NOT A GUIDE TO WORTHING

Well... Not a Guide to Worthing is well and truly launched, and many thanks to the Worthing Herald, Littlehampton Gazette and Sussex Society magazine for giving it such prominence. Also many thanks to everyone who braved the dreadful weather last Saturday to come at talk to me at Waterstones.  It is always a joy talking to readers and I was delighted to learn that the book has been so well received by 'born and bred' resident. If you missed the signing then you can obtain a copy through Amazon.
 

Worthing is such a lovely friendly nostalgic town to live in.  It is remembered as a Victorian resort favoured by the genteel and continued to serve holiday makers until the advent of the cheap package holidays in the 1950s. Today it still has a thriving tourism trade with a vast number of events held throughout the year, but there is much, much more to Worthing than just another holiday resort. Delve into its past and you will discover that the Borough’s Coat of Arms depicts its three main industries, fishing, seaside tourism, and market gardening. 
Mackerel and herring have been caught here since the 16^th century.  They were sold locally, and exported to other towns when the railway arrived in the town, and local fish is still sold along the shoreline today. Princess Amelia’s visit to recuperate from a knee problem in 1798 turned this little fishing village into a fashionable resort, gaining town status in 1803, with the sea still providing livelihoods for the local fisherman who also went to the aid of any ship in trouble in  the area. Sadly whilst doing such noble deeds many lost their lives.In one disaster alone, 11 local men were lost, 9 women widowed and forty-seven children made fatherless.  A devastating blow to the town.

Running alongside the fishing and tourist industries Worthing was famous for large scale market gardening, and in 1899 the area became known as the ‘town of hot houses’ thanks to a Broadwater company that pioneered the glasshouse business. In its day the area was famous for its grapes, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, mushrooms and chrysanthemums, in fact 600 tons of produce were exported from the area in just one year.

Worthing, like any other town  has its quirky and unusual side too. For example, how many know that Worthing’s Council papers were hidden in a family vault during the war; that cucumbers were exported to the south Wales coal mines to quench the miners thirsts underground, or that an ornate fountain graces one of our residential Closes? A unique feature to Worthing are the boat poaches on the fisherman’s cottages, derived from a time when fishermen used their upturned boats as a shelter in bad weather, and the beach has been covered in oranges and lemons, and more recently wood.  

Worthing’s most Iconic building is the Dome, which celebrated its150th anniversary in 2012.  Once known by the German name of the Kursaal and still used for entertainment today. Its 960ft pier has been blown away, burnt down and deliberately blown up and still attracts a steady stream of visitors today.

This historic town as over 360 listed buildings, some made of flint, but it has also had its planning disasters too. Worthing was saved for future generations to enjoy thanks of the bravery of the crew of a Lancaster on route to Munich with a cargo of bombs and incendiaries.

Worthing has so many literary connections and has been the location of several films; Up the Junction, The Birthday Party, Wish You Were Here, and more recently Sea Monsters.  The list of past and present residents and visitors reads like a list from Who’s Who; Percy Shelley, Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, Nicolette Sheridan, Jonathan Cake, Hugh Lloyd, Alma Cogan to name just a few, and when you add to this an array of statues and sculptures, memorials, folklore, riotous and rebellious times, cafes and open spaces making Worthing a  vibrant, nostalgic and historic town.

