I have just realised that my vision for writing is too narrow. I send articles and letters and short stories to just two magazines and one website i.e. Writers' Forum and Mslexia and Writespace.
So my New Year's Resolution is to buy different mags and enter a wider variety of comps in the hope that I shall be rewarded with success. Of course the aforementioned mags are not going to print my letters on a regular basis are they? When they have published one or two they will look for different subscribers to print.
vendredi 31 décembre 2010
Letter to Mslexia
I had forgotten that I sent this letter to Mslexia which surprise surprise they did not publish! Oh yes they did see blog Jan 11th!
Re-Viv Groskop's Standing Room Only (issue 47)
I hate phrases like ' hairy feminists' and 'strident women' especially when used by women.
Come on let's tell it like it is. Look at the facts. How long did it take us to get this far in the battle
for 'equality'? Which by the way doesn't mean 'the same' and it has been and still is a battle for many women.
It has taken from the begining of time for women to be allowed to keep their own earnings, own property and have rights over their own children.
Do you really think we have achieved equality in less than one century?
Why have women found it prudent, often necessary to write under a male nom de plume?
Of course we need all women events for women writers. Why do we have to be so apologetic about it?
I found my own voice in an all women's writing group and was drowned out in a mixed group.
My confidence has been achieved over many years with the help of all womens' groups.
When will women who think that they have never been oppressed realise that the reverse is true
for most of us?
What is wrong with being called a 'woman writer'? For me that is a positive. I want to read books written by women writers.
I spent too much time when I was young reading male writers whose work, to be honest, bore no relevance to my experience.
What a relief it was to discover Doris Lessing, Virginia Woolf and Germain Greer to name a few.
And while I'm on my hobby horse what is wrong with 'misery memoirs'? How many times have I heard it said there are too many?
Well don't read them but remember that the women who do and the women who write them benefit enormously because guess what? Thousands of women have miserable lives.
I don't like so called thrillers or detective stories. I can't find anything entertaining about the murder of a woman (and it usually is a woman) but that doesn't stop thousands being written and millions being sold. And dare I say mostly by men.
So I for one am pleased that all women events are on the increase. And of course they will be fun but not because they have to be VIv but because all women together do have fun but oh my god they will be much much more.
I am proud to be recognised as a feminist and I never forget that women died so that I could vote.
Is this talking to the converted in Mslexia? I hope so.
Oh and by the way Viv, it was a woman who said, ‘ If there’s no dancing at the revolution I don’t want to go.’
Re-Viv Groskop's Standing Room Only (issue 47)
I hate phrases like ' hairy feminists' and 'strident women' especially when used by women.
Come on let's tell it like it is. Look at the facts. How long did it take us to get this far in the battle
for 'equality'? Which by the way doesn't mean 'the same' and it has been and still is a battle for many women.
It has taken from the begining of time for women to be allowed to keep their own earnings, own property and have rights over their own children.
Do you really think we have achieved equality in less than one century?
Why have women found it prudent, often necessary to write under a male nom de plume?
Of course we need all women events for women writers. Why do we have to be so apologetic about it?
I found my own voice in an all women's writing group and was drowned out in a mixed group.
My confidence has been achieved over many years with the help of all womens' groups.
When will women who think that they have never been oppressed realise that the reverse is true
for most of us?
What is wrong with being called a 'woman writer'? For me that is a positive. I want to read books written by women writers.
I spent too much time when I was young reading male writers whose work, to be honest, bore no relevance to my experience.
What a relief it was to discover Doris Lessing, Virginia Woolf and Germain Greer to name a few.
And while I'm on my hobby horse what is wrong with 'misery memoirs'? How many times have I heard it said there are too many?
Well don't read them but remember that the women who do and the women who write them benefit enormously because guess what? Thousands of women have miserable lives.
I don't like so called thrillers or detective stories. I can't find anything entertaining about the murder of a woman (and it usually is a woman) but that doesn't stop thousands being written and millions being sold. And dare I say mostly by men.
So I for one am pleased that all women events are on the increase. And of course they will be fun but not because they have to be VIv but because all women together do have fun but oh my god they will be much much more.
