fiction

“My writing is going to be on the radio!!!” I scream at my startled husband, who then of course congratulates me, the initial shock having worn off.

Seriously, I was absolutely DELIGHTED to get this opportunity, which came about through the amazing Cambridge Writers’ Group, (http://www.cambridgewriters.org) who were approached by BBC Radio Cambridgeshire for content for their evening show’s regular fiction slot.

So, join your local writers’ groups, join national writers’ groups, online groups, Facebook groups, everything you can find. Connections and opportunities can and do arise through these sorts of groups.

The Story Behind The Story

It was another lovely local group, the Royston and District Writers’ Circle (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1717302128482540) who set the challenge, concerning history, which resulted in my story, ‘One February Night’. The challenge was to either re-write a historical event, write an account from a new point of view, or solve a famous mystery. Another great reason to join writers’ groups; it’s much easier to come up with story ideas when you are given prompts, parameters and a timeframe in which to produce the goods! In this particular case, my interest in horses prompted a friend to suggest I write a story that solves the mystery of the disappearance of the famous racehorse, Shergar.

Incidentally, if you want to hear my short story, it’s on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire (or online via their website) at 9.30pm Monday 10th – Thursday 13th August. But if you’ve missed any episodes, don’t worry, you can catch up on BBC Sounds (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p08753g8) Just go to the shows from the dates above and forward through the show until just before 9.30pm (about 3 and a half hours in) to listen to the episode. Hurry though, I think they only keep shows from the last thirty days.

How did I come up with the plot?

My knowledge of the real life story was sketchy and so, here’s another message for you, research was crucial to success!

As it was a fiction woven around real-life events, it had to be convincing enough to make sense in the real-life situation. To achieve this, I found out everything I could about the background to the story, starting with the setting, specifically, where Shergar was stabled when he vanished. I also combed Google Maps’ satellite imagery to discover the physical features and landmarks in the surrounding area. The final text contained just a few touches of this research, such as a mention of the Curragh racecourse, to bring authenticity to the narrative.

I read up on what was supposed to have happened to Shergar, and some of the events mentioned sparked ideas which shaped my plot, so I could be sure my version of events was plausible considering what are known facts. For example, a horse sale which features in my story was a real event which did happen. Nobody knows if it had any bearing on what really happened to Shergar, but it was a great plot device for me.

Recording the Voice-over

Due to the Coronavirus situation, I was asked to record the narration myself at home. The show’s lovely presenter, Thordis (Twitter @thunderfairy), and her production team then added a soundscape of amazing effects and music which totally brought the story to life. I have a good quality (Rode) microphone at home and recorded at quiet times of the day to prevent background noise sneaking in. Add in a duvet piled around me and my mic, and I had my makeshift recording studio!

As One February Night was originally written as a short story, rather than for radio broadcast, I did make a few changes from the text version, most notably, removing an instance of strong swearing! The narrative also needed to be split into sections to create the four episodes for broadcast. This required voicing the paragraphs that would form the ends of the episodes in a ‘wrapping-up’ sort of style, rather than sounding as if I was about to continue with the next sentence.

I used Audacity, which is free, open-source software to record the piece, and I would definitely recommend it. It’s very easy to use but has loads of helpful features for recording and editing. For example, if you make a mistake with the lines (or the neighbour’s dog barks!) you can use ‘punch and roll’. This plays the last few sentences before the error back to you before starting recording again, so you can pick up straight away from where you left off, and continue with the same level of energy and intonation you had before. There’s also plenty of information and advice online if you get stuck with anything.

Get Out There!

Here’s the final message! Get out there with your writing and take whatever chances come along. I almost didn’t go for this because, like pretty much every writer, I was sure there would be loads of other writers submitting better pieces of work than mine. But I took a chance and it paid off. GO FOR IT!

Let me know in the comments what writing opportunities have come along unexpectedly for you.

Happy writing!