Jericho Writers Townhouse | bridget king | Activity

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 07:31:32 +0000

Hi Mike. That’s interesting. I have also had some long-term friendships with Sri Lankan people. I take it your new friend belongs to the Tamil refugee community ion she’s living in Canada. After the terrible civil war in Sri Lanka hundreds of thousands of Tamil refugees fled the country. The largest group of them settled in Canada, Toronto I… Read more

In reply to - Mike Sedgwick posted an update in the group Historical Fiction

The British takeover of Ceylon from the Dutch in 1795 and the Kandyan kingdom in 1815 is a fascinating period of history, and I’m writing about it.

In […]

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum Historical Fiction

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 07:35:22 +0000

Reply to Feedback much appreciated! - opening pages of a medieval adventure novel

Hi Nick. This is a very interesting extract. The chant at the beginning is a great idea, reminding us of the children these two characters are. Would it still work for you if it had a structured metre which you stick to for the first 3 lines? This could make the last, longer line much more effective, by setting up readers’ expectations and then…

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Sun, 26 Jan 2025 20:54:39 +0000

Hi Andrea. Most Jericho members took this course when it came out last year, all waiting eagerly for each new episode every week. It was mostly pretty good, I’m sure you’ll learn a lot by watching the video tutorials. However, it’s probably unlikely that you’ll get much feedback. There’s a group where you can ask for feedback on your pitch, I… Read more

In reply to - Andrea Peterson posted an update in the group The Basics of Writing A Novel – A Six Week Course – Peer-to-Peer Feedback Group

Hi all! I just finished Module 1 of this course and wanted to post my exercise, but I&# […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 09:49:38 +0000

Hi Kate. My project about the Ruhr area durning Nazi Germany has 2 protagonists. Both are written in present tense, one in close 1st person, one in 3rd. This is because the project is based on eyewitness testimony about the original people the characters are based on. The 1st person character wrote her testimony herself, some of it in real time.… Read more

In reply to - Kate Zagoskina posted an update in the group Historical Fiction

Question to the group: what tense do you all use in your writing? Past or present?
I’m working through a re-write (3rd-person limited POV) and toying […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 07:19:28 +0000

Hi Stanley. I hope we’ll get to see some extracts from your novel on the forums soon. The members’ feedback is always very useful.

In reply to - Stanley Whatley posted an update in the group Premium Members

Hi. I just joined Premium last night. I’ve been pushing away at the same novel for a couple of years, about a spendthrift, credit card junkie who uses […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 06:57:20 +0000

Mentoring is nothing more than a private writing teacher really. We tend to use the mentor as an editor, but that might not actually be the way to get the best out of them. Quite honestly, with hindsight, I think what I should have done was ask her to give me writing prompts or homework with a deadline, then discuss what I produced in the live… Read more

In reply to - Emma Kingscott posted an update in the group Premium Members

Hi All, I am hoping that those of you who have used the 1-to-1 mentoring service would share your ‘top tips’ on how you made it work best for you. I […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 18:51:32 +0000

Hi Emma. I think some of your correspondents above are confused between the Agent 121 offer and the Writing Mentor. I bought 10 hours of mentoring from Jericho, which I used over 2 years. The mentor was very nice and I enjoyed our chats. She certainly helped me on my ongoing journey towards becoming a writer.
However, her advice was very… Read more

In reply to - Emma Kingscott posted an update in the group Premium Members

Hi All, I am hoping that those of you who have used the 1-to-1 mentoring service would share your ‘top tips’ on how you made it work best for you. I […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 18:27:23 +0000

I echo the vote for Writing Magazine. Try Mslexia too.

In reply to - Hannah Doyle posted an update in the group Writing Competitions

Hello all! Does anyone have a good resource they’d like to share for staying up to date with competitions? A social media account that’s particularly […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Sat, 07 Dec 2024 08:34:57 +0000

I’ll PM you mine. Hope I get one back from you.

In reply to - judith Deveson posted an update in the group Perfect your pitch

Just tried to reply to Bridget, but it didn’t post – so I’ll try this:

Thanks so much for replying! I’m going to find it so difficult to make a pitch […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 15:12:50 +0000

I wouldn’t get hung up worrying about a pitch. Get your book as good as you can first. If all else fails, try a sweary pitch with the worst language you can muster. In my private group we found this very useful.

