Shutterstock / 13_Phunkod©“The People’s Friend” Writing Hour is held every Tuesday at 11 a.m. on Twitter. It’s a time when we can get together with writers for a chat and it’s always heaps of fun!
Every week we summarise everything that went on right here for those who missed out.
This week we talked about books on our wish lists, interviewing characters and second-hand books.
It’s getting closer to Christmas! Are you getting excited?
Quite a few of you are getting excited now. There’s a lot of festive cheer at “The People’s Friend” HQ this year.
Last year, we were all still working from home full time – hard to believe now! This year, we’re enjoying the decorations that have been put up around the office. We even took part in a Christmas-themed escape room one of our brilliant colleagues created one lunch time.
Whether we’re all organised is a different matter . . .
Do you enjoy Christmas ghost stories? Either to read or watch?
Lots of you re-read and/or re-watch A Christmas Carol, of course.
In times gone by, ghost stories were a staple of this time of the year.
Do you find it difficult to make time to write at this time of year?
Most of you said yes – for a variety of reasons, not least because there is so much to do.
Mary hit on an annoying conundrum:
Yes and no. Yes, because obviously there is so much going on, but also no, exactly because there really is so much happening, and it’s all full of story ideas.
— Mary Jasper (@MaryJasper2) December 6, 2022
What two books are on your Christmas list this year?
Need some gift inspiration? Our writers have plenty of brilliant book ideas to give to a loved one, or to add to your own wish list!
The Fish by Joanne Stubbs
After Sylvia edited by Ian Humphreys and Sarah Corbett
Ancestors by Professor Alice Roberts
A Marriage Of Lions by Elizabeth Chadwick
Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries by Alan Rickman
Apparently There Were Complaints by Sharon Gless
Agatha Christie by Lucy Worsley
Listen To The Land Speak by Manchán Magan
The Art Of The Glimpse edited by Sinéad Gleeson
And finally, anything by Brian Bilston!
Which character from a book would you most like to interview and what would you ask them?
There were some great answers to this one. Here are just a couple . . .
A.5 Miss Havisham from Great Expectations. I’d ask her whether being a wealthy spinster caused her to shut herself away – maybe unable to trust another man? Also, why did she continue to wear her wedding dress while living in a draughty old mansion? #PFWritingHour
— Jill Barry (@barry_jill) December 6, 2022
I’ve just read The Catcher in The Rye (for my book club’s December meeting. By chance, it’s set just before Christmas!) and I’d like to interview Holden Caulfield and see how he is these days…#nospoilers
— Helen Yendall 💙 #TheHighlandGirlsAtWar (@HelenYendall) December 6, 2022
What’s the best second-hand book you’ve ever bought? Was it signed by the author? Did you find anything unusual in it?
There have been some lucky finds!
I don’t think I’ve ever bought anything interesting, mostly just ordinary books. But I did once choose a book in a school library and saw it had my aunt’s name in it. Given that it was over forty years old, it can’t have been borrowed much!
— Marian Myers (@MarianJMyers) December 6, 2022
This could be the premise of a lovely, family story . . . or a family mystery!
We’ll see you at our next Writing Hour on Twitter — 11 a.m. on Tuesday 13 December, 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.
