Author: Dianne

Book or film – chalk or cheese?

~ Dianne ~ Leave a comment

I’ve just been galvanised into re-reading Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods by having seen the truly dreadful film that it was based on.

I’m surprised to find that quite a bit more of the film actually emanated from the book than I suspected, but somehow events that seem amusing and entertaining in print have turned into toe-curling idiocy on screen.

I had suspected when I read the first reviews that I was going to be disappointed but with the Bill Bryson connection I figured that really, it would be okay…. Really, it isn’t.

In my experience, few good books translate well onto the big screen which is hardly surprising as they represent two totally different emotional and sensory experiences. Of course, there are many great films which have been based on books, but it seems that in general the two need to be seen as unrelated if they are to be fully appreciated.

Apparently, as you might expect, they are going to be making Girl on a Train into a film. It’s hard to see how most, if any, of the emotional detail that is its strength can be retained.

Henshaw Treats

~ Dianne ~ Leave a comment

I’m delighted to have two of my stories included in Henshaw Treats an anthology just published by Henshaw Press.  The book contains thirty two of the prize winning and highly commended stories from the Henshaw Short Story Competitions over the past two years. All proceeds go to  Save the Children, so it would be great if you could support both the competition and the charity by buying the book.

How old is an ‘older’ writer?

~ Dianne ~ Leave a comment

An article in the Daily Telegraph yesterday focused on ‘older writers’ with the headline that ‘It’s never too late to write a book”. However it was a bit disconcerting to find that the featured authors looked (and indeed were, in relative terms) so young. One even talked about having four young children – so not that old then!

A bit more encouragement for the truly ageing amongst us, highlighting the achievements of Diana Athill, Mary Wesley, and the vast number of lesser-known first time authors/writers over 60 etc would be much appreciated.

And no, the argument that publishers are looking for ‘social media’ experience and “longevity – someone they can get several books out of” isn’t acceptable. There is a vast market of over 50s who are looking for books that resonate with them – not necessarily by older people, but not automatically by the latest up and coming 20 something authors either (end of rant).

NB Good to see the Prime Writers Group – looking forward to seeing their numbers swell.

Kishboo voting

~ Dianne ~ Leave a comment

If you’re reading this and you have a few minutes please vote (ideally for my story  ‘In the frame’ ) on the KISHBOO website.

Voting is quick, free and easy – visit www.kishboo.co.uk

Please click on the FB ‘Like’ button at the bottom of the story, or email your vote to ebox@kishboo.co.uk.

Voting for the stories in the current competition ends on Monday 28th September 2015.

This is a splendid publication, each issue contains some great short stories and  like many other initiatives needs people’s support to make it viable.

A story that stays with you

~ Dianne ~ Leave a comment

I’ve just, rather belatedly, been catching up on all the stories in the Momaya 2014 annual review. The first of them, which wasn’t one of the top three, is nevertheless the one that I found the most memorable. Dog Days by Matt Barnard is just a simple story about a man and a dog. Simple – but really CoverImageFRONT-197x300powerful.

Writing competition organisers  often say they’re looking for the stories that stay with you long after you’ve read them. This is one of those.

Loved it! (and I’m not a dog person…) It gets the “I wish I’d written it” vote from me.