Writerly Adventures Part Two

In case you're dying of suspense, here's an update on some of the nuggets from last week

Finished With My Writing Guru

My second and final session with my writing guru was brilliant. It helped me plug back into my writerly mains. I'm going to tell you now that it will be a long time before you see results from my sessions with her, But I'm okay with that. It will take as long as it takes. The important thing is that I'm on the right road.

I asked this guru if she wanted me to recommend her to people. She said she'd be happy to work with you if she knows you're for real. So, if you'd like to know more about her and how she might help you, drop me a mail on derbhile@writewords.ie.

Spoke Up At SpeakEasy

It was another delightful night at SpeakEasy, the last event of 2024. We were graced with the earthy presence of Belfast poet Scott McKendry, whose words were full of edge, grit and play. An exhilarating experience.

His words were accompanied by lively jazz from Darren Dreelan on clarinet, Eileen Mareicos (sp) on vocals and Killian Browne on piano. Killian was once a creative writing student of mine, along with his twin brother Darragh. He has truly come of age.

The open mic featured the talents of sixteen local writers, including moi. I read the piece that had been turned down by the Festive Star and I felt it land with the audience. I was extremely satisfied with that.

This pic shows Scott McKendry reading, against a backdrop of a red curtain and a SpeakEasy banner. He speaks into a microphone. He has a full beard and wears a red shirt. (Photo Credit: Derek Coyle)

Gerald Griffin Writing Competition

As a gesture of thanks to Dominic Taylor of Limerick Writers' Centre, who promoted this newsletter, I have pleasure in telling you about a competition being run by this writing centre.

The Gerald Griffin Writing Competition invites aspiring novelists to send in a sample of 1,500-2,000 words of fiction by 26 January 2025. What great work Limerick Writers' Centre is doing. Hopefully one day there will be an equivalent centre in the south-east. You'll find the details of the Gerald Griffin competition here.

RIP Barbara Taylor Bradford

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I've a great fondness for old-style blockbuster novels, and this week one of the great dames of blockbusters died, Barbara Taylor Bradford. She was 91 years old.

Barbara Taylor Bradford’s style was gentler than Jilly Cooper's, but I fondly remember being lost in the decadent world of A Woman of Substance, full of family drama and triumph over tragedy. You could lose yourself in her books. She created books that gave people hours of enjoyment; that's a great legacy to leave behind.

From now on, I'll be giving you honest insights from the coalface of writing, and showing you what the writing life is really like. If you think you'd find that valuable, hit the Subscribe button, or tell your friends to.