Ruth Symes

Bella Donna to be Translated in Chinese

Ruth — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:03:33 +0000

Great news, the Bella Donna series is to be translated into Chinese

A first look at “Cat Magic”

Ruth — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:50:10 +0000

Today I got to look at the cover for book four in the Bella Donna series, Cat Magic, I think it’s great.

Cat Magic is due out in 2012

Useful links for writers

admin — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 09:41:00 +0000

Here are some websites that I find useful – hopefully you will too

The publishers of the Writers and Artists yearbook have lots of useful information and links – it’s even possible to search for agents, companies etc who are listed in the printed book.

The BBC Writers Room has lots writing tips, opportunities, links and scripts to download – they will even accept unsolicited screenplays and radio scripts.

There are also links to UK local and regional arts and writing organizations. Often these agencies will offer practical or financial help with training, so it is worth contacting your local organization to see how they can help you.

The BBC new talent website has lots of information and opportunities for writers (and other types of performing art too) – there is even a special section for children.

is an independent network promoting independent filmmaking and is an essential resource for anyone interested in writing or making feature films.

is a free screenplay writing package that has lots of useful features – and it’s free.

Literature and Latte are publishers of Scrivener, an extremely useful program for anyone with a Mac interested in writing. You can download a free trial from their website; even if you don’t have a Mac, the website is still worth looking at for details of Windows alternatives.

Wikipedia is a very useful source for research.

The Society of Authors has lots of useful information on getting published, agents, copyright etc

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustratiors is a useful organization for anyone interested in writing for children. Their website has some good information for people just getting started

arvon run residential writing courses throughout the UK – they offer courses in writing almost all types of subject matter.

The Swanwick Writers’ Summer School is a residential writing week which runs each year. This year I was teaching the Adaptation for Film, TV and Radio module.

Drews Script-o-Rama is a good resource for finding screenplays on the internet. If you’re not sure how to format a screenplay, this is a good place to look.

Another resource for finding screenplays on the internet.

Tools I use for writing

admin — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 09:22:55 +0000

I now write my books and scripts on an Apple Mac computer, but it wasn’t always so – I used to use a small windows based laptop and before that a simple word processing machine that they don’t even make anymore; You don’t need any particular type of computer or software package to write a great book or script – some very famous writers still write using a typewriter or by hand, it’s all a matter of preference. Anyway here are details of the software I use.

It’s important to format film, TV and radio scripts correctly and to do this it is easiest to use some special software; but if you are using a word processor, there are several templates available on the internet.

For Film and TV scripts, I write using Final Draft which is the industry standard software – there are many alternatives and which one you is a matter of personal preference. It’s possible to write film scripts using basic word processing software or a free application such as Celtx(which is available for most operating systems).

The BBC has some templates for formatting scripts using microsoft word, which you can find here.

Like a lot of writers, I find it useful to use an application called Scrivener whilst working on projects.

It comes with lots of templates for different sorts of projects (novels, screenplays, comics). It is quite cheap, but only available for the Mac, although the website has details of similar applications for windows such as PageFour.

For story writing, I use Word but any word processor will do; there are word processors writen especially for writing stories and even good free ones available on the internet.

A very important reference book to have is the Writers and Artists yearbook. In addition to contact details for agents, magazines, competitions, television and ratio; It gives lots of practical advice on writing, marketing, resources etc.

You should be able to find a copy in the reference section of any public library.

There is also a version for children’s wrting too.

I never know where I’ll be when I get a good idea, so I always carry a notebook and pen where ever I go – It’s probably the most useful tool of all.

Writing Scripts

admin — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 09:22:41 +0000

If you have any other writing tips you’d like to share, please send me a message using my contact page.

Little Rex and the Big Roar

admin — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 08:48:11 +0000

Rex liked to stomp and Rex liked to show his pointiest of pointed teeth and waggle his sharpest of sharp claws but most of all Rex liked to roar! While Rex’s baby brothers and sister keep asking him to roar again, his mum and dad tell him he’s too loud.

But one day, they’re very grateful that Rex has such a big roar.

Little Tail

admin — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 08:42:16 +0000

Floppy Ears has a new little rabbit friend, Little Tail, to play with, and big sister Twitchy Nose feels a bit left out. Then Floppy Ears and Little Tail decide they’re not friends after all – and Twitchy Nose finds a wonderful way to bring them together again.

The warmth and charm of the story, and the clever way it deals with an experience that all small children go through, makes this a most appealing second book about Floppy Ears.

Mondays at Monster School

admin — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 06:26:04 +0000

Selected by the BBC to be read on TV on the Bedtime Story Hour

Even little monsters get worried about their first day at school.It’s a big step to take. Fred and Ted are two little monsters who aren’t at all sure they want to go—but once they do, they soon find out it’s fun. After a day filled with mud splashing and slime painting, some howling and growling practice and a good stomp and stamp, not to mention big helpings of worms for lunch—they can’t wait for Tuesday!

Floppy Ears

admin — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 06:21:23 +0000

One of the books selected by the Scattered Authors Society for its national poster campaign

Twitchy Nose says Floppy Ears is too little to come out and play. But when the fox comes by, it turns out to be Floppy Ears who’s the clever one!

The Master of Secrets

admin — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 05:19:49 +0000

Nominated for the Carnegie award

For an English project, each student in Raj’s class has to correspond anonymously with another. Raj soon discovers that his letter writer is the school bully Gabriel, and worse still, he knows Gabriels secret – that he is a victim of violence from his step-father. Raj is faced with a hard decision.