In reply to - judith Deveson posted an update in the group Perfect your pitch

Just tried to reply to Bridget, but it didn’t post – so I’ll try this:

Thanks so much for replying! I’m going to find it so difficult to make a pitch […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 21:20:22 +0000

OK, you need to click on “Townhouse”. On that screen there should be an option you can choose called “Groups”. Click on that and you will find the Wall Betas (in a very long list!). When you’ve found it, you have to click on the group logo, request to join and tell Rod what genre you want to be categorised in. He will sign you up and send a… Read more

In reply to - judith Deveson posted an update in the group Premium Members

I’ve just joined the group – feeling rather apprehensive – haven’t joined a group like this before. Not quite sure what to expect! Filling in forms on […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 12:15:07 +0000

You’ll love Rachel’s beautiful book “The Hazard”, an earlier draft of which I’ve had the great privilege to read. Can’t wait for the new version, Rachel! But hey, your pieces don’t have to be perfect to go up on Feedback Friday!! By no means. Some of mine have been well rough. Have a look at a few tomorrow and you’ll certainly say, “Oh. I can do this!”

In reply to - judith Deveson posted an update in the group Premium Members

I’ve just joined the group – feeling rather apprehensive – haven’t joined a group like this before. Not quite sure what to expect! Filling in forms on […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 12:07:15 +0000

Haha. Whenever Harry gets around to it. It’s usually up by 10.30 GMT.

In reply to - judith Deveson posted an update in the group Premium Members

I’ve just joined the group – feeling rather apprehensive – haven’t joined a group like this before. Not quite sure what to expect! Filling in forms on […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 12:05:51 +0000

Plunge in. You don’t need a tour. You’ll get an email tomorrow with a link to the new Feedback Friday forum. We’ll all leave you a comment. Remember to comment on other people’s work if you want to collect plenty of feedback yourself. And always thank the people who commented on your piece, so that you keep getting bumped back to the top of the… Read more

In reply to - judith Deveson posted an update in the group Premium Members

I’ve just joined the group – feeling rather apprehensive – haven’t joined a group like this before. Not quite sure what to expect! Filling in forms on […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 09:03:28 +0000

Welcome Clare! Join some groups and post something tomorrow on the Feedback Friday Forum. You’ll get a long waffling email from Harry about his preoccupation of the week, and right at the end will be a tiny little writing prompt and a link to this week’s Feedback Friday forum. You can start be leaving a few friendly comments on other writers’… Read more

In reply to - Clare Fryer posted an update in the group Premium Members

Hi, I’ve just joined this group and am looking forward to getting to know other writers. I have one self published novel which was launched this year, The […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 09:00:25 +0000

2 books. I’m not illiterate, honest.

In reply to - Clare Fryer posted an update in the group Premium Members

Hi, I’ve just joined this group and am looking forward to getting to know other writers. I have one self published novel which was launched this year, The […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 08:59:45 +0000

Still, we bow down in awe at your feet. You managed to get 2 book trad published. That makes you a Goddess.

In reply to - Clare Fryer posted an update in the group Premium Members

Hi, I’ve just joined this group and am looking forward to getting to know other writers. I have one self published novel which was launched this year, The […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 08:54:31 +0000

You can join a bunch of groups Judith. Put your name down for anything you think might apply to your work. For example you can find me in Jericho Wall Betas, run by the heroically hard-working Rod Francis, Historical Fiction and my own private Feedback Group. Thanks to persuasion from Rod, I am even considering joining the Screenwriting group. The… Read more

In reply to - judith Deveson posted an update in the group Premium Members

I’ve just joined the group – feeling rather apprehensive – haven’t joined a group like this before. Not quite sure what to expect! Filling in forms on […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 08:46:39 +0000

I can attest that Roger is a reliable feeder-back who will never say anything mean about your writing! 😀

In reply to - judith Deveson posted an update in the group Premium Members

I’ve just joined the group – feeling rather apprehensive – haven’t joined a group like this before. Not quite sure what to expect! Filling in forms on […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 08:24:00 +0000

Hi Judith, welcome to Jericho! There are lots of friendly people here! Why don’t you have a look at the Groups and see which one best fits the sort of writing you do? Lots of the groups are very active and you can soon get to recognise names. There, you’ll get a chance to see the sort of thing others are writing and what other members are saying… Read more

In reply to - judith Deveson posted an update in the group Premium Members

I’ve just joined the group – feeling rather apprehensive – haven’t joined a group like this before. Not quite sure what to expect! Filling in forms on […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 07:11:23 +0000

Under my story, you will find some wonderful feedback from Susan (above) which is a perfect example of how to offer constructive criticism and help a stuck writer move forwards.