WORTHY WORDS WORKSHOPS

Even the torrential rain on Wednesday11th July couldn't deter a hardy bunch of writers attending the last Worthy Words Workshop meeting of the term.  These meetings are held at Worthing Library on the second Wednesday of the month 2-4pm. Many thanks to all who braved the weather, and an extra special thanks must go to Julie who left her sick bed to attend, and to Sue who started off with good intentions but was driven back by the rain, feet squelching in trainers, and clutching an inside out umbrella! Where is our great British summer? What a dedicated bunch we are! 
   The theme for the meeting was how to turn any visit or journey into a travel article or a setting for a short story or a novel, and judging my the lively discussions it gave most a few ideas to work on. Each member received a handout on the subject, which included: Nonfiction: Understanding the readership of the magazine you are aiming at, the content, the various markets and how to specialise within the travel trade on subjects such as food and drink, garden and gardening, arts and crafts, folklore and the quirky and the unusual. Fiction: Have a genuine feel for the place you are going to use as a setting, take lots of photographs and look at the local history of the place if you are historical writers.Wendy advised everyone to do some research before the visit, and to make sure you included in your suitcase the following: 
   Research information
   List of things they need to find out.
   Camera, spare batteries and a spare memory card.
   Notebook or holiday journal – write in it every day, not only where you have been and what you have seen, but the feel of the place, the people, and anything that strikes you are interesting – similar to what you would do when you sit and people watch.
  A supply of pens, pencils and a spare notebook or two and finally...If you take a laptop write up any notes each evening in point form.  Also download any photographs from your camera so you have plenty of space. A list of all the current writing competitions, together with a 'Summer Challenge' were handed out to ensure that everyone was kept active until the next meeting in September.  Anyone in the Worthing and surrounding area that is interested in any aspect of writing, do contact Wendy  for more a friendly chat and more information.  Worthy Words Workshops resumes on Wednesday 12th September.  Looking forward to seeing you all.

Friends of Worthing and Broadwater Cemetery

A belated New Year's resolution to myself - I must keep this blog up to date as so many exciting things are happening at the moment!
It has been another very busy month for me charging around Worthing, delving into the archives, acting like a tourist and looking for anything unusual to photograph for my book Not a Guide to Worthing. Shame the weather has not be kinder to me. July 7th saw me taking a tour organised by the Friends of Broadwater and Worthing Cemetery. These free monthly tours, during the summer months, are a must for anyone interested in history and the people who helped to shape this great town. Each one is themed - July we were lucky to have two, Seafarers and Worthing Mayors - truly a delight  for me as many of the people featured also had a place in my Shipwrecks of Sussex book, including Worthing's seafaring disaster, which happened on 14th November 1894. The Zadne, a steamer carrying coal from south Wales to London got into trouble during a hurricane storm.  On the horizon was spotted a sole survivor in a lifeboat, but within metres of the shore the boat flipped over, and he was drowned.  During the course of the day all the bodies were washed ashore. One body was repatriated to south Wales and the reminder, including two that was not identified were buried in a mass grave in the cemetery.
 Don't miss 'The Friends' Open Day on Saturday 4th August which starts at 10.00am through to 3pm, and includes three fantastic tours: Religious Figures who greatly influenced what happened in Worthing, a Military Tour concentrating on those who served in all conflicts, and a General Tour based on the guides own selection of interesting people buried in the cemetery, plus stalls, refreshments, booklets and much, much more.  I am looking forward to the day, and hope to see you there too.

Worthy Words Workshops

Worthy Words Workshops are well and truly 'up and running.'  The prose writing group which started in October 2011 held its second meeting of 2012 at Worthing library on Wednesday 8 February.  It may have been a icy cold day in Worthing, but there was plenty of warmth around the table as members shared their writing news with enthusiasm, before launching into a session on writing and placing seasonal and anniversary articles.  Homework was set for those who wanted ideas before competition news was shared and manuscripts were read out.  One member has embarked on a new novel and the group are looking forward to learning how this will develop. Several short stories were also read out and constructive criticism offered.  Meetings are held once a month on the second Wednesday of each month between 2-4pm.  New members are most welcome, and anyone interested in learning more should contact Wendy at wendy@stickler.org.uk for a friendly chat. 

Wendy has been asked to give an illustrated talk on Shipwrecks of Sussex on 29th February at Chichester Yacht Club, and is embarking on a new book for The History Press entitled Worthing a Pocket Miscellany.

Sutton Writers Circle

It is always a pleasure to talk to fellows writers and on Friday 14 May I was not disappointed. I gave a talk at Sutton Writers Circle on Writing and Placing Articles - not an easy subject today with markets dwindling at an alarming rate, but it is not all doom and gloom and with a few sideways steps and some imagination most articles writers can come up with something new on an old subject. I talked first about one's attitude to publication, with is very important.

