The home of Carol Fenlon, northern female novelist and freeelance writer of magazine articles and short stories. Here you can also find details of Carol's writing and editing services, including ghostwriting, proofreading and manuscript appraisal. Carol lives in Lancashire and has been writing short stories, articles and poetry for fifteen years, many of which have been published in mainstream magazines and small press publications. She has also won prizes for her work in many literary competitions. Her debut novel Consider The Lilies, won the Impress Novel Prize 2007 and was published by Impress Books in June 2008.
Carol is on the editorial board of the journal Short Fiction in Theory and Practice. She is also an active member of several writing groups, including Edge Hill University's Narrative Research Group, Skelmersdale Writers’ group and Ormskirk Writers’ and Literary Society.
Carol lives in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, UK and is available for creative writing workshops and for readings from her work.
Carol is a keen local historian, currently compiling (very slowly!) a history of Skelmersdale New Town and is available for talks on Skelmersdale and surrounding areas.
Skelmersdale Writers' Group next meeting is on Monday 24th June. First half of the night will be our AGM followed by a write on the night .Visitors welcome. See Skem Writers' page for time and venue
I will be running a new series of 8 linked creative writing workshops titled 'Finding the Writer in You' starting Wednesday evening 17th April 7-9 pm and continuing every Wednesday until 5th June. Sessions cost £10 each and can be booked individually or as a full course. To book, ring the gallery on 01695 571328, contact email Chapel Gallery chapel.gallery@westlancs.gov.uk or visit the Chapel gallery website
Full course details: Finding the writer in
you.
A course of informal
creative writing workshops that aims to combine inspirational ideas to release
your creativity with the practical nuts and bolts skills required for effective
writing. Suitable for both beginner and more experienced writers and for all
genres including fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction.
Session 1. How we
write: Tapping inner feelings to bring out your unique voice. Using sound
and touch as stimuli to producing a piece of writing. Session 2.What we write:
Using pictures, true stories and memories creatively to develop plots/themes
for a story or poem. Session 3. The Place
of place: Exploring how settings function in a piece of writing and using
them to create mood and expectations in the reader. Session 4. Who am I? Building effective characters
using a variety of games and exercises. Writing good and bad characters. Session 5. Yackety- yak : How is dialogue
different in creative writing from real life conversation? What work does it do
in a piece of writing? Some fun
exercises to help you write realistic interactions. Session 6. Putting on
the style: Putting together a piece of writing, this session looks at how
to use form, voice, viewpoint and writing style to create a particular genre,
whether writing for a specific market or pushing literary boundaries. Session 7. Building
blocks: What makes a piece of work a whole? This session explores
structure, plots and plans, beginnings, middles and ends to equip you with a
kit of strategies to prevent the dreaded writer’s block, avoid the wandering
tale and waste not a single word. Editing will be part of this session and also
the next. Session 8. The Wider Picture: What will you do with
your work? Whether you simply want to write for friends and family or your
ambition is to be a published writer or poet, this session will give you plenty
of tips on markets, competitions, getting published and self-publication. Exercises on writing a synopsis, self-editing
and presentation will be included.
Giant child spectacular, Sea Odyssey event.
What a fantastic weekend when giants roamed the streets of our city and all of Liverpool turned out to watch and have fun. I went down to Albert Dock on Friday to see the giant 'uncle' emerge from the seabed and it was even more awe-inspiring than I expected. Followed him up to James Street, then took a breather before heading up to Lime Street to see the little giant girl lifted out of her boat before continuing her journey on foot with her dog Xolo. The atmosphere was fantastic, everyone chatting and enjoying themselves and the kids just loved the dog, especially when he put his head over the barriers for a pat. It was great to see the Lilliputians too pulling the strings and boy they must have been fit, four hours or more of strenuous activity. The band gave everything a festive air and I came home worn out but full of wonder at how this great spectacle had been achieved so well. I couldn't be there on Sunday but watched it on tv and was thrilled to see the letters we'd worked so hard on fired into the air. Check Facebook's page Sea Odyssey Letters and Postcards to see copies of the letters people picked up on the day. Congratulations to Royal de Luxe and everyone in Liverpool who was involved in producing this fabulous show, an event that will be long remembered in the hearts of Liverpudlians
GIANT CHILD SPECTACULAR. SEA ODYSSEY - STORY OF LOVE AND LOSS LIVERPOOL 20-22ND APRIL
It's getting closer. Here are North End Writers at the Titanic letter writing project event last Tuesday, 27th March at St George's Hall. Letters written by the group as from passengers and crew on the ship, will be used in the Sea Odyssey event. Don't miss it.
