.random acts of writing collective.....
.issue 9
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Out Now issue 9
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Welcome to the first R.A.W. of 2008! This here is a taster of all the good things to come from Scotland’s classiest short story magazine. We have a post-christmas chiller from Moira Duncan, hairdressing tips, teen-angst, strange pets, a game of “What Vegetable Would Our Friends Be?” and a prize crossword. Don’t say we’re not good to you. Laura Solomon is one to watch out for – her talent is not going unnoticed.
Contributors
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DANIEL MANSFIELD is a local web designer, artist and writer. He has been writing ever since being introduced to poetry at school. He loves to write and compose his own song lyrics and his work covers many different subjects. He has a website at www.dmstyle.co.uk
DAVID OPRAVA lives in Wales where he writes in the vain hope of defining sane. It hasn’t worked so far and isn’t likely to. Find out more at www.davidoprava.com
HILARY McCORMACK lives and works on the Black Isle. As well as her writing, she is also a keen composer, and plays the smallpipes.
LAURA SOLOMON was born in New Zealand in 1974, and has lived in London since 1999. She currently works as an IT consultant. She has published two novels in New Zealand ‘Black Light’ and ‘Nothing Lasting’ (both Tandem Press). Her first play, ‘The Dummy Bride’, was produced as part of the Wellington Fringe Festival, and her second, based on her short story, ‘Sprout’, was part of the 2004 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She has published various other poems and short stories online and in literary magazines.
MOIRA DUNCAN was born and brought up in Ross-shire and spent much of her early life plotting her escape. She has lived in Aberdeen, Perthshire, Yorkshire, London and Germany, and now lives in Inverness with her daughter and 3 rabbits.
RUSSELL TURNER is 49, lives in the Scottish Highlands, and has been a journalist most of his working life. Contrary to popular belief, that is no advantage when writing fiction. He has written four unpublished novels. He is also a pub rock bassist and author of the blog: “Adventures of a Lone Bass Player”. You can find him at www.inhisownwrite.org and bassman99.livejournal.com/
KRISTIAN WHITE is a 34 year old mature student living in Brighton. He is completing a degree in Literature at Sussex university where he and some friends run a fun creative writing group. His interest in writing began a year ago when he had the opportunity to do an elective in short fiction; he hasn’t been able to stop since. He has worked as a hairdresser, taxi driver, door to door salesman, and beach lifeguard.
"All men have a secret love. In the rose garden of declared desires, public passions, acknowledged amore, there lies always a hidden clover, an infatuation concealed from the world. A love that dare not speak its name. A love that has no name. An obsession. Mandy was mine."
Submissions
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Random Acts of Writing
is a Highlands-based writing magazine, and we are keen to publish writers who are either based in the north of Scotland, or whose work is relevant to the area. We have a commitment to new writing and unpublished writers.
Some handy hints:
There are a few things you can do to improve the chances of your story or poem being accepted for submission. The first is to make sure that it is presented well. It doesn’t matter how good your story is, if there are spelling and grammar mistakes in the first paragraph then it is likely that we will lose interest in it quickly. First impressions are important: as well as being spelt and punctuated correctly, the all-important first paragraph should be striking and make us want to read more.
However, many of the stories we read really only get going half-way down the first page: the writer has tried so hard with the opening lines that they have ended up sounding completely different from the rest of the story.
A wee note on subject matter:
Here at RAW we are firm believers in the dictum that you should always write what you know. If you are a creative writing student in your teens or early twenties, why not write about that - RAW sincerely hopes that the number of stories submitted about serial killers does not reflect the real number of serial killers among our subscribers…
Another tip that new writers often seem to forget is that it is very important to be a reader of short stories as well as a writer of short stories. You may think that your story is a stunningly original departure from the norm - but if you’re not reading what other people are writing, then how can you possibly know? Why not take out a subscription to RAW to see what your contemporaries are writing about? Alternatively, some good short story writers working in Scotland today that RAW recommend are: Janice Galloway, Ian Rankin (great writer of short stories as well as crime fiction), Michel Faber or Alastair Gray. Or try one of the excellent short story collections around at the moment, e.g. “Riptide” from Two Ravens Press 978-1906120023 (featuring writers who had previously appeared in RAW!) or the classic “The Devil & The Giro” (edited by Carl MacDougall and published by Canongate).
