On 1 June 2010 the Allrighters set out to write 1,000,000 words for publishing from 2014 in books of about 60,000 words each. They are also writing 200,000 words of short stories. The whole project is their Dragoness. The 920,000 draft word mark was passed on the 4 October 2013 so the Dragoness has reached her late teens with the usual problems of this age. Editing and re- structuring of all these draft words is in progress.
Ywnwab! Autumn Story-book is the Allrighters’ first book made up of 30 poems and short stories by ten authors. The title Ywnwab! came about in July 2010 when a long standing friend responded to news of the intention to write books with a challenge, “You will never write a book!” This then became the greatest spur to do so. The acronym – Ywnwab! pronounced Win - wab has been used as there could not really be another title for the book after accepting the challenge.
The opening part of Ywnwab! sets out the reasons for the book and the origin of the Allrighters. In the second and third parts the thirty contributions cover a wide variety of subjects based on fact and fiction with an icing of fantasy. Five guest writers describe how they started to write followed by a story or extract from their books. Another five stories are extracts from the proposed long books while others cover travel, interesting visits to gardens and buildings, observations on life, amusing stories about day to day events and writing.
Writers who are about to publish or who have already published are invited to contribute short stories to future similar books. For further details and to follow progress in the mammoth writing task the Allrighters have set themselves see their web site.
Ywnwab! is available from York Publishing Services Bookshop online - as preferred supplier of hard copy and epub
Dream 2010 to Ywnwab! in 2013
Or the end of the beginning
of our writing in ten shades of colour - a Ten Act story about some
writing experiences from start to publishing and going on sale.
Characters
Isobel – a doubting or encouraging friend.
Henry, Henrietta, Florence
Moriati – his Doctor.
Duncan – his publisher.
Act One France 800 metres - Too high
for sound sleep
In the pitch black night
without street lights he did not stay awake for long.
Scene One – In vivid dream colours
The Sun shone on the warm balmy day. His
frail parents and sister were enjoying their lunch by the blue lake. Douglas
heard dragons’ hooves and looked south to see a mounted Queen and King, identified
by crowns on their heads, galloping towards where they sat.
Alarm arose in Douglas ’
heart as they stopped, their blue-and-gold dragons snorting fire while his eyes
were out on storks gawping at the naked Queen’s quadruple breasts. He heard the
King say, “no,” to no effect … his eyes had little time to linger as the Queen’s
finger pointed at his parents and woof they turned to ash … her finger turned
towards him and his sister as they ran for their lives.
“They should not have threatened my life
when they did!” she screeched … a flash of lightning signified the loss of his
sister and Douglas waited for the finger of death
to strike him down …
Scene Two - In the dark 3.00
am
He found sleep impossible
and waited until dawn thinking about all the things his parents might have done
in their lives to incur the wrath of a naked Queen on dragon back. He would
have to write this story down.
The actual story in his
dream, like his life he tried to write as a biography, was much less exiting.
What had caused The Threat from something his innocent parents had done?
Act Two – Challenge in blue
A month later July 2010
“Impossible,” pausing …
“YOU” … smiling …
”You will never write a book!” – Ywnwab!
Challenge made and accepted. First title - there could be
no other.
Act three – Vanity in purple and thanks to Mick
August 2010
“Your book sounds lovely and
will sell thousands we will make sure of that … all you have to do is pay us a
small amount now … and a little more later.”
Douglas could not understand
how the lovely sounding lady from the vanity publisher in America
All sounded too good to be
true…
Along came a gallant knight
Mick Rooney advising writers about vanity and self publishing so plucking Douglas from a crevasse …
Act Four – Rejection in green and thanks to
Helen
He did read the chapter on
the traditional publishing route. While working he had experience of too many
people, he had little respect for, telling him what he must do. Times did not
appear to have changed. He had little appetite for rejection either.
Act Five – Meeting Authors in brown who
made a difference
Stephen King meeting
Stephen “I seem to have
helped many authors”
“I also liked your story and
film Shawshank Redemption with its tremendous ending.”
John Braine has written a similar book. Writing a Novel.
“John, I really liked Joe
Lampton and found my love of writing in the first person here …memories also
flooded back about the Treasurer’s Office.”