In reply to - Clare Dalton posted an update in the group Historical Fiction

Hi. I’m incredibly new here and still finding my way around but I thought I’d dive in regardless!

I have just finished my first draft of my first nov […]

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum Historical Fiction

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 07:08:08 +0000

Reply to Anyone up for giving me Feedback? I'd like to enter a competition.

Kate, “connect” with me on the private channel and I’ll send it to you in there. I’m not sure about the copyright situation with the English Version of my chapter. It might belong to the publishers of the German book. Until I’m clear about that I’d better keep the chapter off any public forums.

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 07:05:56 +0000

Hello Clare. If you’ve been working alone up until now, Jericho is a great place to meet other writers and get a “feel” for things. I suggest you submit bits and pieces of your novel for feedback and see what the comments are like before you send the full manuscript out to agents. You’ve paid your money now so try and get some value from it! One… Read more

In reply to - Clare Dalton posted an update in the group Historical Fiction

Hi. I’m incredibly new here and still finding my way around but I thought I’d dive in regardless!

I have just finished my first draft of my first nov […]

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum Historical Fiction

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:27:02 +0000

Reply to Anyone up for giving me Feedback? I'd like to enter a competition.

Hi Kate! I didn’t realise you were Ukrainian. Because the poor young men who died were not named in the records, I gave them names of my Ukrainian colleagues and my little refugee Ukrainian violin students in the Music school in Germany where I teach. In fact, I’ve since found out that the victims of this murder were actually from Belarus. I need…

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum Historical Fiction

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 19:31:53 +0000

Reply to Anyone up for giving me Feedback? I'd like to enter a competition.

Hi Angela. Thanks so much for the eagle eyes! You’re quite right about the cigarette. I’ll cut it down from 3 to 2. And I’ll have a look at the vandalism section. It sounds like a typo or two might have crept in there.

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum Historical Fiction

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 19:30:06 +0000

Reply to Anyone up for giving me Feedback? I'd like to enter a competition.

Thank you Roger for the lovely comments. You’re right about football. It’s Fußball in German so that’s what Paul would have said. I’ll change that before I send it off. AS for the comments, I’m pretty tough these days. Putting a piece on a public forum has been worth it though, to get some good nuggets of useful feedback like yours.

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum Historical Fiction

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 07:16:31 +0000

Reply to Anyone up for giving me Feedback? I'd like to enter a competition.

Hi Susan. Thank you so much for this extremely useful and constructive feedback. All the points you make in your notes are important and I’ll spend the next few days thinking about how I can best incorporate them into my story. Posting work on a public forum like this is risky because many of the comments are unhelpful. However, it’s worth it to…

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum Historical Fiction

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 15:35:13 +0000

Reply to Anyone up for giving me Feedback? I'd like to enter a competition.

Hi Sharon.This piece is about 2 guys who were in Germany throughout the war. It’s based on the eyewitness report of the Gestapo head of department involved. He was never in Russia and had no involvement in any of the matters you mention. It isn’t possible to cover all of history in a short story. They’re just snapshots of one event.

bridget king started a new discussion in the forum Historical Fiction

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 11:17:01 +0000

Anyone up for giving me Feedback? I'd like to enter a competition.

Hi fellow Historical writers. I don’t usually ask strangers for Feedback but I’m feeling gung-ho today. I write about Germany during the NS terror 1933-45, from the POV of people you might call perpetrators so obviously there are references to violence. Please don’t click on the document if you think this might upset you.