Short story writing is a different skill to writing novels. Think about form, and plan your story - too much of what we read is a synopsis or series of events, not a fully-formed story. Read your dialogue out loud - does it sound believable? Could you imagine someone saying that? Short stories can also be an opportunity to hone in on one life-changing emotion or event and explore it in detail, rather than trying to cram in as much plot development as possible.
We strongly recommend that you read an issue of the magazine before submitting to us, so you have an idea of the kind of writing we favour. This will also help us keep going as we rely on sales for our income.
What You Get:
We can't pay you for your submissions at the moment, and anyway the point of this venture is not to make mega bucks, but to have your work read…
However, we will give you a free copy of the magazine if you're in it, and the opportunity to buy further copies at a discount to sell on for a profit if you wish to.
How to Send Your Work:
We prefer that you send us material by email, as a word or text attachment, saving us all time and trees. If you do this, please put SUBMISSION in the subject line, otherwise we may think it is spam and delete it.
submission@randomactsofwriting.co.uk
If you send your writing by post, please use single-spacing and both sides of the page - this will help conserve the trees. If you want us to return a postal submission, or you would like some feedback on it, please enclose a S.A.E. or an email address.
RAW SUBMISSIONS,
11 Alexander Place, Inverness IV3 5BX
And finally:
Why not write something cheerful? Literary doesn’t have to mean dreary - here at RAW we all have day jobs, and the last thing we want to do in the evenings when we read through the new submissions is plough through hours of unadultered misery. This is meant to be fun, after all!
Please send no more than two pieces of writing at a time - pick your best ones. Be patient when awaiting a response, as we are a small operation.
Shop
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You can buy copies of RAW online using paypal or by post, if you prefer. If you do use the post please send us a cheque made payable to Random Acts of Writing.
Post to:
Random Acts of Writing,
11 Alexander Place, Inverness IV3 5BX
The prices are detailed below.
Out Now
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Issue 9............ ....£3.50 (including postage)...............
Subscriptions
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UK subscription................£9 for 1 year (3 issues, including postage) ...............
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Stockists
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Loch Croispol Bookshop: Durness
Blythswood Bookmark: Academy Street, Inverness
Waterstone's: Eastgate Shopping Centre, Inverness
Nairn Bookshop: Nairn
An Lanntair: Stornoway
Emporium: Cromarty
An Tobar: Mull
...and the GREEN KITE, at the old Railway Station in Strathpeffer, which is a lovely place to go for a day out. The garden is really nice and you can get a cup of tea and a scone at the cafe while you're there. There's also an artist who carves sculptures from wood and a Museum of Childhood. What more could you want or need?
(sorry we missed you off before)
Contact
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Managing Editor.......Jennifer Thomson
Sub-editor................Vikki Trelfer
Marketing................ .Lawrence Sutcliffe
Design & Web..........James Mann
EMAIL: info@randomactsofwriting.co.uk
POST: Random Acts of Writing, 11 Alexander Place, Inverness IV3 5BX
Links
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ullapoolbookfestival.co.uk
Stunning scenery, authors and pubs. Does it get any better than this?
nairnfestival.co.uk
It's that time of year again. Check out this years book and art festival offering from the fastest town in Scotland...
hissac.co.uk
Highlands and Islands Short Story Association works to promote the short story and runs two competitions each year.
antobar.co.uk
The arts centre in Tobermory, Mull
nairnbookshop.co.uk
The excellent award winning bookshop in Nairn, who organise the awsome and highly successful Nairn Book Festival each year.
theshortstory.org.uk
Promoting short fiction to the masses. Also excellent information on
competitions and prizes.
scottishbooktrust.com
Independant national charity which encourages reading in all ages and cultures - info on prizes and projects.
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