You and Who- For Children In Need

[SiHart]

There's a new book with proceeds going to charity on the way that's looking for contributions from fans-

“It's a wonderful idea, and I'll be sure to buy the book.”

Robert Shearman (author The Chimes of Midnight, Dalek, Tiny Deaths, Love Songs For the Shy and Cynical)


I'd like to invite you all to participate in something. Something potentially very special.

Inspired in part after making a first purchase at lulu.com (Richard Kirby’s rather lovely Desperately Seeking Susan Foreman), and in part by an idea I unsuccessfully submitted to Doctor Who Magazine a couple of years ago (that they should devote one of their Special Editions to writings by the fans themselves), I’ve decided to try and get a book together called You and Who.

The profits will be donated to Children in Need.

The idea is simple: everybody who wishes can participate, by contributing a piece of writing about Doctor Who. Perhaps more specifically: about their relationship with Doctor Who.

- J.R. Southall

For more info follow this link: http://youandwho.weebly.com/index.html

Si xx

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Problem is ... I'm sure whatever I wrote would feel like a rip off of "Daleks ate my Doctor Who scarf" ...

[SiHart]

I suppose as long as you're writing about something personal to you that wouldn't matter too much.

Perhaps you could write about going to see Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf to bypass that

Si xx

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

I might cheat and refer them to the journal that Ant Cox wrote a few years back - after all I'm in it a fair bit!!!

[J.R. Southall]

Actually, Mr Crow, something akin to "Doctor Who Scarf I Love You" would be exactly what the Doctor ordered! (I'm so sorry about the pun.)

Having proofread and reformatted 21 submissions so far, I can tell you two things:

Firstly, we've all got a story to tell. And just because your own story might be similar to someone else's, doesn't mean there's any less value in telling it.

And secondly, reading similar stories collected together in a book, almost becomes a bigger story in its own right.

Here are another two things:

One, I've deliberately been sequencing the book so that any two consecutive submissions aren't too similar. Not everybody's doing "My Doctor Who Life", so there will be reviews or alternative stories in between the ones that are.

And two, almost all of the submissions to date have been written with an "angle" (we're an intelligent bunch, us Doctor Who fans - I doubt if many other TV series could spawn writing of such quality as I've been receiving), so even when you do get several submissions telling a similar story, the way they tell them varies quite significantly.

I must admit to being a lot more impressed with the quality of what I've been receiving than I was expecting, and I hope it continues that way. Having said that, this project is for people who love Doctor Who regardless of whether they think they have any talent at a keyboard. And there's every chance the book will be a memorable event in the lives of everyone who contributes - so get writing!

Deadline's end of February, although I think it's going to be mentioned in DWM in two weeks and if it is, the deadline might get extended.

P.S. Hello all!

[Rob McCow]

I'm quite looking forward to this. One of the joys of posting on a Doctor Who forum is hearing other people's memories of the show and thinking 'Oh yes! I remember that!' or 'That sounds really cool!' It's great to discover that other people have shared similar experiences with the show, whether it's watching the original broadcasts, or collecting the Target Novels, VHS or DVDs.

[J.R. Southall]

I'm quite looking forward to this. One of the joys of posting on a Doctor Who forum is hearing other people's memories of the show and thinking 'Oh yes! I remember that!' or 'That sounds really cool!' It's great to discover that other people have shared similar experiences with the show, whether it's watching the original broadcasts, or collecting the Target Novels, VHS or DVDs.

And that's been one of the big joys of receiving the submissions, too!

[Antony Cox]

Inspired in part after making a first purchase at lulu.com (Richard Kirby’s rather lovely Desperately Seeking Susan Foreman),and in part by an idea I unsuccessfully submitted to Doctor Who Magazine a couple of years ago (that they should devote one of their Special Editions to writings by the fans themselves)

Ah, you've been there too, eh? I submitted a sample of my own 'You and Who' type journal a few years back and was asked why anybody would want to read it. I now refer Mr Hickman to Rob Shearman's statement on your project...

I'd love to contribute to this, and as stated above I've got tens of thousands of words already written on this subject so could quite easily select a suitable extract.

Ooh - exciting!

