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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 6h

"I, the narrator"

A discussion on grammar in poetry spurred me to re-read my 2014 MA essay, "First-person fictional; present poetic".

It's almost as pretentious as the title suggests, but I still think tense & person allow us to lay claim or distance ourselves from our writing.

#writingcommunity

Square photo. Large concrete block with a lowercase letter "i" embedded in the surface. The letter is in Baskerville font - a serif font - and it is back to front as if on a printer's block. It is one of the letters comprised in the artwork "Industry and Genius", 1990, by David Patten, sculpture outside Baskerville House in Birmingham, UK.

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 1d

Leopard skin? Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors?

In fact it's a carrion flower and it stinks, so now I'm wondering whether it would be better as carry-on or hold luggage.

Not very relevant to writing, except as a reminder that everyone follows their own train of thought :-)

#writingcommunity

Square photo. Close up of a strange star-shaped flower with five rough textured petals around a kind of puffy ring. The flower is a pale pea green with small maroon spots and blotches all over. It is clearly a succulent flower from the greenery behind it. In fact it is a carrion flower from the stapeliad family. Perhaps Orbea variegata. At first sight, it looks like a star fish or something alien.

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 2d

The Muse likes to find us working and is much more likely to visit if you are already writing.

Did you know I have video courses on my website? One of them is "Inspirations for Creative Writing", so if you're stuck, you might find that useful:
gwynethbox.com/b/inspiratio...

#writingcommunity

Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 3d

I thought yellow crocuses were spring flowers, but this picture was taken in Middle England recently.

As writers, it's important to remember that if we don't pay attention, we miss the reality of what's actually happening in the now and end up thinking in clichés.

#writingcommunity

Square photo taken looking down at a cluster of bright yellow autumn crocus flowers. What can be seen of the ground looks gritty, rather than fertile.

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 5d

I think Skinner and Watson are dreaming of flying.

One of my dreams resulted in the best-selling children's book "The Cat's Miaow" featuring Waverley, the little cat with the big miaow. (Published under the pen name David Aston.)

Are your dreams inspirational?

#caturday #writingcommunity

Square photo of two cats asleep on an orange bed cover. Both are stretched at full length and completely relaxed. One cat is white, the other is tabby. The white cat is the bigger of the two. He looks as if he is jumping up from the centre of the bottom edge of the photo. The tabby is much smaller and looks as if she is diving down from the top left-hand corner. Her belly is visible with all its spot and a central zip-like line, probably due to scarring from a neutering operation. Her front paws are touching the head of the white cat. They look as if they might be dreaming of flying.

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 6d

Someone once said it was odd how the biggest books are the picture books designed for little children.

The large book I'm posing with here seems to be all text but I don't look at all fazed. I guess I was always happy to be allowed to disappear into a good story. Plus ça change…

#writingcommunity

Square black and white photo. The picture shows a little girl smiling at the camera. She might be around eight years old. Her hair is in neat plaits tucked back behind her shoulders and she has a neat, but badly cut, fringe. She is sitting at a table with a large book open in front of her. The book doesn't have any pictures - it's quite dense text. She is wearing a check pinafore dress over a white blouse. This is probably a school uniform and it's probably an official school photo.

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 7d

Much of the joy of writing is getting your reader to suspend their disbelief and follow you on a journey of imagination.

Maybe I didn't really see a dinosaur walking along the high street. But what would have happened if I had found one?

#writingcommunity #imagination #creativity

Square photo. The photo shows a toy dinosaur - similar to a spinosaurus. It is bright green, fading to yellow underneath. It is on a stone surface and behind is what looks like the grey façade of a building and the bonnet of a white car. The effect is reminiscent of Godzilla walking through a town.

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 8d

Interested in poetry?
Interested in talking to poets from around the world?
Why not join the Global Online Stanza, a PoetrySociety Stanza group?

Find out more and get in touch via the website if you're interested: globalonlinestanza.com

#writingcommunity #poetrycommunity
@poetrysociety.org.uk

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 9d

A writer's life is all about chains, links and connections.

We connect ideas and concepts, word after word; sentence after sentence; chapter after chapter...

Hopefully your ideas are not as rusty as the links in the photo :-)

#writinglife #writingcommunity

Square photo of a rusty chain piled on top of some kind of circular rubber lid with regular rows of circular studs. The background of the photograph is out of focus, but the colour suggest plants of some sort.

Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 10d

Worried what readers will think about your writing?
It's just one of the concerns that all writers have.

But we aren't going to be there to guide the reader or witness their reaction. So all we can do is write as well as we can, then let go and get on with the next project.

#writingcommunity

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 12d

I'm not sure which came first, the artistic or the literary vignette, but here we have a photographic vignette of Watson, the writer’s cat, asleep on top of the antique writing desk I inherited from my mother.

#writingcommunity #caturday

Square photo. Vignette style - i.e. the corners are darkened so it fades at the edges. The photo shows the head and shoulders of a white cat asleep on top of a piece of dark wood furniture. His head is raised, resting against the wooden edge of the shelf. Under his head is something thin and white, perhaps a tile or notepad. The wall behind is white or cream. The only real colour in the image are the cat's pink nose and the pink of his ears. The whole picture is grainy and slightly yellowish, giving it the appearance of an old-fashioned photo.

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 13d

“And there is pansies; that's for thoughts”

Since the English "pansy" comes from the flower's French name – pensée – Ophelia's words make sense.

In Spanish, too, the flower is pensamiento.
But I really don't understand why kibble is pienso – which means "I think".

