News
Expect the unexpected with top crime writers
Catherine Turnbull 05/03/2010 08:56:00
YOU can expect the unexpected at a crime writing workshop hosted by two of Scotland's finest authors of the genre in Kirkwall on Saturday.
Orkney-born Allan Guthrie, author of Two-Way Split, and Stuart
MacBride, who penned Cold Granite will be helping writers improve their
craft through exercises and by passing on tips.
Allan explained there may be twists and turns during the two-hour
seminar and it may not be for the faint-hearted as participants need to
meet the challenge of writing live in the workshop.
"There is no set agenda so people need to expect the unexpected. We
have run quite a few workshops now so we have plenty of material. We
will tailor the session where we need to. It is very pragmatic, we are
not into theory. Practical exercises are what it is about," he said.
"People may find themselves outside of their comfort zone but this is
all about meeting a challenge and helping people become more ambitious.
You don't have to be into writing crime, other writers will benefit
from the workshop, but that is our area of expertise.
"The practical, hands-on approach will focus on plotting,
characterisation, voice and point-of-view and there will be immediate
feedback. The aim is to provide building blocks and confidence through
practical advice, but there are no rules. We can give guidelines based
on our own experience as writers.
"We can give our own views on how to write books that may do well in
the marketplace and how to make them attractive to agents and
publishers."
Allan learned the hard way about how difficult it is to get a book
accepted. He was selling books in Waterstones in Edinburgh and writing
in his spare time. He had hundreds of rejections from agents before his
first novel Two-Way Split was shortlisted for the Crime Writers'
Association Debut Dagger award for an unpublished novel. This led to
Polygon offering him the biggest advance they had paid to an author.
The book went on to win the 2007 Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Novel
of the Year. Four books have followed his debut including Kiss Her
Goodbye, nominated for several awards.
Allan is in no doubt that the accolade of winning a writing
competition, such as the Debut Dagger, can help. "It was three years
before Two-Way Split was published but the award got me noticed. There
is a problem with new authors getting themselves out there."
Allan grew up in Hatston and was scribbling novels at primary school.
His real surname is Buchan and he borrowed his penname Guthrie from an
ancestor, Solomon Guthrie who lived in St Margaret's Hope.
He also works part-time as a literary agent for Jenny Brown Associates
in Edinburgh, his adopted city, and is studying for a Masters degree in
Creative Writing through Lancaster University. Meantime he is writing
his next novel, Blood Will Out, a detective thriller.
How does he manage to juggle so many creative balls in the air? His top
tip for writers is: "Put your bum in the chair and write. You can sort
it out and get it right later."
Stuart MacBride was born in Dumbarton but was raised and lives in
Aberdeen where his dark novels are set. He has won or been shortlisted
for several awards and was Breakthrough Author of the Year at the ITV3
Crime Thriller Awards in 2008.
His fictional world has included serial killers and rapists while Allan has written of incest, rape and suicide.
"The stakes have to be high in crime fiction, with the threat of death, if not death itself," added Allan.
Principal Librarian Karen Walker comented: "We are delighted to have
two such renowned authors visit us during Discovery Week. For people in
Orkney who are interested in crime fiction, or who write themselves,
this will be a unique opportunity to hear how the professionals do it
and learn some of the tricks of the trade. It will also be the first
time that Allan Guthrie, who grew up in Kirkwall, has appeared at a
literary event in Orkney."
• The crime writing workshop will be held at Kirkwall Library between
2pm and 4pm this Saturday. Attendance is free. And no booking is
required.