I would like to enter…

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum Historical Fiction

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 07:43:28 +0000

Reply to Fitzjohn - First Chapter

Hi Jennifer. Thank you for posting this. I enjoyed it very much. You have a wonderful protagonist who pulls readers into her world from your very first brilliant sentence. And the two others she interacts with are also vividly drawn. You weave in setting beautifully, grounding us in the world of a medieval village with its thatched roofs,…

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 07:45:57 +0000

Hi Kate. What you have above looks like a pitch and a brief synopsis. Try and edit what you’ve called your DNA to include the connection between the 3 elements and what the stakes are here. Use the word count from the second sentence which you could probably do without as it’s very general. Some competitions ask for a “longline” which is like a… Read more

In reply to - Kate Zagoskina posted an update in the group Perfect your pitch

Hi :),

I’m new, and I was wondering if I could get any thoughts on a pitch attempt? Any thoughts are massively appreciated!

Title: Pietas
Genre: […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 07:53:30 +0000

For a masterful example of this reread The Lord of the Rings. It splits into 4 main POVs, with shorter sections by several others. However, everyone would agree that this is Frodo’s story, and everything else in the books serves his epic quest.

In reply to - Kate Zagoskina posted an update in the group Historical Fiction

Hello :)!

Nice to meet everyone! I’m new to Jericho and the group and was wondering if anyone had any experience/thoughts regarding multiple POVs and […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 07:49:39 +0000

Hi Kate. My project sounds similar to yours. 6 years on… Multiple POVs are common, especially in fantasy. I think the rule is no more than five but best is two or three. I suggest for the moment that you keep going as you are, going through multiple drafts. As you continue, you will find that one or two characters and one narrative becomes… Read more

In reply to - Kate Zagoskina posted an update in the group Historical Fiction

Hello :)!

Nice to meet everyone! I’m new to Jericho and the group and was wondering if anyone had any experience/thoughts regarding multiple POVs and […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 07:11:30 +0000

Hear hear Dave. Debbie, I would add that I’m not at all sure about using random people you don’t know as beta readers. It’s something I would never do. Why not use your membership of Jericho to build yourself a reliable group of trusted writing friends before you let strangers with unknown agendas pull your beloved book to pieces? .

In reply to - Debbie Wastling posted an update in the group Historical Fiction

Is it OK to ask for Historical Beta readers on this group?

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 07:06:46 +0000

Reading a whole draft from someone I don’t know at all is a big ask. However, the members of this group are all working on historical fiction so might be more interested than the general beta readers group. I suggest you offer your first couple of chapters, max 5000 words (the usual competition submission). If you can give us a bit more… Read more

In reply to - Debbie Wastling posted an update in the group Historical Fiction

Is it OK to ask for Historical Beta readers on this group?

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum Historical Fiction

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 07:18:56 +0000

Reply to Slaves of the Vikings: opening

Can’t you just make it Gorm who punches her?

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum Historical Fiction

Sun, 27 Oct 2024 11:04:50 +0000

Reply to Slaves of the Vikings: opening

Hi Roger. I’ve read your revised opening and I think the first version is brilliant. Go with that and good luck in the competition! The only thing I would say is could you make room for a bit more reaction to the punch in the stomach? What did it feel like? Did it make the girl retch, knock her breath away? Did she have to struggle to get air…

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum Historical Fiction

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 06:56:05 +0100

Reply to "Last Steam Engine to Mars"

Ah I see. I knew one of the modern members of the Habsburg dynasty. He was a student of my Dad’s at St Andrews University in the early 1980s. We once met him at the station and had a nice chat. Later, on the train, my Dad said to me casually, “Did you know that was the Emperor of Austria?”

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum Historical Fiction

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 05:40:41 +0100

Reply to "Last Steam Engine to Mars"

Hi Jason. That looks great! May I ask which AI site you’ve been using? I’ve used those too, to make mugshots of my main characters. It’s great fun and in both cases, I got a face which was exactly what I was looking for.

I wanted to ask, what the German words at the bottom mean? Whether they were what you intended? As a bilingual English/German…

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Sat, 21 Sep 2024 07:55:36 +0100

Hi Jason. If you’ve set yourself a target of 6 months for research, writing and editing I assume you’re already an experienced author with other books under your belt! My best advice re Jericho is become a Premium member, watch the videos from the recent Write a novel in 6 weeks course, and try to join the present Good to Great cause that’s still… Read more

In reply to - Jason Hall posted an update in the group Historical Fiction

I’ve just signed up with Jericho to support me in my quest to write an historical fiction story in the next six months. I’ve had an idea rolling around […]

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum All about writing

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 08:05:59 +0100

Reply to Repeat Phrases

Dear Scott, to answer your question, we would need more information. Why don’t you post some specific examples of the problems you’re having and give details of the sort of help you’re looking for?

