#IrishWritersWed What a Year of Wonderful Contributions!! (Part 1)

As the year comes to a close I decided, for the next two weeks, to have a look back at all the fantastically talented writers I was so honoured to have on my weekly Wednesday feature #IrishWritersWed

When I initially put out the call to see who may be interested I was completely blown away by the uptake. The contribution from every single writer was an original piece for my blog and for that I thank you all so very much.

I have included all the writers who participated from the beginning last February to the Summer break here today. Next week I will continue with part two up to November.

I hope you have enjoyed these weekly insights into the fabulous talent on this wonderful island I am so proud to call my birthplace and home. (Continue reading Part 2 HERE)

Sit back now with a cuppa, take your ease and have a browse…

Caimh McDonnell ~ ‘How Irish is Too Irish?’

“Accents and colloquial language are a minefield – both in general, and particular in writing. Every author has to make that decision with their characters, how ‘real’ do you go?” (Continue reading HERE )

Evie Gaughan ~ Fail Better…

“You have to be willing to undergo an apprenticeship and give yourself permission to be a beginner. You have to be willing to take rejection and still go on foundering, trying, failing. And failing again” (Continue reading HERE)

Jenny O’ Brien

( A tour of a few of the locations in Ireland that influenced her when writing her novels)

I’m Irish for heaven’s sake and if there’s one thing the Irish can do its talk. Telling tall stories is in our culture just as kissing The Blarney Stone is a sure fire way of imbuing the kisser with the gift of the gab along with more bacteria than is healthy. But I’m estranged if not a stranger to my homeland now” (Continue reading HERE)

Sam Blake ~ Sam Blake’s Writing Places

“Any writer who has a day job (I have several) and/ or children (a couple of those too) knows that getting away from it all is sometimes essential to getting a book finished.

I have quite a busy mind and the only way I can turn it off and focus on story is to head out of the house and plug my earphones in.” (Continue reading HERE )

Caroline Finnerty ~ The Seed of an Idea

“If you think you’d like to write but don’t know where to start, rather than get hung up on having a fully formed plot in your head, start with a seed and see how you get on.”  (Continue reading HERE )

Catherine Ryan Howard ~ CORKONIAN CRIME

“Cork as a setting shouldn’t stand out in a crime/thriller novel, it should fit right in. It should work just as well as Dublin or London or LA. And why not?”(Continue reading HERE )

Patricia Gibney ~ Deadline Dilemma

“I was working with a set of editors who had other authors to work with and if I messed up their schedule, I was causing inconvenience to a whole lot of other people.. Panic set in as I realised I could no longer get out my red pen to scribble in a new date allowing me to wallow in a state of procrastination.” (Continue reading HERE )

Hazel Gaynor ~ We Need to Talk About Reviews

“Reviews, in all their forms, are an essential part of the publication dream so we have to learn to accept them, handle them with dignity, and – above all else – not dwell on them too much, no matter how fabulous or dreadful they might make you feel.” (Continue reading HERE )

Catherine Kullman ~ Some Thoughts on Historical Fiction

“With history becoming more and more a niche subject at schools and universities, it is historical fiction that offers millions of readers a connection to the past, a past which casts long shadows.” (Continue reading HERE)

Jo Spain ~ Ireland ~ Land of saints, scholars and sinners

“It’s a rich fabric of secrets and lies and sordid goings-on that can lend itself to any genre but especially crime. And we Irish writers can hold a magnifying glass up to it and say, Look. Look at this stunning landscape, this culture, this history and look at our people. See what we’ve done right and what we do wrong.” (Continue reading HERE)

Denise Deegan ~ The Story of a Story

“It was so interesting to see how much language had changed over the years. It was all very subtle but definitely noticeable. It wasn’t just language that had changed, though. I had.” (Continue reading HERE)

Jonathan Kaye ~ Plot-walking

“Plot development doesn’t tend to involve much writing.

Rather, it involves thought. A great deal of thought. Deliberate, detailed, constructive, creative, focused and often quite forensic thought.” (Continue reading HERE)

Ann O’ Loughlin ~ What is in a name?

“The title of a novel is so important.  To the reader, it is the promise of what is to come. To the writer it encapsulates the story, the feel of the novel.” (Continue reading HERE )

Sheena Wilkinson ~ The Street Song Challenge

“Writing novels had taught me that achievement doesn’t happen overnight. When I’m writing a first draft I aim for at least 1,000 words a day. Progress seems slow, the achievement of a complete manuscript almost impossible. But word by word, day by day, it gets done.” (Continue reading HERE )

Susanne O’ Leary ~ The Elusive Muse ~ The Confessions of a Pantser

“Writers are either ‘plotters’ or ‘pantsers.’ Plotters draw up an outline before they start work on the actual story, pantsers make up things as they go along (i.e. driving by the seat of their pants.)” (Continue reading HERE)

Faith Hogan ~ Publishing – and the truth of the overnight success

“If you start to write, there is a good chance, that there will be times when you will question every word you put on paper. There will be occasions when you will resent the time you spent on a submission that seemed to get you nowhere. Rejection letters – and there will be some, can drain the positivity of a saint.” (Continue reading HERE)

Margaret Skea ~ The Joy of Isolation (and chocolate)

“I first discovered the joy of isolation six years ago, when I was given the chance to go into purdah, aka a month-long writer’s fellowship in Hawthornden Castle in Scotland.” (Continue reading HERE)

Roisin Meaney ~ The Cat, the Book and Me

“Once upon a time we had a cat. Her name was Tiger (we were young when we named her) and she was the epitome of cat perfection. Gentle, easygoing, affectionate, patient.” (Continue reading HERE)

Adrienne Vaughan ~ A Write Revolution!

“As a writer, I doubt I would ever had made the grade without the recent revolution in the world of publishing.

I’ve always written and – this might have something to do with my Celtic roots – have always dreamed of my work being shared, talked about and above all enjoyed.” (Continue reading HERE)

Triona Scully ~ What’s in a Name

“Actual menimism is a real world political ideology, which is rooted in the entirely unproven belief that feminism has over-extended its remit, to the detriment of men.” (Continue reading HERE)