Over 70 participants took the challenge Make It Write offered writers their latest contest; in 300 or 150 words, create a story around the prompt Cruel Summer. After so many pieces touching on a wide array of ideas and themes bursting with creativity, we have our finalists. 

300 words:

- Waiting For The Light - Flloyd Kennedy

- Summer Without Pause - Linda Lewis

150 words:

- Not Then, Not Now - Joe Lucking

- The Great British Summer - Liz Hardy

- The Zingy Thrill Of Red - Leonisha Barley

- Summer's End - Nadine Jump

Today, we have the privilege of speaking to a few of these writers to gain an insight into what inspired them to write and what their stories have to offer. Like-minded productions asked 5 of the Cruel Summer writers a few short questions about their process and what inspired them to write. Every artist from any walk of life had to start somewhere, and that start is an inspiration. That initial spark that lights a flame that roars into an inferno of creativity, we asked what that was for these writers: 

I’ve enjoyed writing for as long as I can remember, from ‘compositions’ (as we used to call them) in primary school, history essays in secondary school, to poetry and songs and plays in later life. - Flloyd Kennedy 

Growing up in a working-class migrant household I was surrounded by stories. As I get older, I feel the need to write them down. - Joe Lucking 

One of my earliest memories is of watching 'Joseph' on stage and being mesmerised by the spectacle of it all. For many years, I was an English and Drama teacher and this further developed my love of theatre. In the last few years, I have begun to write and have really enjoyed developing my dramaturgical skills. - Nadine Jump 

I have done bits and pieces of writing for many years, mainly inspired by everyday ‘life humour’ situations - Elizabeth Hardy 

I have enjoyed writing all my life. I can remember using a notebook to write a book when I was very young and English was always my favourite subject at school. - Linda Lewis 

These are the starts of five incredibly talented writers. Quite often from humble beginnings, artists fall in love with their craft, and that love is what drives us to do what we do best. These wordsmiths clearly show that taking that love and crafting it into a piece of writing is vital to their personal experience. Each artist draws upon their own individual reservoir of creativity, the beauty of this is that we get to see so many different stories and ideas take shape. These are just a glimpse of what our five writers have to offer with their pieces: 

WAITING FOR THE LIGHT - "An older lady waits for the promised visit from her children and grandchildren. They said they would come in the spring, but now it is summer and she notices the ‘dust fairies’ that the summer sun literally brings to light, and which she enjoyed herself as a child." - Kennedy 

SUMMER WITHOUT PAUSE -"The piece is essentially about a woman experiencing symptoms of the menopause that are exacerbated by a summer heatwave and how this amounts to a cruel summer for her. I found personification a quirky and useful tool here." - Lewis 

NOT THEN, NOT NOW - "Not then, not now is a homage to the Irish migrants who rebuilt England and paid a terrible price for doing so." - Lucking

THE GREAT BRITISH SUMMER "A 150 word monologue taking a bit of a ‘grumpy’, tongue in cheek look at all the elements that typecast what we call ‘summer’. Golf, cricket, tennis, beaches, picnics, sun, rain, moaning about the heat etc" - Hardy 

SUMMERS END "Summer's End is about love and loss. It centres around a holiday romance which inevitably ends, as all good things do." - Jump 

Gaining insight into other artists' creative processes is always a useful way to share ideas and help the whole community grow and develop together. The aim of the game with local artists is encouragement. These five writers are proof that with a little dash of passion, you can create amazing works of art that inspire a whole community. 

Sharing your work with a wide audience can often be a daunting experience; however we see that with these pieces, often taking your work out of the notebook and into the world, will benefit you on your journey as a creative. The drive to present your work can come in a variety of different ways, these are what moved our writers to join Make It Writes competition. 

