Poet Miles Cain describes the art of rewriting - and the value of writing competitions
Miles Cain
Miles Cain is a freelance journalist, copywriter, poet, storyteller, musician and creative writing tutor. His writing has appeared in The Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Yorkshire Post, Northern Echo, The Big Issue In The North, Dreamcatcher and Aesthetica, among others. In 2008 he won first prize in the Slipstream Poetry Competition and this year he won first and second prize in the Sentinel Poetry Competition.
What inspired you to become a writer?
I had an exceptional English Teacher called Christopher Copeman who encouraged me when I was 11 and 12. I won the WHSmith Young Writers competition when I was 12 (1983 or 1984 - can’t remember which). Three pieces I’d written under Chris Copeman’s guidance were in that book and it’s in the cupboard upstairs. I got a cheque for £25!
That got me started, but anything I have achieved since has taken a very, very, very long time… For a long time, music took over. During the past two or three years I’ve become more serious about writing, even though it’s been part of my life for over 20 years. In fact, I have a long way to go!
How do you balance your time between all your creative activities?
It’s hard! I’ve had to learn to treat it like a business. A writer friend of mine said ‘Your first allegiance is to your bank account’, and I think that is true, especially when you are working freelance.
But I try to juggle things as much as I can and try to give time to my own writing. But it’s not easy. I often wish I was more focused on one thing. I suppose I enjoy the diversity of lots of things - it’s great fun to be storytelling, playing music and writing all in one week.
What impact has winning the Slipstream 2008 Poetry Competition and the Sentinel Poetry Competition had on your writing?
Winning Slipstream was a great boost for me. It’s not a big competition but when I won I thought ‘Yeah, I’m on the right lines.’ I’d entered a few things before but really my work wasn’t up to scratch.
Winning first and second prize in the Sentinel Poetry Competition this summer was another indication that I’m heading the right way.
People can be a bit sniffy about competitions, but entering them does give you a deadline and if you take them seriously, as I tend to, they do help you to improve your work. Excellent writers like Colette Bryce and Carol Ann Duffy have entered and won competitions in the past.
I’d love to win one of the bigger competitions one day - that would be brilliant. I’ll let you know when it happens!
How would you describe your writing style?
It varies depending on what I am writing. I think a good writer should be able to write in lots of different ways. My poetry is akin to Philip Larkin and Carol Ann Duffy, my short stories are a bit like George Orwell, my novel for teenagers is like David Almond.
Really, you should aim to replicate several voices as and when you need to. Michel Faber does this brilliantly in his short stories - check out ‘Some Rain Must Fall’ or ‘The Fahrenheit Twins’ - he takes on many different voices and does it with real aplomb.
What inspires you?
My daughter’s laughter. Fresh strings on a guitar. Geese landing on the river near to where I live, coming from nowhere and all clipping the water at the same time. Words that are placed with real care and feeling. Bruce Springsteen singing ‘Hungry Heart’. Philip Larkin’s poem ‘The Whitsun Weddings’. Simon Armitage’s beautiful ‘It Ain’t What You Do, It’s What It Does To You’. Pretty much anything by Bruce Cockburn. Most of all, any film, photograph, song or piece of writing that is really, really, really good.
Whose writing do you admire?
Lots of people. Kate Atkinson is very good, especially Not the End of the World, her book of short stories. Ian McEwan - I read ‘The Cement Garden earlier this year and it blew me away. So clever, and powerful with a brilliant ending. I’m reading ‘The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks at the moment - gruesome but compelling.
Carol Ann Duffy’s poems are brilliant, especially ‘Adultery’ and ‘Psychopath’, but her poems in The World’s Wife are very funny, too. I like Jean Sprackland’s poetry, George Orwell’s prose for clarity. Cormac McCarthy for simple, dramatic writing. J M Coetzee is totally brilliant - especially Waiting for the Barbarians and Disgrace. William Boyd’s The Dream Lover is great. I’ve got lists of things I want to read!
What are the biggest challenges of writing?
You have to become a good editor of your own work. ‘Writing is re-writing’ is a good rule. Be ready to cut out bits that don’t work, and don’t be precious about it. I used to write music reviews for the Big Issue In The North and they had to be 250 words long. It was brilliant practice - I used to re-write them until I was happy for them to be published, removing the bits that didn’t work.
For me, at the moment, the biggest challenge is getting an agent - hard work !!
What do you enjoy most about it?
Seeing your wok in print is a terrific buzz. Working on a poem over and over until you have crafted something that is of quality, that is good, and knowing you are getting better! Getting paid is nice too.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
I’ve done some work for some of the national newspapers - that was great as it was something I’d really wanted to do. It’s been lovely interviewing some people I admired, like Billy Bragg and Kate Rusby.
What advice would you offer an aspiring writer?
Work at it, read as much as you can, and find yourself a critical friend who can show you how to improve. Look for constructive criticism. Ask yourself, ‘How can I improve this?’
What are you working on now?
I need to get the novel for teenagers finished and out there - I’ll keep you posted!
For more on Miles please visit www.wordswordswords.co.uk or email him at milesinyork@hotmail.com
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