How much do you tell the reader? How much can you assume they know? In a fantasy novel, for example, you pretty much have to tell them everything about the world they need to know in order for the plot and setting to work (e.g. if this society has an outcast system, the reader needs to know how it works and how it affects characters, motivations, plot elements etc.) But what about a genre such as crime where, in this day and age, much of the basic background information on forensics and detection would be known by the reader, either from other books or some of the dozens of crime TV shows such as CSI and SVU?
This was the question I puzzled over as I read "The Murderers' Club" by P.D. Martin. I read a lot of crime fiction, and I found the author's info dumps on things such as rigor mortis, how an autopsy is performed (yes, there was dialogue in that scene but it was contrived) and how a computer boots up and with what operating systems to be quite tedious.
Are there crime readers now who need these things explained? I'm not sure. As always on this blog, I put in the disclaimer Maybe it's just me!
And I know it's just me when I say - please stop writing in first person, present tense. Some kinds of novels suit fp/pt wonderfully well, but Patricia Cornwell's latest efforts in this style are clunky, and I felt Martin's fell into the same trap. Fp/pt doesn't always add immediacy and drama to a story, and it often means that if you aren't good at sentence construction and variation, you end up with an awful lot of sentences that start with I.
On the other hand, I did read a YA novel with pace, great voices and a story that kept surprising me. "The Long Night of Leo and Bree" by Ellen Wittlinger. It was short, but that was OK. Although the premise sounded familiar (rich girl meets violent poor boy), it defied predictability and was full of depth and complex insights that left me thinking afterwards - always a good sign.
Yes, my brain is returning to some semblance of working order at last. My feet are still up, I'm still walking very slowly, but that's OK. I feel like a living embodiment of the Slow Food Movement, with time to savour the small things for a change.
That's includes time to watch a movie or two. "The Good Shepherd" was slow but totally involving, and even had me pulling out the encyclopedia to check what happened with the Bay of Pigs and Cuban missile crisis. I liked it a lot.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
More (Unintentional) Research
You can tell when a writer is sick because if they are really, truly sick, they not only can't write, but they can't read either.
Imagine being stuck in a hospital bed for 3 days with nothing to do but stare at the wall. Perfect time to read and relax. Except my brain was mush, and the last thing I was capable of was creativity. Pity. I could've read at least one novel, or written a good 5000 words. Instead I lay there (with holes in me that connected to tubes with drips and medication) and did nothing. Well, I have to admit I did "listen" to dozens of conversations. Not eavesdrop, because it wasn't deliberate, but I was in an open ward where the only thing between me and all the others was a curtain. And voices carried quite clearly. Nothing I think I'd ever use in a story or novel, but impressions and emotions, and some funny incidents. Grist to the mill, as a writer friend said to me.
Other unintentional research? I got to ride in an ambulance, and see bunches of trainee doctors trailing around after the surgeon on rounds, just like on TV, and hear lots of medical terminology being used.
I also discovered that when you disappear unexpectedly for three days, all those things you had scheduled are suddenly up in the air. Discussing final editing/proofreading of your new book from your hospital bed is difficult. Deadlines sometimes can't wait.
If you ever have to rush off to hospital (public, not private), don't forget your toothbrush and toothpaste. It's not supplied. Not being able to brush my teeth was horribly disgusting, and it was the first thing I did (twice) when I was finally allowed to come home. And then I went looking for a good book to read.
Imagine being stuck in a hospital bed for 3 days with nothing to do but stare at the wall. Perfect time to read and relax. Except my brain was mush, and the last thing I was capable of was creativity. Pity. I could've read at least one novel, or written a good 5000 words. Instead I lay there (with holes in me that connected to tubes with drips and medication) and did nothing. Well, I have to admit I did "listen" to dozens of conversations. Not eavesdrop, because it wasn't deliberate, but I was in an open ward where the only thing between me and all the others was a curtain. And voices carried quite clearly. Nothing I think I'd ever use in a story or novel, but impressions and emotions, and some funny incidents. Grist to the mill, as a writer friend said to me.
Other unintentional research? I got to ride in an ambulance, and see bunches of trainee doctors trailing around after the surgeon on rounds, just like on TV, and hear lots of medical terminology being used.
I also discovered that when you disappear unexpectedly for three days, all those things you had scheduled are suddenly up in the air. Discussing final editing/proofreading of your new book from your hospital bed is difficult. Deadlines sometimes can't wait.
If you ever have to rush off to hospital (public, not private), don't forget your toothbrush and toothpaste. It's not supplied. Not being able to brush my teeth was horribly disgusting, and it was the first thing I did (twice) when I was finally allowed to come home. And then I went looking for a good book to read.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Truth in Fiction
Why do people read fiction? The most common answer I get (I ask this in class) is for entertainment or escape. But after that, people often answer that they are looking for the truth about the world - not necessarily their world, but a truth. Maybe it's a truth that they want to hear, as in crime fiction where the villain is always caught (and if he/she's not, the reader feels cheated!), or romance fiction where the girl always ends up with the hero who turns out to be perfect for her.
