Satima's Blogspot: A thousand thanks to my myriad writing friends

Thursday 20 March 2014

A thousand thanks to my myriad writing friends

Thursday, March 20, 2014 |

Posted by Satima Flavell


The cover will be unveiled soon!

It's only a month now until my first novel, The Dagger of Dresnia, is released. It's been an exciting frustrating, overwhelming, journey from the day in 2003 when the first idea came to me, and I couldn't have done it without a lot of help.

More experienced writers helped me in various ways — critiquing my work, going the extra mile when teaching classes or workshops, even just making encouraging remarks in person or on my blog. If you have been one of the people who did these things or otherwise helped and encouraged me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The speculative fiction writing world is sustained by one of the most open, friendly and kindly communities I've ever been involved in.

My publisher recently asked me to send him copy for the Acknowledgments page, and below you will see what I wrote. Many people are included as members of this group or that — to mention them all by name would have produced a book fatter than an encyclopedia volume!

***

For many years, I thought I knew how to write. I’d had many features and reviews published in national journals; I’d won the odd poetry competition — and of course, I could write a book if only I had a story…

Such vain imaginings! When a story finally came to live with me, I quickly found that getting that story down on paper needed quite different skills from the ones I already had. What was all this stuff about point-of-view, three-act structure, character and story arcs and many other terms I’d never heard before? I had never realised how divergent fiction writing would be from journalism and versification.

I am a slow learner and needed many teachers, and I was lucky that the ones who helped me were among the best. Here, in more-or-less chronological order, are some of the many mentors and colleagues who patiently gave me more assistance than I probably deserved: Julie Banfield, Michèle Drouart, Juliet Marillier, Dave Luckett, Glenda Larke, Karen Miller, Phillip Berrie, Patty Jansen, Ian Nicholls, Stephen Dedman, Fiona Leonard, Tom Edwards, Joanna Fay, Sarah Lee Parker, Carol Ryles, Helen Venn, Robert Denethon and all the lovely members of the Stromatolights writing group, the Katharine Susannah Prichard Centre’s SF group, the Online Writers Workshop and the various other groups I've belonged to over the years. A special wave to Lee Battersby, Lynn Flewelling and Fiona McIntosh, who saw the potential in that little scene I wrote at Lee’s instigation while at Swancon 2003. You will get to read it in book two. Who knew that from less than a thousand words, a trilogy would grow?

And not forgetting, of course, my lovely publishers, Stephen and Marieke Ormsby at Satalyte Publishing, who have been generous, diligent and patient in making The Dagger of Dresnia into a real, live book!

4 comments:

Jo said...: Looking forward to it.; Friday, March 21, 2014
Satima Flavell said...: I do hope you like it, Jo! It's a classic medieval fantasy with elves and magic and the odd dragon.; Friday, March 21, 2014
Fiona Leonard said...: Proud to have been a part of your journey! Looking forward to seeing it in print!; Monday, March 31, 2014
Satima Flavell said...: Fiona, I learnt so much from our writing group and I loved all our books! Is the new edition of The Chicken Thief out yet?; Monday, March 31, 2014

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A thousand thanks to my myriad writing friends

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