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum All about writing

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 07:55:53 +0100

Reply to Sex scene

My advice is reread sex scenes that worked for you in books you remember enjoying. Now that you’re a writer yourself, you can analyse what that author did which was successful. For me, the best sex scenes don’t go into minute anatomical detail. Everyone knows what goes where and too much information about bodies can be a turn-off. Some writers…

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum All about writing

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 16:19:22 +0100

Reply to Elevator Pitch

Hi Scott. This sounds exciting. To please Harry, High-profile lawyer wakes up beside a dead body” would probably do the job.

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 06:51:13 +0100

Hi Jane. I’m writing about WW2 too, from the POV of a conflicted Gestapo man and a woman with mental health problems he arrests. It’s based on unpublished testimony from eyewitnesses. I’d be happy to chat about our projects.

In reply to - Jane Witton posted an update in the group Historical Fiction

Anyone out there interested in WW2/ novels from a fresh angle/ the prospect of self-publishing? My book’s set in occupied Amsterdam. Complete novel, but […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 07:51:16 +0100

I should add that my Dad was a lecturer in mediaeval history at St Andrews. I’m just quoting the sources I remember him using. Looking at his book, “Western Monasticism”, there are some chapters on the early church which might well be relevant because the church was basically the only organisation keeping records in the Dark Ages.
Western… Read more

In reply to - Chris Wilcox posted an update in the group Historical Fiction

Hello All
My book is a Historical YA Fantasy – not quite a match to this group, but would appreciate any help on ‘authenticity’ of living for late 10th […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 07:41:14 +0100

Hi Chris. I guess you’ve already been to the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh. I would try and get hold of any parish records there, or see if there’s anything left over from the abbeys and monasteries that John Knox didn’t destroy! Their financial and property records would tell you a lot. Try St Andrews University. They may have… Read more

In reply to - Chris Wilcox posted an update in the group Historical Fiction

Hello All
My book is a Historical YA Fantasy – not quite a match to this group, but would appreciate any help on ‘authenticity’ of living for late 10th […]

bridget king replied to a discussion in the forum All about writing

Sat, 01 Jun 2024 16:01:06 +0100

Reply to Wordcount

This might be a good position to be in Rose. Firstly, congratulations on completing a book at all and secondly further congratulations on not waffling. I suggest you send it out to beta readers as it is. They’ll soon tell you where they feel they need more. Sometimes, when it comes to our own work, we can’t see the wood for trees!

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Fri, 24 May 2024 17:50:47 +0100

Hi David. My novel is set in the Ruhrgebiet during WW2. The “hero” is a Gestapo agent. I’m sure he and his fellow Nazis would be more than happy to tussle with your characters if you want to send us a couple of chapters.

In reply to - David Havley posted an update in the group Historical Fiction

Is there anyone interested in writing/critiquing novels set during World War Two? If so please get in contact so we can (hopefully!) improve our work […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Wed, 22 May 2024 06:59:02 +0100

Hi Jacqueline. I think this passage has the potential to be really moving if you chip away at it for a little longer. It’s full of great ideas. Some things that really worked for me were the way the fragile flower petals were in such stark contrast to the violence you never mention. This is a very powerful image. Also, the way the men in the… Read more

In reply to - Jacqueline Swift posted an update in the group Historical Fiction

I selected 250 words to share on the genre zoom this evening but they did not have time, so I’m going to be brave and share it here.

For a little […]

bridget king posted a new activity comment

Mon, 20 May 2024 06:24:51 +0100

Ah I see. Self-publishing and self-advertisement is very much what Harry recommends and he’s obviously brilliant at it. Look at the way he’s grown Jericho! I hope your book does well. Please keep the other members informed of how sales go and whether your book gets picked up by an agent or publisher. I still intend to try traditional publishing… Read more

In reply to - Joseph D’mello to bridget king @bridget-king

Hi Bridget,

Hope you are doing well! I have some news to share: My book ‘The Loot’ is published and is available on Amazon. Hope you get a chance to read it!