“Ha, my source would have
been in the libraries dept where I worked for a time.”
Act Six - What to write? A coward in
yellow.
All the business reports Douglas had written while at work seemed like good
fiction now. His biography too dull … some relation’s lives maybe more spicy,
but how could he see into their lives and bedrooms of 70 years ago?
“Find out what your
readers want to read.”
Catch 22, chickens and eggs
came to mind.
Act Seven - Making a start and editing - blue
words abound.
Ethel came in from the
writing class and had not written much. Trouble with starting - like his old Ford
Cortina on a foggy day.
“You must show not tell!”
The more Douglas
heard this remark the more he wanted to throttle someone, but not Ethel as he
quite liked her. He recalled the best selling author who admitted taking drugs
and slipped something into her tea.
Ethel phoned him last week –
“I have made a start 4,500 words.”
“Well done - whoopie – like
Goethe that’s all you have to do!”
and
“Make sure you back up
everything you write electronically and in hard copy as if you lose it no one
can read it.” Life will otherwise be blue.
Another new writer said to Douglas “ My editor seems to want to turn my book and
ideas into her book.” Douglas laughed. “Select
your editor carefully.”
Act Eight - Self Publishing a green way to
one’s own summit.
One even purchased one of Douglas ’ old cars.
Mick Rooney again came as a
gallant knight with his self publishing book and web site with a league table
of those in the market place.
Act Nine - Allrighters created in May 2013
on a grey stormy day.
The lightning lit up the
room dark from reflection back from the heavy grey clouds outside.
Everyone started to count
one, two, three, CRASH the thunder cracked and rumbled around the bay less than
three miles away towards Swansea
Alexander
grinned.
More heavy thunder rolled around as we sat
together. I felt the ghost of Aunt Florence, saw Henry and Henrietta holding
hands - anything further all forbidden of course, and heard Alexander giggling the
cause of my problems. Dr Moriati, Leonid and Rebecca sat heads down in
shame.
“Why should you get all the praise when we
as your characters make the books what they are?” Alexander said, grinning as
usual.
‘Yes, I thought, and all I get is the
rejections and the emotional upset of dealing with you lot!’
“Off you go all
of you ... and I will
write my book on ocean sailing and catch up with my reading.”
In my dreams Kathrynne in her bright-red shoes came to me and held me in her arms. She is
having a rare warm day. Perhaps life is not so bad after all!
Of course the following day they came back
to me. They realised they were not living in the Elizabethan Trimefrayme and
would need me to market their books after I had prepared them for printing as
well.
Act Ten - First book published and a few
sold through rose coloured …
They all lived happily ever after – a nice
idea.
Some after thoughts on 1199
days of writing.
The
creative writing came easily. All the editing, processing, publishing,
distribution and selling a necessary, but not always a welcome or enjoyable time
overhead.
Too
many people telling him whatever he did is not being done the right away.
Those
in the business assume you know, what they know, about what comes next and what
has to be done. Communications and learning are hard. Like the car maintenance
manual it is the obvious next step to others which is often missing.
Information
overload from ideas, web publications and other writing sources.
The END in
black or deep in red
if expressed in costs and time incurred.
Further Plays
in the green grass next door.
Coming next
“Marketing and selling are
the hardest parts”
Finding your readers!
Writing what your readers
want!
Creating a web presence and
following.
Getting people to open their
wallets to buy YOUR book
when they have lots of
choice especially the safety of well known authors!
Other short story-books are
in preparation. Please join in with contributions for consideration for
inclusion in these future books. International contributions especially
welcome.
What do you have to do?
Ask to join the Allrighters below
as an associate or guest in an e mail to
alexander@allrighters.co.uk
Fantasy fiction writers Henry Cross, his cousin Henrietta
and his dead Aunt Florence who’s dream dairies are being used to complete more interesting
and enjoyable stories and books.
Guest writers Angela, Calvin, Katharine, Monica and Nick
have written 250 words or so on how they started writing and then included an
extract of c 1000 words from their published or near published work
Many associates who will write a page or two have already
signed up.
Read
more and subscribe for email updates on
Alexander Kreator aka Douglas
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