I am proud to be recognised as a feminist and I never forget that women died so that I could vote.
Is this talking to the converted in Mslexia? I hope so.
Oh and by the way Viv, it was a woman who said, ‘ If there’s no dancing at the revolution I don’t want to go.’
jeudi 16 décembre 2010
Reply
I tried to reply to the letter but couldn't keep it short enough for a letter. Here I go again wanting to write an article. Anyway here are the notes.
Mslexia means women’s writing (ms = woman lexia = words). Its association with dyslexia is intentional. Dyslexia is a difficulty, more prevalent in men, with reading and spelling; The good news is that, like dyslexia, mslexia can be overcome. That’s what this magazine is about: exploring the causes of mslexia - and suggesting some cures. So what is it that men have, that women need, to become noted authors? Virginia Woolf’s famous prescription was ‘money and a room of one’s own’. Mslexia’s prescription, gleaned from historical, psychological and social research - and a few specially-commissioned surveys of our own - is slightly different. The three things that male writers have, that woman writers need, are: time, confidence and a fair reading
Dear Mslexia,
An email from Mslexia. Ooh maybe my writing has been accepted. Oh no. Not this time. Still it is nice to get a letter with the judges comments. Or is it?
Comment: Women’s lives are about suicide, adultery, murder, desertion and divorce.
Me: Isn’t that not only sad and depressing but also a tragedy? But the first step in changing is recognising the truth and we have to keep telling it like it is until it changes. Do you want us to write the same old Fairy Story’s about Princesses and Frogs?
Comment: The majority of submissions were written from a woman’s point of view! (‘I don’t believe it!’ said Victor Meldrew.)
Comment: She (the judge) would have preferred to have read about a broader selection of protagonists including men and children. Why not try writing from a different point of view say a male.
Is this really from Mslexia? Better check the website. So I re-read the mission statement which informs me that ‘Mslexia was created to address a difficulty, more prevalent in women, with getting into print.’
And the article, ‘Three cures for Mslexia’ by editor Debbie Taylor which ends with: ‘There’s no time to waste wingeing. Stick with Mslexia and we’ll help you all we can.’
There’s no hope for me then. Here I am wingeing and guess what? I do not tend to write from the point of view of a woman. I am a woman. So write from a woman’s perspective. Even if I pretend that I am a man I can only write from the point of view of a woman.
I subscribe to Mslexia because of all the reasons stated in Debbie Taylor’s article and your mission statement but if your advice is for me to write from a male point of view or you would like submissions which do not reflect the truth of our lives then say so in your competition guidelines.
Yours very puzzled and not a little disappointed,
Comments on Comments
I do not know what it is like to be a man. I do not want to try to pretend to be a man. I spent 30 years reading books written by men. I was delighted to discover the world of women’s literature. I felt validated.Mslexia means women’s writing (ms = woman lexia = words). Its association with dyslexia is intentional. Dyslexia is a difficulty, more prevalent in men, with reading and spelling; The good news is that, like dyslexia, mslexia can be overcome. That’s what this magazine is about: exploring the causes of mslexia - and suggesting some cures. So what is it that men have, that women need, to become noted authors? Virginia Woolf’s famous prescription was ‘money and a room of one’s own’. Mslexia’s prescription, gleaned from historical, psychological and social research - and a few specially-commissioned surveys of our own - is slightly different. The three things that male writers have, that woman writers need, are: time, confidence and a fair reading
Dear Mslexia,
An email from Mslexia. Ooh maybe my writing has been accepted. Oh no. Not this time. Still it is nice to get a letter with the judges comments. Or is it?
Comment: Women’s lives are about suicide, adultery, murder, desertion and divorce.
Me: Isn’t that not only sad and depressing but also a tragedy? But the first step in changing is recognising the truth and we have to keep telling it like it is until it changes. Do you want us to write the same old Fairy Story’s about Princesses and Frogs?
Comment: The majority of submissions were written from a woman’s point of view! (‘I don’t believe it!’ said Victor Meldrew.)
Comment: She (the judge) would have preferred to have read about a broader selection of protagonists including men and children. Why not try writing from a different point of view say a male.