Ideas often come to me when I’m out walking, mostly in the form of conversations between imaginary characters, but this one arrived as an internal monologue.  I usually avoid competitions, but this idea didn’t fit in with the current project that I am working on, so I was looking for somewhere to put it. - Kennedy 

Writing short form, or in a novel is always different and challenging. I wanted to see if I could write about medical negligence, science, grief, belief, and religion in 150 words. The theme of cruel summer opened the door to do so. - Lucking 

I liked the idea of writing a short snappy piece on a subject that everyone has an opinion about. Once I had a vague idea in my head the words just came at me, and I enjoyed connecting up the thoughts.  - Hardy 

I was inspired to enter the monologue competition when I heard about it on Make it Write’s drop in page. I thought that if others were entering then why not me? Over the years my writing has improved and the word count seemed manageable. I knew a flash of apprehension when I was about to submit my monologue but pressed “Send” anyway.  - Lewis 

 

I was intrigued by the title (the juxtaposition of cruelty with Summer, which we associate usually with happiness and contentment). I also liked the challenge of writing a play with such a limited number of words. - Jump 

It is clear that each writer has had their own journey with this competition be it a challenge, an interest in the subject matter, or even just for fun! The beauty of having so many different viewpoints on this topic is that we get to see just how varied the life of an artist can be. Inspiration really does strike at any moment and it can be anything from the most mundane to the most fantastical experiences life has to offer. 

Competitions, like Make It Writes, allow artists the chance to hone their craft and learn new things about their craft and about themselves. There is no exception here as we see that from entering this competition, not one of the participants has left unchanged. 

Writing to a word limit is always a challenge for me. I tend to forget how much I do actually enjoy the refining process of editing— intensifying the way the thoughts can be expressed. I’m also not a big fan of writing to a theme chosen by someone else. But of course, all writing IS writing to a theme, once you get started. When left to my own devices, the theme only emerges once I get started. In this instance, I had to keep the theme in mind and find a way for it to reveal itself.  - Kennedy 

Writing can be a lonely hard road so joining Make It Write, a community of artists led by the inspirational Sharon Colpman and Ted Gray has encouraged me to continue. - Lucking 

Writing my submission challenged me to be economical but meaningful in my writing and conveying a message using as few words as possible. This helped me to look at the importance of each word in a piece of writing. The experience has enabled me to consider writing my thoughts down and build up my writing from an original idea of just a few words or ideas.  - Hardy 

It was a real challenge to convey such a big story with the word count and in cutting back on my writing over and over again to make it fit the 150-word count, I definitely learnt that less can be more! In fact, being increasingly selective with my writing made it more poetic and more powerful. I learned to be playful with the things that weren't being said, with the spaces between the words, and even with the layout on the page. - Jump 

the whole of this experience has given me more confidence in my writing. I was losing hope that at my age I could achieve recognition for my creative work but now I have renewed hope. - Lewis 

By participating in MIW’s comp, each writer has said they have gained a new understanding or insight into their craft which is vital for each creative's journey moving forward. With that being said, the future looks bright for these artists as we ask them the question, what is next? 

I’m a performer, and so everything I write is done with the speaking (or singing) voice in mind. I shall continue to write the scripted audio drama/comedy which I produce every week via the podcasting medium (“Am I Old Yet?”). I’m grateful to Make it Write for the opportunity to play with a different style of storytelling, and may well consider challenging myself to longer forms of narrative storytelling in the future. Perhaps another one-woman show to take on tour! - Kennedy

I want to keep producing work that shines a light on extraordinary ordinary people. - Lucking 

Having been successful in my submission for this competition has given me some encouragement to continue putting my thoughts down on paper. I will look at developing some of my comedy sketch ideas further having been encouraged by entering this competition. - Hardy 

I have recently completed my first full-length play and will be looking for support in getting this onto the stage. The competition has given me further confidence in my dramaturgical ability and has heightened my desire to pursue a career as a playwright. I can't wait to see the film of Summer's End and hope that this will be the beginning of my journey as a writer. - Jump 

It has been an absolute pleasure to learn more about these writers and their work. Hopefully with this competition affecting each writer as it has, we can expect a lot more work from these wordsmiths and look forward to their future works. 

Words by, Jordan Barkley