WRITERS’ CIRCLE

Glenda Young visits

For the first meeting of the year Scarborough Writers’ Circle was delighted to host its second visit from writer Glenda Young.

Glenda is an award-winning author, a member of both the Crime Writers’ and Romantic Novelists’ Associations, runs two Coronation Street blogs and is the creator and writer of the first ever weekly soap opera Riverside to appear in the People’s Friend - the longest running women’s magazine in the world.

Glenda writes saga novels set in the North East which feature strong female characters and more recently has been thrilling readers with her cosy crime novel Murder at the Seaview Hotel which is set in a B&B in Scarborough and features 12 Elvis impersonators!

Glenda, in Scarborough for a combination of holiday rest and writers retreat as she writes her next novel in the Helen Dexter cosy crime series, told Circle members and guests about her personal pathway to becoming a professional writer, starting with a decision to take a journalism course.

The course - and her writing talent - led to a range of exciting writing opportunities but it was also clear that her drive and enthusiasm for the written word is central to her success.

Her experience of ‘stories coming to her’ or snippets of heard dialogue or unusual objects which piqued writer curiosity or prompted ideas was familiar to many of her audience but Glenda gave valuable advice about how to shape writing into forms suitable for publication.

Her enthusiasm for writing for women’s magazines, in particular, was keen and encouraging. She shared tips both about the structuring of stories for publication but also how to promote and protect one’s writing, which was helpful and inspiring.

However, Glenda also encouraged the group to consider the market for novel length works. She advised that reader interest in both historical saga and cosy crime fiction genres remains strong and her encouragement certainly prompted some of the group to reconsider if the genres had a fit with their own writing.

Scarborough Writers’ Circle is grateful to Glenda for giving some of her precious writing time to come and talk with us. We look forward to welcoming her again in the future.

Her new novel in the cosy crime series Curtain Call at the Seaview Hotel will be available to buy later this year and is also available to pre-order.