10th March 2012. A great weekend with the Geordie lads and lasses at Byker Books launch of Radgepacket 6 - yet another collection of true Britgrit short fiction. Click here to see Byker's other publications.
Radgepacket 6A collection of 22 'tales of the inner cities' by British writers. Read my contribution, 'Paper Money' in which a nasty character gets his comeuppance. Radgepacket 6 is available in paperback or Kindle format. Get it here.
North End Writers working on their contributions to the Sea Odyssey project. .
Coming Soon SEA ODYSSEY celebrates the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic with a 3 day street spectacular by the French Royal de Luxe theatre company in conjunction with Liverpool Vision. The Giant Child comes to Liverpool in a tale of love and loss centred on the iconic ship they called 'unsinkable'. Writing groups across LIverpool are involved in the preparations for this fantastic event. Read more here
Skem's 50th anniversary writing competition. MY IDEAL TOWN
The winning stories and poems are now on display at Skelmersdale Library along with the long poem Skem writers group produced at the 50th anniversary celebrations.
SKELMERSDALE NEW TOWN IS 50
Check the Skelmersdale 50 website to see the best of Skem talent showcased. Coming soon - Skem The Musical - find out more on the website. Click here
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY SKELMERSDALE NEW TOWN!.
Saturday October 8th saw major celebrations at Skelmersdale Library to commemorate the designation of Skelmersdale as a new town 50 years ago in 1961. Skelmersdale community groups turned out in force, George Orr wowed us all with his fantastic collection of Skem postcards and our very own Skelmersdale Writers' group involved everyone in writing Skem's giant poem. Kids and adults had fun doing their own new building upstairs with hunks of clay while outside there was a display of vintage cars and the Fire Service brought along one of their engines. We all had a fabulous day and we owe it all to Marianne Howell and the staff at the library who organised it. More events are to follow, Marianne will be giving a talk next Thursday 20th October on the history of Skelmersdale so get down there and book yourself a ticket. On Monday 31st October, at 5pm, I will be presenting a talk at the library entitled, 'A Vision Of Utopia - Why Skelmersdale Was Chosen' which will be about the way ideas of planned cities have developed throughout history and how Skelmersdale came to be picked as a new town site. Ring the library on 01695 720312 for more details of either of these events.
DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN SKELMERSDALE WAS FIRST DESIGNATED AS A NEW TOWN?
WERE YOU ONE OF THE FIRST GENERATION OF IMMIGRANTS TO THE NEW TOWN?
WERE YOU INVOLVED IN THE PLANNING AND DESIGN OF SKELMERSDALE NEW TOWN?
I am currently compiling a history of the making of the new town and am looking for old newspapers, photographs or simply people's memories of what Skem was like when it first became a new town. If you can help, please email me at writeme@carolfenlon.com
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Read Carol's latest short story 'Play With Me' in Radgepacket Vol 5, now published by Byker Books . You can still get Radgepacket Vols 3&4 which contain more stories by Carol, available directly from Byker or from Amazon. If you like rough tales of the inner city, these collections are for you.Buy Radgepacket 5 here
Short Fiction in Theory and Practice - a new peer reviewed literary journal dedicated to the short story. In the inaugural issue, Carol reviews three contemporary collections of short fiction. Published by Intellect. To find out more, how to subscribe, and how to submit work click here