• Download a copy of October 2011 LINK
• Download a copy of August 2011 LINK
• Download a copy of June 2011 LINK
• Download a copy of April 2011 LINK
• Download a copy of December 2010 LINK
• Download a copy of October 2010 LINK
• Download a copy of August 2010 LINK
• Download a copy of June 2010 LINK (697KB)
• Download a copy of April 2010 LINK (1,170KB)
• Download a copy of February 2010 LINK (326KB)

1. Link magazine and other NAWG publications embody the ethos of being ‘about writing, by writers, for writers’.
2. Submitted material shall not be libelous or defamatory to any individual, organisation or other entity in any way. Any material deemed to be so shall not be published by NAWG.
3. The rights of contributors to express themselves freely will be respected as long as they do not conflict with point 2 above and all other relevant statements of NAWG editorial policy.
4. The opinions of contributors published by NAWG do not necessarily represent the views of the organisation itself, its Board of Trustees, Committee members, member groups or associates.
5. Submissions shall be the authors’ own original work. Should the work of other authors be quoted then it is the individual contributor’s responsibility to ensure that necessary permissions have been sought and where required, permission fees paid.
6. LINK magazine will publish fiction in the form of occasional Fiction Specials. Generally speaking fiction will not form the bulk of regular editions of Link. However extracts used as part of an article or letter can be included. Where such extracts represent the work of other authors necessary permissions etc (as in point 5 above) must have been obtained.
7. Jokes and cartoons and other illustrative devices (which could be construed as fiction) may be included in Link articles. Again, it is the author’s responsibility to seek permission for their use as necessary.
8. The Editor of LINK reserves the right to shorten or otherwise edit contributions to the magazine where space is an issue, but shall not make changes for any other reason without the contributor’s prior consent.
9. Submissions may be sent by post or email. If by post send to Link Editor, NAWG, PO Box 9891, Market Harborough, LE16 0FU. If by email send to editor@nawg.co.uk. Please do not send your work as attachments, but paste the text into the body of the email. Note that while emailed submissions will not be given priority, they are much easier to process than paper-based material, which either has to be typed into the computer or scanned and processed. With that in mind emailed submissions wherever possible will be very much appreciated.
10. Submissions for publication by NAWG will not be returned, so contributors are advised to make sure they keep copies of their material. Acknowledgement of receipt of material will be made if a) paper submissions are accompanied by a SAE b) email submissions carry a ‘read receipt’ request.
11. Please keep articles as short as possible, ideally around 250-300 words. Longer pieces may have to be split into sections to fit into Link’s new format.
12. The decision of the Editor of LINK to reject or modify submissions that are accepted is final, though such a decision will be made in line with point 8 above. Apart from this, no correspondence will be entered into.

In taking on the role of newsletter editor, my job principally is to choose which items to include in each issue and which submissions seem not to be suitable. At the moment my main guidelines are the points of editorial policy that the current Committee formulated late last year. Hopefully you’ve caught sight of them (the guidelines, not the Committee!) in the December LINK mailout, but if not you can find them on the NAWG website.

Guidelines however are just that. I also rely on what I consider to be entertaining and informative writing, and I hope increasingly to be influenced by what you the readers would like to see. So your feedback is going to be very valuable. One idea that we the Committee would like to try is offering an email version of LINK as well as the paper-based one you’re used to. Further details in the next issue but please let us know what you think.

I am acutely aware that I have a great deal to live up to in helping to ensure that the new LINK approaches the standards set not only by Mike Wilson but by your own expectations. These are my first faltering steps. Bear with me. I hope as a gain more experience that I may edit LINK as the military strategist Sun Tzu said one should fry a small fish – lightly.

NAWG Editorial Policy:

1.  Link magazine and other NAWG publications embody the ethos of being ‘about writing, by writers, for writers’.
2.  Submitted material shall not be libelous or defamatory to any individual, organisation or other entity in any way. Any material deemed to be so shall not be published by NAWG.
3. The rights of contributors to express themselves freely will be respected as long as they do not conflict with point 2 above and all other relevant statements of NAWG editorial policy.
4. The opinions of contributors published by NAWG do not necessarily represent the views of the organisation itself, its Board of Trustees, Committee members, member groups or associates.
5. Submissions shall be the authors’ own original work. Should the work of other authors be quoted then it is the individual contributor’s responsibility to ensure that necessary permissions have been sought and where required, permission fees paid.
6. LINK magazine will publish fiction in the form of occasional Fiction Specials. Generally speaking fiction will not form the bulk of regular editions of Link. However extracts used as part of an article or letter can be included. Where such extracts represent the work of other authors necessary permissions etc (as in point 5 above) must have been obtained.
7. Jokes and cartoons and other illustrative devices (which could be construed as fiction) may be included in Link articles. Again, it is the author’s responsibility to seek permission for their use as necessary.
8. The Editor of LINK reserves the right to shorten or otherwise edit contributions to the magazine where space is an issue, but shall not make changes for any other reason without the contributor’s prior consent.
9. Submissions may be sent by post or email. If by post send to Link Editor, NAWG, PO Box 3266, Stoke-on-Trent, ST10 9BD. If by email send to nawgeditor@live.com. Please do not send your work as attachments, but paste the text into the body of the email. Note that while emailed submissions will not be given priority, they are much easier to process than paper-based material, which either has to be typed into the computer or scanned and processed. With that in mind emailed submissions wherever possible will be very much appreciated.
10. Submissions for publication by NAWG will not be returned, so contributors are advised to make sure they keep copies of their material. Acknowledgement of receipt of material will be made if a) paper submissions are accompanied by a SAE b) email submissions carry a ‘read receipt’ request.
11. Please keep articles as short as possible, ideally 250-300 words. Longer pieces may have to be split into sections to fit into Link’s new format.
12. The decision of the Editor of LINK to reject or modify submissions that are accepted is final, though such a decision will be made in line with point 8 above. Apart from this, no correspondence will be entered into.

