Shutterstock / 13_Phunkod©“The People’s Friend” Writing Hour is held every Tuesday at 11 a.m. on Twitter and it’s always a brilliant time! It’s a time when we can get together with writers for a chat.
Every week we summarise everything that went on for those who missed out.
This week we talked about the present tense debate and spooky settings.
How has your week been? What’s your good news?
We loved catching up with you this week.
Lots of you had experiences that could definitely be turned into stories! For example, finding treasures in the attic like Louise McIvor and attending a pet service at church like Sally.
Many of you are celebrating writing success this week, including:
A1. I’ve had a pocket novel accepted and it will be due to come out in November! 🙂 #PFWritingHour
— Kitty-Lydia Dye (@KittyLydiaDye) August 23, 2022
My copy of the Fireside Book arrived and I loved the illustrations that went with my six poems. Icing on the cake was Abbie talking about my work on Friday’s Facebook live
— John Darley (@JohnDarley11) August 23, 2022
I visited my books in the library! Great to see my PF pocket novels having a new lease of life as large print Linford Romances. pic.twitter.com/V94DJyt817
— Jenny Worstall 🌻 (@JennyWorstall) August 23, 2022
Congratulations everyone!
Author Philip Pullman started a lively debate last week when he said how much he dislikes novels written in the present tense. What do you think? Does it put you off?
The majority of you disagree with Philip Pullman. The present tense can work well in certain stories or novels to provide a sense of immediacy.
However, a handful of you firmly agree with him. You think that it feels inauthentic and jarring.
The rest of you are somewhere in the middle – it depends on the novel or story.
If you were writing a spooky story, where would you set it? Would you try to think outside the box a little bit to make it slightly different?
We got goosebumps reading some of your answers. There were some really good ideas for spooky settings that are outside the norm.
Amanda has had a story published in ‘Spooky Ambiguous’ that’s set in a café:
My spooky story was set in a cafe! It was influenced by one of your questions/prompts about cafes.#SpookyAmbiguous
Excuse the photo, I look rather startled. 🤣🤣🙈 pic.twitter.com/9kwNHXysGz
— Raker, Baker, Writer. (@AmandaRake2Bake) August 23, 2022
We do accept ghost stories for The People’s Friend, especially for our October issues.
If you’re thinking of writing a ghost story for The People’s Friend, keep the reader in mind. It can be a little spooky, but nothing frightening or upsetting.
Our fiction submission guidelines will tell you all you need to know on how to submit your story to us.
Have you ever been to a book festival? Did you enjoy it?
Most of you have been to a book festival and enjoyed it, including an online festival.
Which recent book that you’ve read would you like to see turned into a film or TV series?
There were some really great suggestions in the thread.
Even if these books haven’t been snapped up by a production company yet, it’s still fun to create a dream cast for the characters.
Do you read the acknowledgement section at the beginning/end of a book?
Yes, most of you do read the acknowledgement section. It can be interesting to see who was involved and how the writer was inspired, or where they did their research.
We’ll see you at our next Writing Hour on Twitter — 11 a.m. on Tuesday 30 August, 2022.
Or click here to see our previous roundups.
Abigail Phillips Abbie is the newest member of the fiction team at the "Friend." She loves how varied the role is - every day is different and there is always a new story to read. She is keen to work closely with established writers and discover new writers, too.
