The Writing Game

Some time ago I came upon a blog written by an English man in prison in America – Jon’s Jail Journal http://jonsjailjournal.blogspot.com/. It was a gripping story of his experiences whilst incarcerated in Madison Street jail in Phoenix, Arizona. It was a prison run by the notorious Sheriff Joseph Arpaio who boasted that it cost more to feed the guard dogs than the prisoners, who put women in chains and outraged human rights campaigners. Towards the end of his sentence he asked a guard how the Sheriff got away with the inhuman conditions rife in his jail and was told that the world had no idea what went on in there. Jon aka Shaun Attwood decided it was time to change that.

He started to write a memoir:

‘Green Bologna and Pink Boxers: Surviving Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Jail is an account of my journey through America’s most notorious jail system, a netherworld revolving around gang violence, drug use and racism. It provides a revealing glimpse into the tragedy, brutality, comedy and eccentricity of jail life and the men inside. It is also a story of my redemption, as incarceration leads to introspection, and a passion for literature, philosophy, and yoga. The book ends with me starting Jon’s Jail Journal, exposing the conditions in the jail’

An organisation - The Koestler Trust gave Shaun the unique opportunity to be mentored by Sally Hinchcliffe, a published author with an M.A. in Creative Writing from London University.

I once wrote to Sally to ask her advice about getting published and she took the trouble to give me excellent advice the main gist of which was to find an agent which - eventually - I did.

Shaun hoped to get published as soon as he got out of prison but Sally told him if he was seeking immediate results he needed to find another occupation. That getting published can take years; his book should be presented in the right way because he only had one shot with each publisher and the book in its present form would be rejected,

The mentoring sessions are of immense value to any would be writers IMO and Shaun is very fortunate to have them.

http://jonsjailjournal.blogspot.com/2009/07/mentored-part-6-thanks-to-koestler.html

http://jonsjailjournal.blogspot.com/2008/11/23-nov-08-mentored-part-1-thanks-to.html

If you scroll down you get links to each mentoring session which I found illuminating and helpful.

Incidentally ‘Out of a clear Sky’ by Sally Hinchcliffe is a rattling good story and gave me a taste for a psychological thriller. I’m presently enjoying ‘Cut Short’ by Leigh Russell one of our own bloggers.