Festivals and Workshops: Ways With Words

This month Elaine Roberts interviews Philip John from the Ways With Words Festival. Welcome to the RNA blog Philip.

Can you tell us something about your festival, how it came about and how long its been running?

Ways With Words have been running festivals for twenty-six years. At the beginning of March we

visit Keswick using the fantastic Theatre by the Lake for ten days.  July sees us at Dartington Hall in bucolic South Devon; also a ten day festival of Words and Ideas and finally we have a more intimate five day festival in the Suffolk seaside town of Southwold.

Who are your main speakers this year?

There has been a political vein this year perhaps unsurprisingly with speakers including Nick Clegg, Vince Cable, Harriet Harman, Polly Toynbee and Sayeeda Warsi. We also have Richard Coles appearing as well as Marie-Elsa Bragg and Tracy Chevalier.

As our blog is for writers can you tell me how your festival would benefit our members?

I think the diversity of speakers at the festival is a big draw, I mentioned some of the political figures above as main speakers but we have over one hundred authors at Dartington and Keswick. The speakers are drawn from academics, philosophers, comedians, and historians. One event may explore the history of the human uses of Spider Silk another could be exploring the perils of being a Modern Dad. We broadly deal in non-fiction though there are exceptions to every rule. Salley Vickers is always a popular author at all our festivals. We also have an eclectic range of poetry events and writing workshops.

Is there anything to enter (maybe a writing competition), if so could details be provided?

 For our Words by the Water festival in Keswick (9-18 March 2018) we run the bi-annual Mirehouse Poetry Competition.  Submission dates, and prizes are being confirmed at the moment for 2018. Please check back on our Website or our social media channels for updates on this prestigious poetry prize. The winning poems are read at the famous Mirehouse location.

How about staying over for the whole event. Where can people stay?

In Keswick for Words by the Water there are many reputable B&B spots, close to the Theatre by the Lake, including Lakeside House that is literally a minute from the Theatre and comes highly recommended by many festivalgoers serving great breakfasts and representing the warm friendly nature of Keswick

At Dartington we sell accommodation packages in the historic courtyard at Dartington Hall. We also have B&B available in residential blocks no more than five mins away from the venues on the Dartington Estate.

At Southwold we work with the wonderful Adnams hotels to offer accommodation in their Swan and Crown hotels and we provide a set ticket packages to go with these residential deals.

What does it cost to attend?

We work hard to keep our events affordable and pricing for events is usually around the £10 mark. We have a variety of day tickets that offer great value. We also sell whole festival rover passes for those with the stamina!

Do workshops/talks fill up quickly?

Workshops sell out very quickly. Our audiences have been increasing the last couple of years so yes it pays to book early.

How much time does it take to organise the festival?

Each festival is a little different but in general I would say three months of intensive pre production.

Dates for this year and possibly next?

Dartington Hall, Devon Ways With Words is on 7-17 July

Southwold, Suffolk Literature Festival is 9-13 November

Words by the Water, Keswick is 9-18 March 2018

And back to Dartington Hall from 6-16 July 2018

Website

www.wayswithwords.co.uk

Email for queries

 philip.john@wayswithwords.co.uk (press and customer relations manager)

Thank you for taking the time to talk with us, Phillip and we wish the festival every success.

About Elaine:

Elaine Roberts is a member of the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme and is currently working on a family saga. She has sold short stories worldwide and enjoys attending RNA events such as the London chapter and our annual conference. Elaine is a great fan of writing retreats either week long by the sea with friends or one-day retreats with fellow writers in her hometown of Dartford. Elaine runs a writing blog along with writer, Francesca Capaldi Burgess called WriteMindWritePlace.

Mining History: A Story Seed Goldmine

Welcome to Frances Susanne Brown who is going to show us how to think about writing history.

History is made fresh daily. Every minute, every hour, every day that passes, events tumble into the endless well of ideas available to any writer of any genre. Today I would like to share with you three ways history can be used to inspire and shape a novel: as a backdrop, a springboard, and as a puzzle.

History as Backdrop

My favorite period of history is the Middle Ages. This fascination sparked the beginning of a writing career when my historical articles began to appear in magazines such as Renaissance, Herb Quarterly, the History Magazine, and Family Chronicle. But the concept of utilising a specific time period or historical event extends far beyond magazine articles.History as backdrop forms the framework of your story by providing the setting and the backbone. John Steinbeck wrote Grapes of Wrath about the American Great Depression in the Dust Bowl, but the work reached far beyond a documentary. Steinbeck created a family, the Joads, and overlaid their individual, fictional story against the backdrop of the world they lived in. Documented facts about how life affected real people during those times provided Steinbeck with a realistic source for how his characters reacted to their own situations.

History as Springboard

Authors often use one small element from history as inspiration to create an entire fictional world. Tracy Chevalier did this in Girl with a Pearl Earring. Chevalier claims her book was born while staring at her poster of this Vermeer painting. “I wondered,” she said, “what did Johannes Vermeer do to make the girl look at him that way?” From this one what if? Chevalier created Grete, the girl in the painting, an entire cast of characters, a situation, and an intriguing plot. Although she researched Vermeer’s life extensively, she didn’t find much documented about the elusive Dutch artist. Chevalier used the painting as a springboard for her entire story.

History as a Puzzle

What if history is incomplete? Dan Brown took bits and pieces of what is referred to as “alternative religious history” to create his best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code. Instead of using only one element for inspiration, Brown chose fragments from multiple historical periods and theories, combining them in a unique way to create his highly controversial novel. Controversy, however, isn’t always a bad thing. Press is press, and The Da Vinci Code went on to become a blockbuster in both print and on the screen.

What period of history fascinates you? Do a little research and become an armchair scholar, if you haven’t already. Then ask the question, what if? What if the duke or baroness had a secret lover nobody else knew about? What if star-crossed lovers boarded a ship destined to sink? How would that have played out against the backdrop of the times? Or perhaps you own a reproduction of a favourite painting you see every day. Take twenty minutes to sit in front of that image and free-write, creating a story about the people, place, or event it depicts – use it as a springboard.

You may be one who wonders about the mysteries in our human past. The unsolved crimes, the unexplained phenomena. Pick a few known facts out of what little information exists. Become a weaver of words, intertwining and recombining bits of history into a brand-new, completely original and compelling puzzle that is sure to attract the interest of any reader seeking an exciting new journey.

But then, doesn’t that describe every reader?

Frances Susanne Brown writes historical features for magazines, and her memoir, Maternal Threads, is due out in 2014 from High Hill Press. She is an avid fan of romance where history plays a role. She writes romance under the pseudonym Claire Gem. Her contemporary with paranormal elements stars a book-hurling ghost from the past haunting the hero and heroine. Read more at www.clairegem.com, 

www.francessusannebrown.com, 

www.maternalthreads.com.

Thank you, Frances for your most informative piece.

Brought to you by the blogging team of Elaine Everest and Natalie Kleinman
If you would like to write a craft article for the RNA blog please contact the team on elaineeverest@aol.com