Books that tell the truth too clearly are often the ones that cause a stir and end up being widely acclaimed. I'm thinking of "We Need to Talk About Kevin", in which we have a mother's burning need to be totally honest about her son's life, and her relationship with him, in order to try and figure out why he became a mass murderer. It's a scary book, and I wonder how many people saw their own relationships reflected in the story, even if only in small ways.
How do we write something "true" when we are writing fiction? I still believe you have to write from what you feel deeply about, even though I know lots of people who don't, and are published. But maybe the books that make a mark in a reader's life come from somewhere else in the writer. Something that has to be expressed, a story that has to be told. Will Charles Frazier ever write something as good as "Cold Mountain"? Lionel Shriver wrote and published many novels before "Kevin". I think back over books I've read that had an impact on me, and very often that author has written others, but there is that one book that stands above the others.
Where does that book come from?
Another aspect of this is the need to produce, of course. A first novel can take years to write and rewrite, and it has to be really good to get published (the first-time author is, I believe, the marketing department's nightmare!). But then there is pressure to write another, and another. The next books don't receive the same care and incubation a lot of the time. Sue Grafton wrote a stinker half-way through her alphabet crime series, and she was able to say to the publisher, "Enough. I will write at my own speed from now on, thank you." (not a direct quote!)
One book does not earn you enough to quit your job and devote your life to writing, unless you like bread and water. That's another truth about fiction.
Note: The Varuna fellowships are announced today. This is the scheme where writers submit fiction manuscripts and five are selected by HarperCollins editors for an intensive 10-day workshop up in the Blue Mountains. This year, the editors received a shortlist of 26 manuscripts, and I bet most of them are publishable. However, Australia's literary fiction scene is getting smaller and smaller, and all of those writers not in the 5 will have to call on every ounce of that vital quality - perserverance - to keep going with their books.
That's another bit of truth in fiction!
Books that tell the truth too clearly are often the ones that cause a stir and end up being widely acclaimed. I'm thinking of "We Need to Talk About Kevin", in which we have a mother's burning need to be totally honest about her son's life, and her relationship with him, in order to try and figure out why he became a mass murderer. It's a scary book, and I wonder how many people saw their own relationships reflected in the story, even if only in small ways.
How do we write something "true" when we are writing fiction? I still believe you have to write from what you feel deeply about, even though I know lots of people who don't, and are published. But maybe the books that make a mark in a reader's life come from somewhere else in the writer. Something that has to be expressed, a story that has to be told. Will Charles Frazier ever write something as good as "Cold Mountain"? Lionel Shriver wrote and published many novels before "Kevin". I think back over books I've read that had an impact on me, and very often that author has written others, but there is that one book that stands above the others.
Where does that book come from?
Another aspect of this is the need to produce, of course. A first novel can take years to write and rewrite, and it has to be really good to get published (the first-time author is, I believe, the marketing department's nightmare!). But then there is pressure to write another, and another. The next books don't receive the same care and incubation a lot of the time. Sue Grafton wrote a stinker half-way through her alphabet crime series, and she was able to say to the publisher, "Enough. I will write at my own speed from now on, thank you." (not a direct quote!)
One book does not earn you enough to quit your job and devote your life to writing, unless you like bread and water. That's another truth about fiction.
Note: The Varuna fellowships are announced today. This is the scheme where writers submit fiction manuscripts and five are selected by HarperCollins editors for an intensive 10-day workshop up in the Blue Mountains. This year, the editors received a shortlist of 26 manuscripts, and I bet most of them are publishable. However, Australia's literary fiction scene is getting smaller and smaller, and all of those writers not in the 5 will have to call on every ounce of that vital quality - perserverance - to keep going with their books.
That's another bit of truth in fiction!
Friday, March 02, 2007
Research
If I had a choice of what I'd like in my research library, it would start with the Greater Oxford Dictionary (13 huge volumes) and two or three different encyclopaedias, include texts on every subject I was writing about (which would require an ongoing outlay of many dollars), and probably the entire set of Norton's anthologies. Just for starters.
But as a backup, the internet is a pretty good alternative these days, as long as you triple-check your information and learn which sites are likely to have errors. I've done a huge amount of research on pirates over the years, and there are lots of websites created by pirate fans, but quite a few of them are wrong. They repeat common assumptions rather than accurate facts. That's OK, I've learned to research widely enough to find out where the errors lie. Books can be wrong too. It depends who wrote them, and what their agenda was. There are different versions of Australian history, depending on whether the author believed that white settlers and soldiers massacred Aboriginal tribes or not.
What I love about the internet is that I can rustle up some needed information in a flash, and the kind of thing I often need is short and simple. This week it has included how the 'jaws of life' work, how the board game Cluedo is played and what the cards and playing pieces look like, at what age a child can be toilet-trained, and what are the stages and ages of little kids learning to understand and to talk.
