its one thing tobe told you wrote a fun story, its another to sell itto a genre publication whove seen that same plot ahundred or more times before. Coupled with a splitin the group over a circle anthology, I felt it wastime to move on again.

I cant remember where I heard about Orbitersits possible it was at an Eastercon or I mayhave been a BSFA member at the time and seen

Adrian Faulknerhas been there and done it, and he has

a few things to say about that...

R I O


11/12page 11


one of their flyers- but Ihad a discussion with co-ordinator Terry Jackmanand remember being veryimpressed to hear that anumber of the membershad gone on to publishnovels.

I decided to throw myselfat it and signed up forboth short stories and longfiction. With hindsight, thiswas a mistake. I spent solong on critiques for others that it ate into my writingtime. I was writing fantasy and Im thankful that Ter-ry tried to group the fantasy writers together. But,still, I found myself often struggling with critiquingthe odd bit of hard SF.

I honestly believe that you can outgrow a writinggroup. If you find yourself in a position where thecomments coming back arent giving you some newinsight or confirming something you had feared, itsprobably time to move on. That can sometimes bedifficult to see. Sometimes belonging to a writinggroup is about knowing that you are not alone, abouthaving contact with people who have the same dreamas you. Its very easy to have an inflated idea of yourabilities, but if you want to use groups for more thanjust socialising with like-minded people, you need to

have a sense of your strength within a group, even ifits something you would not admit publically.

With the Orbiters Novel Group, I felt I was a strongmember of the group, but not so strong that I wasntgetting useful comments back. The comments gave methe confidence that what I was trying to do was work-ing, and when it didnt, an idea of what to do to fix it.

However, with the short story group, the first piece Iever got to critique was Of Hearts and Monkeys byNick Wood, a story that would go on to be published

by PS Publishing in one of their PostScriptsmaga-zines. It was a magnificent story that made me realisejust what an amateur I was. I wouldnt go so far as tosay it was solely responsible, but it played a large partin causing me to understand that my strengths as awriter lay in novel-length fiction and to focus on that.Whilst I would go on to write another short story(which was published and garnered an honourablemention in The Best Horror of the Year, [Night ShadeBooks, ed. Ellen Datlow]) that was more to proveto myself that I could, rather than as a career focus.

Because I was a sporadic writer, and prone to goingback and revising earlier drafts to lift character or plotanother notch I found having enough prose readyfor the next round a constant struggle. If I had been

better at organising mytime, I would have foundit more manageable. I wastrying to devote myself toOrbiters whilst doing otherthings and I think that wasa mistake.

Would I recommendOrbiters to a new writer?Well, this being a BSFApublication, Im almostobligated to say yes, butin all honesty, I found

Orbiters incredibly helpful. Its probably a little ex-treme for writers taking their first steps but forthose looking to take their writing from a hobby tosomething more professional, I would most certainlyrecommend it. I underestimated the amount of work

it took to do it justice, so I would warn you to makeit your focus rather than consider it as somethingextra you do.

I made good friends during my time in Orbiters andwe still converse to this day. For some, their writinghas taken more of a back seat, others now have pub-lishing deals, and some continue to just write. At theend of the day, writers groups like Orbiters cannotguarantee you success, but what they can give you isinsight into your work you might otherwise miss.

I think the trick is to sample widely until you find thegroup that works for you. That might be online or real-world genre specific or much wider each havetheir pros and cons. As you progress and find yourselfconsistently thinking that you are putting more in thanyou are getting out, do not be afraid to move on. Keepin mind though, as much can be learnt from critiquingother peoples work as being critiqued yourself.

FIN.

Adrian Faulknerhas been writingstories since he was 7 and has never

really stopped making things up. He

spent a decade as a leading pop culture

journalist and geek culture commenta-

tor, before focusing on iction. The Four

Realms, his debut urban fantasy novel,

was published by Anarchy Books at the

end of 2012. Adrian lives in Berkshire,

England. You can ind more details here:

http://adrianfaulkner.com/

I underesmated the

amount of work it took to

do it jusce, so I would

warn you to make it your

focus rather than some-

thing extra you do.
http://adrianfaulkner.com/http://adrianfaulkner.com/http://adrianfaulkner.com/


12/12

H

annah had run the simulation three

times. It wasnt that she didnt trust

the model, or even that she had

hoped that the igures might, mirac-

ulously, change. She just knew that Marcus

would ask whether she was sure, whether she

had double-checked. Marcus was having trou-

ble facing up to the reality of their situation.

They had thirty-one hours, give

-or

-take, and

then

Hannah thought of Alice, her older sister. Alice

was married to a dentist with three children

and in possession of a inely-honed sense of her

own innate moral superiority. She had never

understood why Hannah had wanted to ly and

had always mocked Hannahs interest in space.

Youll never ind anything in the skies, shed

said, usually as she slapped the back of Han-

nahs head. Keep your eyes on the ground.

She could imagine how Alice would respond to

the news of the mission loss. Shed be sad, of

course she would, and there would be tears but

shed never quite manage to completely dis-

guise a hint of satisfaction. She would not be

able to resist the urge to say I told you so for

long. Hannah felt childhood resentments boil to

the surface, her face burning in indignation.

And, of course, her mother would just nod andagree with Alice.She was always too like her

father.

Hannah was nothing like her father. Hed left

when she was six, run off with his secretary of

all the depressing clichs. Not that hed gone far

just six miles. Hannah had walked into him

once when she was in a coffee shop on the High

Street. Theyd stared at each other for a mo-

ment, standing at the counter, and hed nodded.

Then the barista had handed him his extra-

large mocha, or whatever it was, and hed

shrugged and turned to pay. Hannah led. Hedidnt call after her. Six miles, but it might as

well have been through one of the Falken Gates.

He might as well have been on the other side of

the galaxy.

Hannah was nothing like her father.

She closed her eyes, forcing away tears. An im-

age of Alices face swam back into focus. It was

ixed in that familiar mix of contempt and pity

and confusion that Hannahs actions seemed toprovoke so often. Anger began to swell in her

chest. How could fate side with prissy, con-

servative, Alice?

Hannah hit the upload button and then turned

away from her console. The igures would not

change. Marcus was going to have to face the

truth, whether he liked it or not.

FIN.

FALSE HUMANITY

An ailment endemic to genre writing, in which soap-opera elements of purported human interest are stuffed

into the story willy-nilly, whether or not they advance the plot or contribute to the point of the story. The

actions of such characters convey an itchy sense of irrelevance, for the author has invented their problems

out of whole cloth, so as to have something to emote about.

TALES FROM TURKEY CIALES FROM TURKEY CITYYThe Turkey City Lexicon is an attempt to create accurate, descriptive, critical terms for common

problems found in science iction as an aid to writing groups. Tales from Turkey City is an ongoingattempt byMartin McGrath to illustrate some of these errors in the form of lash iction. You canind the Turkey City Online (Google is your friend) and previous entries in this series can be found

atwww.mmcgrath.co.uk
http://www.mmcgrath.co.uk/http://www.mmcgrath.co.uk/http://www.mmcgrath.co.uk/

bsfa focus no 60 sampler

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