Is this really from Mslexia? Better check the website. So I re-read the mission statement which informs me that ‘Mslexia was created to address a difficulty, more prevalent in women, with getting into print.’
And the article, ‘Three cures for Mslexia’ by editor Debbie Taylor which ends with: ‘There’s no time to waste wingeing. Stick with Mslexia and we’ll help you all we can.’
There’s no hope for me then. Here I am wingeing and guess what? I do not tend to write from the point of view of a woman. I am a woman. So write from a woman’s perspective. Even if I pretend that I am a man I can only write from the point of view of a woman.
I subscribe to Mslexia because of all the reasons stated in Debbie Taylor’s article and your mission statement but if your advice is for me to write from a male point of view or you would like submissions which do not reflect the truth of our lives then say so in your competition guidelines.
Yours very puzzled and not a little disappointed,
Letter from Mslexia
Thank you very much for your Departures submission. Unfortunately it has not been selected for publication on this occasion.
There were more entries than usual on this theme, so the competition was pretty fierce. It was a theme that seemed to set off lots of associations and – in the words of our New Writing Guest Editor, Amanda Craig – ‘expressed the great roar of discontent that lies at the heart of too many women’s lives’. So stories and poems about loss tended to predominate, with many submissions about suicide, adultery, murder, desertion and divorce.
The majority were written from a woman’s point of view. Not surprising, perhaps, but it was something our judge commented on as a potential problem. She would have preferred to read about a broader selection of protagonists, including men and children; and characters from a wider range of social backgrounds. So if you are someone who tends to write from a female point of view, that might be something to bear in mind strategically for future submissions to Mslexia! Speaking personally, I have always felt invigorated whenever I have experimented with writing from a male point of view.
Having said that, our judge found many of the submissions truly dynamic and moving; so much so that developing a longlist proved unusually problematic. In the end it was often the use of language that tipped the balance: Amanda felt that some stories would have benefitted from being read aloud, then edited again, paying close attention to the rhythm of the sentences. In this respect the poetry tended to be more successful. Amanda also appreciated the more tangential approach many of the poets took to the theme.
We’re sorry not to be able to discuss individual details of your submission, but you can read the full text of Amanda’s essay on the judging process in the January issue of Mslexia. Unfortunately, some excellent submissions had to be rejected in order to create a balance of contrasting items. It may be that yours was left out because it had exactly the same subject matter or concept as a slightly stronger piece of work. Then there is always the question of space: we have room for fewer than 13 pieces of new work in each issue.
Thank you again. We look forward to receiving more submissions from you in the future.
Best wishes
There were more entries than usual on this theme, so the competition was pretty fierce. It was a theme that seemed to set off lots of associations and – in the words of our New Writing Guest Editor, Amanda Craig – ‘expressed the great roar of discontent that lies at the heart of too many women’s lives’. So stories and poems about loss tended to predominate, with many submissions about suicide, adultery, murder, desertion and divorce.
The majority were written from a woman’s point of view. Not surprising, perhaps, but it was something our judge commented on as a potential problem. She would have preferred to read about a broader selection of protagonists, including men and children; and characters from a wider range of social backgrounds. So if you are someone who tends to write from a female point of view, that might be something to bear in mind strategically for future submissions to Mslexia! Speaking personally, I have always felt invigorated whenever I have experimented with writing from a male point of view.
Having said that, our judge found many of the submissions truly dynamic and moving; so much so that developing a longlist proved unusually problematic. In the end it was often the use of language that tipped the balance: Amanda felt that some stories would have benefitted from being read aloud, then edited again, paying close attention to the rhythm of the sentences. In this respect the poetry tended to be more successful. Amanda also appreciated the more tangential approach many of the poets took to the theme.
We’re sorry not to be able to discuss individual details of your submission, but you can read the full text of Amanda’s essay on the judging process in the January issue of Mslexia. Unfortunately, some excellent submissions had to be rejected in order to create a balance of contrasting items. It may be that yours was left out because it had exactly the same subject matter or concept as a slightly stronger piece of work. Then there is always the question of space: we have room for fewer than 13 pieces of new work in each issue.
Thank you again. We look forward to receiving more submissions from you in the future.
Best wishes
jeudi 9 décembre 2010
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