I'm pleased to invite Helen Laycock onto my blog today.
Back last autumn, a very nice lady
called Jane approached me in the village library where I volunteer
and asked if I gave readings. A friend of hers had enjoyed one of my short story collections, it seemed, and had passed it on to Jane, who
had then passed it on again.
‘I loved it,’ she said, ‘and I
know that my ladies would love your style, too!’ Her ladies
are residents of the care home for the elderly for which Jane
organises entertainment.
My ‘style’, eh? I don’t think
Jane had come across my other stuff. No. Definitely not. After
all, she told me that I was such a lovely lady. I shook my
curls and smiled brightly, quickly dismissing any material from my
two collections of dark, psychological tales about characters on the
periphery of society, and thought about sunshine and flowers. La la
la la la. I would focus on my light-hearted stories. Much more
appropriate for the ladies (and Jane would still think I was lovely).
I decided not to select anything from
‘Light Bites’, the book she had read, as some of the ladies had
also read it. Instead, I would put together a programme of
carefully-selected stories which had not yet seen the light of day. I
have quite a lot of new material ready to slot into three forthcoming
collections – Fairytales for Grown Ups, Confessions…
and (Sh! Don’t tell Jane) more disturbing stuff for a book which
will have the title The Darkening. Last time I gave a talk, I
broke up the story-reading with a few funny poems, a successful
formula which I would repeat.
So, all I had to do was put together a
programme.
‘That funny story about the cat! Yes,
that always makes me laugh.’
‘But the cat dies,’ warned my
husband. ‘You can’t read that. Old ladies love cats.’
‘They only think the cat has
died. It’s actually under the bed eating the chicken fillets it
stole from the shopping bag.’
But he was right. I crossed it off the
list.
I would definitely read the one about
the double booking of the Canadian log cabin in a blizzard over
Christmas. Hilarious! But then Jane telephoned to ask if we could
move the talk to after Christmas when their building work had
finished, by which time it would be a bit of a stale subject, I
thought. Back out with the black pen. Scribble scribble.
I then specially wrote an adult
fairytale set in a care home for retired fairyfolk. It was funny…
but would that be insensitive? Scrapped.
I did have a story which had done well
in a competition and had been traditionally published. It was black
humour, however, and set in a mortuary. A mortuary? What was I
thinking? No. Scrapped.
More to the point, what would Jane
think?
The more I re-read my stories, the more
I became obsessed by details which might upset Jane’s ladies. Was a
mention of alcohol appropriate? Drugs? Dating? S- (cough) -ex?
What I needed was bland. But, let’s
be honest, who wants to listen to a bland story?
Finally, after weeks of re-reading, I
had the perfect selection. I practised reading everything and
developed an array of (rather good) character voices to bring the
stories to life.
So, to the outcome:
I only got through half of my material;
some of the residents were late arriving, and a few wanted to chat.
I introduced each story by briefly
explaining what had inspired it and started with ‘A Recipe for
Disaster’ (which will end up in ‘Confessions’). It’s about
the (dastardly) lengths a woman goes to to replace the missing
courgettes with cucumber when her neighbours come over for a meal –
a good tip at the moment during the courgette shortage. You’re
welcome! And, yes, something which I admit to doing, but, to clarify,
I was a student at the time and it only involved
vegetable-replacement, not dastardly deeds. This was followed by a
new adult fairytale where I gave the giant a broad West Country
accent, and then a funny poem which I had written after a painful
pony trekking experience
– I am happy to report that I am
(finally) over it.
A few ladies listened with their eyes
closed. No, they had not fallen asleep… I like to think that they
were imbibing my words in a state of full contentment. After checking
that they wanted more, I read just one more ‘confession’ story
called ‘That Sinking Feeling’, inspired by a true event from my
teenage years when I was desperate for the loo after arriving at the
home of my French Exchange family. It went down well. Then the hour
was up.
They laughed in
all the right places, clapped and congratulated me at the end. I
particularly liked the phrase ‘You’re very clever’. Of course,
I completely forgot to take photos, or to give out the bookmarks I
had made (I left some with Jane). However, lots seemed interested in
my children’s books which I had put on display, and, being
completely computer-savvy, went off to order books from Amazon! I
still have the second half of the talk which I can use next time I
visit and I came home with a beautiful pot plant. So, all in all, a
successful morning (as it should be after all that blinkin’
planning).
22 comments:
Hi Helen and Patsy ... what a fun post ... and it sounds like your stories are great fun, and that you read them with verve. I can imagine the difficulties you had selecting your stories - but it all sounds as though a successful morning was had by all ... lovely read - cheers to you both - Hilary
What a fun post, Helen. Trying to second guess what the reader will appreciate sounds even worse than trying to predict what an editor will buy. Well done on a successful outing. You'll be on the WI speakers' circle soon.
What a wonderful experience, Helen, and how lovely to be asked.
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Hilary!
It was a lovely morning, and not a bit scary like some talks can be. I think my reputation is still intact...
Helen
Thank you, Bea.
Yes, who knew the level of stress involved in trying so hard not to cause offence! There was a bit of flirtation involved between the Giant and Little Red Riding Hood, but I think I got away with it.
The WI? Now that does scare me...
Helen
Yes, it's always lovely to be invited to speak, Wendy. It makes me feel like a Real Writer!!
Helen
Bleedin' heck. I want to be put into a retirement village just to be able to listen to you. What a wealth of preparation and sifting you had to do. One tip though, when I get matron to invite you, I do want all the dark stuff!!
Aha! Someone to cackle with...
Mwah hah hah!!
Hahahahahahahaha, success!
Hello Patsy and Helen!
Sounds you had lovely time Helen. And you book sounds fun, too!
Thank you, Helen. Do you have a blog of your own?
That read just like a story, but I was expecting a twist ending?
I wanted one of those old ladies to stick her hand up and ask you when you were going to read a dark story for them...
Like your style, and I too like the lady above, wonder if you have time to write a blog?
How I love the hear the sound of hearty laughter, Oscar! And, yes, the smell of success is always sweet, too.
Helen
Thank you, Nas. Yes, I enjoyed it (even if no one else did)!!
Helen
Hello, Rosemary.
I'm not a prolific blogger, unlike some.
*looks at Patsy*
But I do have one. Well, two, actually...
I think Patsy has made hyperlinks above, but here they are again:
This is my original one which tends to have longer posts:
https://catchingcottonclouds.wordpress.com/
And on one of my websites I have a 'Writing News' blog where I sum up each month in respect of competitions and submissions I have attempted.
http://helenlaycock.wixsite.com/fiction-in-a-flash/writing-news
Helen
I didn't let on, Maria. I kept that 'other' Helen Laycock under wraps... until I said goodbye to Jane at the door. I was most surprised when she said she loved 'dark stuff'. I did notice a sale of Minor Discord the next day, so I think that might have been her.
And, yes, see above for blog links. As they don't look like links, you'll have to highlight them and right click to 'Go to...'
Otherwise, as I mentioned, I think Patsy has created links above.
Helen
Great post, Helen - I too was waiting to hear if someone wanted darker stories. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they enjoyed those too!
Perhaps I should do a candlelit reading in a deserted monastery...
Yes, yes, and shine a torch on to my face.
Or, is that a step too far?
Glad you enjoyed it, Rosemary!
Helen
Lovely post, Helen and Patsy.
Thanks for sharing the details of choosing the stories, and the actual event. :-)
A great post. Thank you, Helen and Patsy.
You're very welcome, Carol. Glad you enjoyed it!
Helen
I'm glad it was of interest, Jan. I always find it difficult to come up with ideas for blog posts!
Helen
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