[Lissa]

Me too. I've picked the bit I'll use once it's trimmed down, beefed up and straightened out.

[SiHart]

That's exactly what I did too.

Si xx

[J.R. Southall]

There are a couple of important questions/suggestions regarding the deadline and publication of the book, that I’d like to put to anybody who has contributed, or intends to contribute an essay, or is even just interested in buying the finished book.

In the interests of transparency, I’m asking everyone who wishes to make their opinion heard to do so. With this in mind, I’ve set up a couple of threads on the forum on the You and Who website (the better to keep the replies and/or questions in one place, rather than disseminated across the internet!); if you’re interested in replying, then please just take a few moments to register on the forum (it won’t be an ongoing forum like this one; mostly I’ve just installed it so that I can ask questions such as these – although feel free to start a thread and/or ask any other questions if you wish). Being a member of the forum might also help with the distribution of information when it comes time to publish; I shan’t be posting all the whys and wherefores of the ongoing business aspect on threads such as these, but I’ll be using the website itself to keep everyone as well informed as I can.

It would be much appreciated, and I look forward to finding out what you’ve all got to say on the matters at hand.

[J.R. Southall]

And Lissa and Antony Cox (and SiHart!), that's exactly what I spent the whole afternoon today doing for someone, as well! (Not that I'll have time to do that kind of thing for people very often, I shouldn't think, but it was a pleasure sifting through someone's memories and picking out the most pertinent, and trying to stick it together to make a coherent essay.)

This book is going to be brilliant!

[Paul Monk]

I'm really looking forward to this and I've got a piece in mind. Just need to write the thing now. And quickly by the sounds of it.

[J.R. Southall]

I'm really looking forward to this and I've got a piece in mind. Just need to write the thing now. And quickly by the sounds of it.

There's still a whole month - and a likely extension to the deadline, too!

Having said that, I do like submissions to be nice and early if possible, because of all the re-formatting I have to do ...

[Paul Monk]

Just a quick question, which I'm sure is on the website somewhere, how many words should a submission be?

[SiHart]

On the website it says:

I’d like to recommend somewhere between say 250 words and a couple of thousand.

Si xx

[J.R. Southall]

That's only a recommendation, though. I'd say your submission should be as long (or as short) as you want it to be; after all, this book is about the people who are writing it, so I'm not making any rules that must be adhered to.

On the List of Submissions drop down, though, you will find the word counts of all submissions received so far, which is if nothing else a guide.

[Paul Monk]

Cheers! First part of it is already written.

[J.R. Southall]

Just passed 2,000 visitors and 2,500 visits to the site. I've also put up a few more example paragraphs from people's essays, including this one by Simon Hart:

"We queued for a while (some things never change) and I chatted to an older fan while we waited; he told me he'd seen The Sea Devils in 1972, which I remember being quite impressed about at the time, and eventually we met Colin. He was really lovely. I was still quite shy in those days and so I didn't really know what to say to him, but he put me at my ease by asking my name and asking me lots of questions, so I soon felt OK. I presented my Dalek Omnibus for him to sign, and he looked it over, read the titles on the back cover and quipped, “Ahhh, all my predecessors in this one!” and was about to sign it when I asked, remembering it was my birthday the next day, if he could write happy birthday in the front for me. He did, and that's what is still inscribed in the front of the book: “Happy Birthday Simon from Colin Baker Who?” It always makes me smile."

[SiHart]

Thanks! That's made my day.

Si xx

[J.R. Southall]

You're welcome.

And in return: thanks for pointing me in the direction of this forum; I like it here!

[J.R. Southall]

There's just under three weeks now until the 1st of March deadline, so any of you out there intending to make a submission but haven't yet, should seriously think about getting your skates on!

[J.R. Southall]

I downloaded the template for the book this morning (from Tim Hirst), and then spent the next hour or two transferring the essays over. It's looking rather nice!

But there's only two more weekends (after this one!) to go, before the deadline for submissions. So if you still want to be in the book, time is now of the essence!

[Rob McCow]

Come on Paul! You can do it!

[Lissa]

My third draft is 2,200 words. It's based on material from "Doctor Who, What, Where?" and tells the story of 1993's two legendary tins. The fifth or sixth draft should ping its way across in due course.