Janet Cameron

Edward Carpenter, Wikimedia Commons Throughout his life, Edward Carpenter (1844-1929) campaigned for feminism and sexual freedom. These issues were at the forefront of his professional career, giving inspiration and hope to others. He lived as a child in Brunswick Square in Hove in East Sussex, UK, and when he was ten years old, he attended Brighton College, where he first recognised within himself feelings towards his own sex. My Days and Dreams In his autobiography My Days and Dreams , Carpenter comments on the problems that arose in schools due to the suppression and misdirection of the natural emotions of boy-attachment. "I, as a day boy, and one who happened to be rather pure-minded than otherwise, grew up quite free from these evils; though possibly it would have been a good thing if I had had a little more experience of them than I had. As it was, no elder person ever spoke to me about sexual matters... I suppose it was in consequence of this that I never saw...

Public Domain The first chapter of Ian McEwan’s novel Enduring Love is probably the one of the most stunning first chapters ever written. Besides being a great example of exceptional writing, it has a knuckle-biting, moral dilemma. A hot air balloon has broken away from its moorings, and a group of strangers try to prevent it from being blown away with its occupant, a young boy. The dilemma for Joe Rose, the central protagonist, and the other men who have rushed to help, is when to let go. One man clings on after everyone else has given up, and the balloon is pitched into the air by a strong gust of wind. This last man eventually has to let go and dies. “ I didn’t know, nor have I ever discovered, who let go first,” says Joe. “I’m not prepared to accept it was me.” He is left with a gut-wrenching guilt, leading to brutal self-analysis and self-justification: “The child was not my child, and I was not going to die for it.” Joe’s encounter with a fellow helper, the dis...

I am one of those whom God marked on the forehead. Like Cain, I am marked and blemished. If you come to me, Mary, the world will abhor you ~ Radclyffe Hall.    Margaret Radclyffe Hall (1883-1943) was born in the South East England coastal resort of Bournemouth in Hampshire and travelled widely throughout her life. Educated at King's College London and in Germany, she began her writing career by publishing poetry, eventually collected into five volumes. People sang the poems at concerts and even in drawing rooms during the First World War. Radclyffe Hall lived in Rye in Sussex from 1930-39 from where she travelled frequently to Italy and France to be with another lover, Evguenia Souline. In 1907, Radclyffe Hall met a society hostess called Mrs. Mabel Batten, with whom she lived until Lady Batten died in 1916. Through Lady Batten, Radclyffe Hall also met Una Troubridge, who became her lifelong companion. Marguerite Radclyffe Hall and The Well of Loneliness In ...

Writing local books is fun and interesting; you get out and about to discover new places and meet new people. You will enjoy a variety of activities, researching your material, talking to people in libraries and museums, places of historical interest, pubs, etc. You will surf the net for leads and images – although do make sure your security settings and protection are up to date, and run regular scans to remove the inevitable cookies. You can practise taking great photographs and planning the arrangement of your material in the most accessible way. One point about regional books is never to assume the writing, at which you work your hardest, is synonymous with the writing that sells the most copies. Light, easy reading about lively subjects, like the supernatural and hauntings, criminal history and local walks can often prove to be the most successful. The more bizarre aspects of our past also fascinate readers. This is not, of course, to dismiss the importance of serious...

Deep in the heart of the Teide volcano in the north of beautiful Tenerife, on the 6 January, there was a tremor, or a small earthquake. This destabilised rock formations on the sides of the tourist route up to the cable cars which access the volcano. We had booked our visit a week later, on Friday the 13th January. Yes, really! What were we thinking? As our coach approached the level of the cable cars, we slid to a halt behind two saloon cars. We saw that the road ahead was blocked by huge fallen boulders. Like the other passengers, my friend and I climbed out of the coach to investigate and also to grab a great photo-opportunity. The tour guide told us about the earthquake that had happened a week previously, and explained it would take at least 30 minutes for a bulldozer to get to us. We got close enough to see a severe crack in a rock that jutted over the road, although later, when the removal gang arrived, we were banned from getting too close. I couldn't help wonderi...

