Author Archives: oldhamwritinggroup

by Sue Cook Recently I’ve been reading The Diaries of William Rowbottom. These record interesting events in Oldham between 1788 and 1830. Deaths, elopements, shootings, salacious court cases—that sort of thing. I particularly enjoy the causes of death, some of which were surely unusual then, let alone now. Consider the mortal wound caused by ‘being strickenContinue reading “Cut the Waffle”

by Jo Harthan I made a To Do List in March 2020 when lockdown first began. I knew the only way to get through the isolation was to keep busy. There were thirteen things on that list, including seven un-finished writing projects. By the end of the year they were all ticked off apart fromContinue reading “Bottoms Up!”

By Joy Mutter My last blog on this site was far too long, so you’ll be pleased to hear I intend to keep this brief. ‘Fat chance,’ I hear you say. I’m tempted to stop now so you can carry on with your WIPs, read a book, work your guts out, watch telly, or justContinue reading “Short and Sweet”

Jennifer Joyce I’m one of life’s procrastinators. Left to my own devices, I’ll happily spend the entire morning scrolling through social media instead of getting words down on the page. I need daily to-do lists to keep me on track (plus, ticking stuff off always makes me feel productive, no matter how small the task)Continue reading “Setting Goals”

By Jackie Hales 2020 was a landmark year for me. I finally did it! As I approached my 70th birthday, I retired AND I finished my novel, which had been on the back burner for a few years. A double whamee! I’d threatened to retire so many times, did it once in 2010, and no-one believedContinue reading “Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained”

By Carolyn Crossley My blog is very important to me and it is one of the many things I want to continue in 2021. I started my WordPress blog on 1st April 2020 to record my NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) poems which turned out to be a successful project. I found TDH (The Daily Haiku)Continue reading “The Joys of Blogging”

by Bonnie Meekums I thought I had finally completed my second novel in 2020, but on sending it out to agents I received no actual takers (one did ask for a full manuscript, and even gave feedback, but the trail went cold when I resubmitted). It’s a historical novel, set in the Second World War.Continue reading “The Keeper of Stories”

By Dan Forrester I’ve never been able to juggle. It seemed safer to leave it to those who saw the point, while I could get on with more productive things. Things that would be less likely to cause accidents at home. Now I wish I’d learned. As 2020 came to a close, my writing projectsContinue reading “Juggling Balls”

by Joy Mutter This will be my second foray into the frenetic world of NaNoWriMo. I debated whether to take part again as I’m a full-time indie author who writes daily anyway. I decided to join in again as last year’s challenge concentrated my mind more than happened in the other eleven months. I’ve oftenContinue reading “NaNoWriMo 2020 and Me”

by Bonnie Meekums I found out about NaNoWriMo by accident. I can’t quite remember how it happened, but I found myself turning up, at Oldham Library, in early November 2018, feeling a more than a bit nervous.  I had drafted my first novel by the end of 2017. In 2018, I sent out my draftContinue reading “How joining NaNoWriMo turned me into a published novelist”