#writingcommunity #joyofwords

Square photo of a pansy plant. Near the centre of the photo is one clear purple flower. It has a small bright yellow centre, surrounded by pale cream that becomes purple towards the edges of the petals and really dark at the top of the two biggest petals. Radiating out from the centre, across the cream colour, there are very dark, possibly black, lines. Around this one bloom, are other pansy flowers, also cream and purple, but much paler. There are also a lot of green leaves, including some of another unidentifiable plant in the background.

Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 14d

Success with writing can be highly dependent on connections and relationships with fellow writers.

What goes around comes around: if we aren't ready and willing to support others, why would they be there for us?

How do you support others in the #writingcommunity ?

#writingsuccess #writingadvice

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 15d

Málaga bus station roof is a reminder that writing is all about angles: the perspective you write from will make a huge difference to how the reader reacts to your story or your message.

It's also a reminder to look up and all around for inspiration!

#writingcommunity #writingforreaders

Square photograph. The photograph shows part of a roof viewed from beneath. The roof is in two main parts, each of which consists of white panels supported by a blue metal structure. The visual effect is essentially a geometrical pattern of straight blue lines.

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 16d

I’ve been travelling. Now back at my desk, I feel all adrift with routine, writing etc.

Does your writing go along, too, when you travel? How do you re-connect?

#ritingcommunity #writingroutine

(The statue is one of four from the Birmingham Hall of Memory; this one honours the Royal Navy)

Square photo. The image shows a bronze statue by Albert Toft, one of four outside the Birmingham Hall of Memory. The statue represents the Royal Navy and shows a young, fit man with short hair. He is crouched down and sculpted cloth covers his lower half, although his feet are left leg are uncovered. He is naked from the waist up. To his right he holds a ship's wheel. His left arm crosses his body so his left hand rests on his right knee. In this hand he holds a coil of rope.

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 17d

Details matter.

These fungi were so small I nearly missed them.

It's often the little things - a mis-placed comma, a mis-spelling, or a bad word choice - that ruin a piece of writing.

Getting the details right shows professionalism and respect for your reader.

#writingcommunity #details

Square photo. Close up of tiny beige/grey parasol-type mushrooms growing on a moss covered stone. Possibly an inkcap.

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 19d

Skinner & Watson are taking the weekend off so suggested I used this for my #caturday post although I'm not sure it's realistic enough.

I'm also not much of a fiction writer, so, I'm just wondering how you make your characters come alive for your readers?

#writingcommunity #writingforreaders

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 20d

It looks as if someone was celebrating and then found the bottle bank was full.

What writing wins have you had this week? And how are you going to celebrate?

#WritingCommunity #CelebrateYourWins

Square photo. Close up photo looking down at an angle on a large number of empty glass bottles. The bottles are all standing upright and include white wine bottles with yellow screw tops. These are the only one with tops. There are also red wine bottles, beer bottles and sparkling wine bottles, and perhaps one or two that may have held tonic or other mixers. There are probably 40 or 50 bottles in the picture and it looks as if there were a lot more.

Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 21d

It's easy enough to start a writing project. And then start another. And then another...
But it you never finish any of them, can you really call yourself a writer?

#writingcommunityً #writers #writing

Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 22d

Although the features of this guy are reasonably well defined, the overall effect still seems quite generic.

How well do you know your reader?

Remember: the better you know your reader, the better chance you have of writing something they want to read.

#writingcommunity #writingforreaders

square photo showing the head and neck of a grey metal statue of a man. The man is wearing a a bowler hat and is probably wearing a shirt and tie with a jacket or coat. He is looking straight ahead, It looks as if he represents a typical city businessman. The nose is straight and the mouth serious, but although all the features have been sculpted, it still looks fairly generic, giving the impression of a type rather than any particular individual.

Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 23d

This view would still be pretty without the window that frames it, but it would be fairly anodyne. It's the contrast that makes the image striking.

It's the same with writing: how you frame your ideas makes a huge difference to the effect created.

#writingcommunity #writerscraft

Square photo. In the centre of a dark square there is an arched window opening, just slightly taller than semi circular. Through the window is a view of far off mountains and the colour of the sky indicates that it is either sunset or sunrise. The window appears to be cut directly into the thick wall and has no frame or glass. Light illuminates the window so that the depth of the wall and the window sill frame the view with a pale orange glow.

Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 24d

No writing experience? No worries!
Stop fretting that you don't know enough and start writing: each sentence you write will make you a better writer.

Also, those very first words aren't what you'll be publishing, so stop worrying!

#writingcommunity #novicewriter #writerscraft

Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 26d

Skinner & Watson think that #caturday should be a day of rest, so they have occupied my studio chair.

I'm not so sure that writers get to take days off - there always seems to be so much stuff to do.

What about you? Are you writing or resting?

#writingcommunity #amwriting #amnotwriting

Square photo taken from above looking down on two cats asleep on a cream-coloured office swivel chair. One cat is white, the other is a grey tabby. They are tangled together and the tabby has her head on the white cat's side. they look very comfortable and relaxed.

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 27d

South Warwickshire Literary Festival is a week tomorrow!

Tickets from £22: www.southwarwickshireliteraryfestival.com

Talks, workshops, interviews, readings, book stalls, open mic, expert 121s...

...and "poetry feedback & strategy" sessions with yours truly :-)

#writingcommunity #SWLitFest

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Gwyneth Box @gwynethbox.bsky.social · 28d

Do you want your writing to reach the whole world?
Honestly? It isn't going to happen. But that doesn't mean you can't be a successful writer.

Find your audience and focus on getting it right for them!

#WritingCommunity #WritingForReaders