What makes someone go in for a competition like this?  My answer is that I am a slow writer, drafting and re-drafting many times and allowing details of the plot to impede progress and erode motivation.  The last novel took 25 years to write, mainly because I couldn‘t decide how to end it, so I was determined to finish the new one more speedily.  Even so, after a year I had only reached chapter 4.  So the idea of writing a novel in a month appealed to me.  Cheating slightly, I decided to build on the 20,000 words already written, and try to complete it by 30 November.

Readers, I did it!  At 5pm on 30 November I sent off my novel, and had an almost instant reply from the automatic word counter that I had written 50,632 words.  It was a real boost; with the story completed, I can now concentrate on building up some of the characters, spicing up the descriptions, and improving the quality of the writing.

There are a few things to bear in mind if you are tempted to go in for Nanowrimo 2010.  First, and most important, the exercise is about quantity not quality.  If you are the sort of writer who cannot move on until you are sure that the sentence you have just written is the best you can possibly write, then don’t do it.  As the website makes clear, the exercise is about enthusiasm and perseverance, not painstaking craft.  If, on the other hand, you are a ditherer and procrastinator like me, then it may help you to make decisions and get on with the story.  You may also find that the externally imposed deadline makes you more disciplined about your writing.  I wrote every day, watched very little television, had virtually no social life, and was able to say to family and friends who wanted more of my time “I can’t stop now, I have a novel to finish,” an excuse that had worn thin over the 25 years of the last one.

Nanowrimo started in a small way in the United States ten years ago, and is now international.  If you sign up you will receive lots of encouraging emails, some useful tips, and you can join a regional group although for me the deadline itself was sufficient motivation.  It is free of charge, although you are asked to make a donation.

In 2009 there were over 167,000 participants, and more than 32,000 winners (i.e. people who had completed 50,000 words.)  There is, incidentally, no prize, just electronic cheering and a downloadable certificate.

I find editing much more enjoyable than structuring and plotting, so now I have a complete but very rough draft to work on over the next few months, and I have given myself a deadline of Easter 2010 to complete it.  It remains to be seen whether my personal deadline is as effective as the Nanowrimo one!

Judith Taylor, WritersBlock

Diane and I judged the Christmas competition which ended in December. That gave us a lot of entertainment and we hope the winners are delighted with the result of their work. I have completed my entry into the Self-Publishing Award run by the David St John Thomas Charitable Trust. My book More Bridlington was the central point of the entry and I hope to be invited to the prizegiving in London on May 6. And here is where coincidence plays its part. On that day, Diane and I just happen to be returning from Poperinge by train. We shall arrive in London in time to be able to visit the prizegiving before continuing our journey home. That means there will be no need for the expense of train fare and accommodation in London for the event. Not spending unnecessary money is just what a Yorkshireman likes!

Self-Publishing Magazine’s reviewer of Little Tyke, my book of poetry through the eyes of a Bridlington lad in the 40s and 50s, gave me immense joy when they spoke highly of the work and of the book as a whole.

On other fronts, I have helped Diane Impey publish her novelette, and created a book for Val McLane via Brian Lister at Biscuit Publishing. Two local authors have published historical works and I’ve been able to help there too.

My self-imposed task for the next few months, however, is to continue with collating everything I can find on the men whose names appear on Bridlington’s Cenotaph. Among the 300 or so names is that of my grandfather and Remembrance Day thrust the need for the men’s lives – as well as their deaths – to be recorded for the future. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission site provided much information, which was then extended via Ancestry.com. On top of those two sources, the Annals of Bridlington, housed in the local library, provided me with cuttings from the town’s newspapers of the time. What I am going to do with the resulting information I’m not sure yet, but at least I can provide a ring-bound archive for the library.

My next self-published book on Bridlington is still on course for May publication. Over the winter I have collected much material via eBay to provide inspiration for a multitude of pages. Currently I am negotiating with local artists to include their work to give them publicity.
And I’m sure something else will come along after I’ve finished all that.