• Treat your writing as a business and always act like a professional writer.
• Be prepared - good supply of paper, envelopes, stamps and a GOOD quality cartridge in your printer.
• Only submit your best work.
• Be motivated and be determined to succeed and you WILL succeed.
  

Article writers, in some ways, are more fortunate than short story writers, because far more articles and published. The secret is to specialise in a couple of subjects at first and build up. There are plenty of markets out there, for example:
Newspapers - daily, weekly, regionals, nationals, Sunday supplements, local freebies.
Magazines - a glance along the shelves in your local newsagents should bring in a wealth of ideas.
Trade Journals - always a good source. The competition is less fierce and editors are often desperate for the right sort of material.
Don't forget the English speaking markets either Ireland, America, Canada, Singapore, etc.
Religious and Inspirational writing.
Food and Travel Magazines
Children and Teenage publications.
County Magazines
Seek out a new market and see if you could write for this publication. Thank you Sutton Writers for inviting me.
Saturday I attended the second of my 10 session courses on historic Worthing. This week the session included the great and the good of the town -Town Officials, Councillors and Aldermen. Chris Hare packed a great deal into the session and I have come away with a great deal that I would like to research further.

Although I say it myself, my Day for Journalists and Nonfiction Writers at the Writers House in London last Tuesday 27 April, turned out to be informative and helpful for all. One of the items under discussion was Interviewing for Journalists, which is an extremely useful skill for any writer to acquire. It is the best primary source of first-hand information, and by preparing for an interview it helps the writer to focus on the job in hand and think of all aspects of the subject. It is also one of the delights of writing because writing can be a lonely business, but interviewing brings the writer directly into contact with people. Each delegate was asked to interview the neighbouring person for five minutes and then introduce the neighbour to the rest of the group. Although no one had prepared for this session, it worked very well and it was surprising how much information could be gleaned in just five minutes. Other subjects covered during the session were preparing to write a feature (the process of development), preplanning and setting up the interview, venue, interviewing techniques, problems one may encounter, ending the interview and writing it up. The second main discussion point of the day was how to write a Nonfiction book proposal, which more and more publishers are asking for these days. We discussed the purpose of a book proposal, points to think about before approaching a publisher, thinking about your target reader and a tick list to help with your book proposal. Other subjects under discussion were some general tips for nonfiction writers, a saleable knowledge probe where writers were encouraged to look at themselves - what makes them tick, their likes and dislikes, favourite subjects, hobbies, etc - for inspiration for ideas, the general state of markets today, and fees. The feedback from the session was good with plenty of ideas for the next day, which will be held in October.
As we move into May I have a busy month ahead of me - what's new I hear you ask! In the background I am working on the final edit of an update of The Story of Gower and sorting out the photographs, which has to be with my publisher by 30 May. A the same time I am gathering material for Shipwrecks along the South Coast, which has a deadline of 30 November, and I shall look forward to exploring the south coast in the summer months. On the 4 May I will be talking to Chichester Writers Circle about their entries for a short story competition (modern fairy tale) and announcing the winners, and giving some general tips for writing short stories, which I am looking forward to. It is always enjoyable to visit Writers' Circles and chat to fellow writers about their projects. Thursday 6 May is the South East Regional lunch for the SWWJ at The Birch Hotel in Haywards Heath. It is good to have a day away from the desk, and I am looking forward to chatting to fellow writers and listening to our surprise guest speaker. 14 May sees me in Surrey talking to Sutton Writers Circle on the subject of Writing and Placing Articles, which I know I shall enjoy very much., although the markets for articles seem to be dwindling by the week. The following day, 15 May, is the second session of my course on Secret Worthing run by Chris Hare, a local prolific author. This session is on the Great and The Good of the Town - Town Officials, Councillors and Aldermen, and I know I am in for a treat.

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog and I do hope that you will call back often. I am finally installed into my new home in Rustington and loving every moment in the lovely county of West Sussex, and am looking forward to getting back into a regular routine of writing. At the moment I am busy researching for my new book Haunted Worthing, which is due to hit the bookshops in September. If you have stories about ghostly encounters in the Worthing area I would love to hear from you.