Don't just wait for the right opportunity.  Let anything work! Photo Copyright Janet Cameron Some writers prefer to stick to a narrow remit. For example, to write fiction or non-fiction, or maybe just crime or just romance or literary fiction. The trouble is that if it doesn't work out immediately, it’s demoralising. Instead allow anything t o work for you. Be open to possibilities. G ive yourself extra opportunities to find a niche in the market and to actually get started. You can choose to specialise later, when you know what works for you. Once you have some successes under your belt, it's easier to move on with confidence to what you really want to do. Widen your Possibilities – Create Options Do some preliminary groundwork. Maybe start with the letter-pages of newspapers or by writing for community, trade or church publications. When you find a publishing outlet that is prepared to give you a chance, take that opportunity, however insignificant it mig...

  Photo by Philippe de Champagne, Public Domain Roland Barthes (1915-1980) was a French writer and critic, whose essay, "The Death of the Author" written in 1968, placed responsibility on the reader for constructing a text, and this ground-breaking work influenced the development of post-structuralism and deconstructionism. At the beginning of his essay, Barthes gives a striking example of his theory, taken from Balzac's story, Sarrasine. This involves a description of a castrato disguised as a woman. According to Wikipedia, "A castrato is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity." Barthes continues:  "This was a woman herself, with her sudden fears, her irrational whims, ... her fussings and delicious sensibility." ...

Photo Copyright Janet Cameron When writing fiction, a sense of place is paramount. Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Gaskell knew this, and because their fiction is grounded in place, the Victorian era becomes real for us – and so do the characters in the books. Think of the bleakness of the marshes where the prison ships (the hulks) lay brooding in Great Expectations.  Paradoxically, in Great Expectations, an old woman’s living death becomes alive for us today through Dickens’ evocative language, for who can forget Miss Havisham in her dusty room with her drooping wedding dress and decaying cake? In North and South , Elizabeth Gaskell contrasts the values of the industrial north of England and the rural south and these differences inform both plot and the development of her characters. What is essential, and also most difficult, is to impart the sense of place naturally within the writing. Today, we write differently from the Victorians, tending to avoid lengthy bloc...

Eavesdrop, if you really want to get the hang of it. Photo Copyright Janet Cameron The main purposes of dialogue are: to move the story forward to help show character and to impart other information. The qualities required for writing believable dialogue are to sound natural, but interesting. The paradox is that dialogue in writing has to be edited with precision and caution. Omit repetitions of superfluous material like “you see,” and “you know what I mean,” those casual, throw-away phrases we all use in everyday speech. On the other hand, let your character speak ungrammatically, if that is part of their persona. Here is the start of a story by writer, Paul Curd. It’s told in the first person, in the distinctive style of the narrator’s voice: “It was a Tuesday he called. I know it was a Tuesday because I’d just got back from the shops and I always go down the shops of a Tuesday because that’s the day I draw my pensions. “Mrs. Parsons?” he says. “Who wants to k...

The scented roots of elecampane, a rare wild flower claimed to ward off evil spirits that are rife in myth and legend. By kind permission of David Lawrence You can update a fairy tale or a Shakespeare play into a modern short story with a little tweaking and imagination. If you can relate the story to one or more of the seven deadly sins, you'll be clear about an outline and have a strong theme for your story. The freshness and originality of your writing may come naturally from updating your prose to fit contemporary issues regarding location, characters, background and dialogue. Take some time choosing a story plot that truly appeals to you. For a comprehensive list of fairy tales or Shakespeare's plays, with links to synopses and background information, please go to: Shakespeare Play Synopses Fairy Tales of the World Estonian Fairy Tales Seven Deadly Sins In stories, it is the "sin" or misdemeanour that usually provides the necessary conflict. T...