So, belatedly, here are my thoughts about Helen Hunt’s workshop I attended.
I hate being late so I left plenty of time for the 50 mile drive. Of course, this meant I was the first to arrive. That’s never a problem – show me where to make a cup of tea and I’m happy. Three other attendees arrived soon after and the final two were somewhat late. Some of the roads confused me so I could sympathise with their problem.
Everyone was lovely and friendly and, after a general chat and introductions, we got down to the business of the day. The workshop was very focussed. This is something to bear in mind if you are tempted to go to a future presentation. It was titled “Insight into the Women’s Magazine Market” and it was exactly that. Which was precisely what I wanted.
Helen covered all the magazines accepting submissions and went into their foibles as to what they look for in a story. We tried analysing stories to get inside the editor’s head. All pretty helpful stuff.
Just before lunch we had our critiqued stories returned. (Ah, I didn't mention this did I? A critique is all part of the service and I had sent the story in the previous week) Helen tactfully left the room to sort out lunch while we reeled from the red ink comments.
After some food to help us recover we discussed the comments so had a chance to clarify or argue with them. This was really helpful and showed me where I need to improve.
The rest of the afternoon centred on how to write a story to maximise the chances of it being accepted. Helen has had lots of stories published so her views should prove to be useful.
I left a satisfied customer. If you are interested Helen’s website is here.
Oh and if you are at the stage where you're not yet submitting stories for publication why not try entering some flash fiction competitions? I’m getting into this now and if you've no idea where to enter take a look at Patsy Collins blog here. Lots of free entry ones mentioned and you can get links to some of her winning pieces too.