So along the way I discovered that people are selling sets of the 'jaws of life' on Ebay, that Cluedo has been around since the 1940s and is still being made (I think it's even in a computer game version!) and that even in an article on toilet training, the Americans still talk about teaching a child to 'go to the bathroom'.
Just finished reading the fourth and last 'Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants' book. I think I'm glad it's the last one. I'm waiting for the pants to turn up in my mailbox. It would be lovely to have a pair of jeans that actually fitted me comfortably.
But as a backup, the internet is a pretty good alternative these days, as long as you triple-check your information and learn which sites are likely to have errors. I've done a huge amount of research on pirates over the years, and there are lots of websites created by pirate fans, but quite a few of them are wrong. They repeat common assumptions rather than accurate facts. That's OK, I've learned to research widely enough to find out where the errors lie. Books can be wrong too. It depends who wrote them, and what their agenda was. There are different versions of Australian history, depending on whether the author believed that white settlers and soldiers massacred Aboriginal tribes or not.
What I love about the internet is that I can rustle up some needed information in a flash, and the kind of thing I often need is short and simple. This week it has included how the 'jaws of life' work, how the board game Cluedo is played and what the cards and playing pieces look like, at what age a child can be toilet-trained, and what are the stages and ages of little kids learning to understand and to talk.
So along the way I discovered that people are selling sets of the 'jaws of life' on Ebay, that Cluedo has been around since the 1940s and is still being made (I think it's even in a computer game version!) and that even in an article on toilet training, the Americans still talk about teaching a child to 'go to the bathroom'.
Just finished reading the fourth and last 'Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants' book. I think I'm glad it's the last one. I'm waiting for the pants to turn up in my mailbox. It would be lovely to have a pair of jeans that actually fitted me comfortably.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
First Chapter, Next Book
Just finished Stuart MacBride's crime novel, "Dying Light". The kind of book that you read way too fast because it's so good you can't stop turning the pages. Then you get to the end and you hate the fact that you read it so fast because now it's over, there is no more, and it was only his second book so you can't go back and read the other 12 you missed...
MacBride does for Aberdeen what James Lee Burke does for the area around New Orleans. Yes, I've said this before but it does bear saying again. MacBride's books don't seem to be freely available in the bookshops here in Australia, but they're five stars in my little reading world.
That whole thing of wanting more as soon as the last page is read is what leads publishers (I think) to inserting what must be the most infuriating thing in publicity history. The first chapter of the next book. This usually only turns up in paperbacks, because the author is about to publish said next book in hardback, and this enticement is supposed to make you go out and buy the hardback in a fit of reader passion.
Not here, where hardcovers retail at $45. All that happens is if you give in to tempation and read that darned chapter, it gets you nowhere. Except in the waiting zone for many, many months while you wait for the paperback to appear.
In my case, this is what really happens. Months later, I see the paperback in the shop, pick it up and read the first few pages (having forgotten about that pesky publicity chapter). I think ... Hmmm, this sounds really familiar. I think I've read this one. And I don't buy it.
Before you go thinking I'm entering early senility, everyone I know has this problem. I think everyone who reads a lot has this problem. That's why when you get a book out of the library, you see all these funny little marks in it. Page 72 circled, a tick on the top of the title page, tiny initials inside the cover - this is the avid reader's coded signal to themselves to say "I've read this one already". If you don't believe me, check it out next time you're in the library.
The excessive version of this is someone I met at a garage (yard) sale once who was buying romances. She had a little notebook in which she had written the series and number of every romance she'd ever read (apparently they are numbered, or they used to be).
How do you keep track of which books in a series you've read?
Postscript: Just checked out MacBride's website and he had posted this: "COLD GRANITE has been voted the best first novel published in the US 2005!"
Friday, February 23, 2007
Libraries - You've Gotta Love Them
Hmmm, the new Blogger doesn't like me. It's now taking me 3 attempts on different pages to log in, and sometimes it won't let me in at all. Hence this post has been delayed. I only like technology when it works.
I have just collected a reserve from my library - the second novel by Stuart MacBride (he of the crime novels set in Aberdeen where it rains all the time). I've never found any of his books in the bookshops here, so that's why I love the library. And why I shudder every time I read of funding cuts to libraries. Not just because it might affect me, although my local council is pretty good about our library funding so far, but because there are thousands and thousands of people who can't afford to buy books or even have the internet at home, and most of them are kids. You want your kids to learn stuff and love reading? Take them to the library, get them a library card, and then let them loose to choose whatever they want.
I discovered a new blog the other day, by accident, as we often do on the net. "When Dad Killed Mom" has long been a favourite book of mine, and then I found that its author, Julius Lester, has a website and a blog. His blog is wonderful, and is the kind of reading that keeps you thinking for some time after. The other day he was writing about silence and rest (ah yes, I kind of remember what they are!), and then about the way we are so obsessed with buying and selling stuff, and how commerce rules our world.
Have a look at http://acommonplacejbl.blogspot.com/
I've just finished reading a Peter Temple crime novel - Temple is one of Australia's best-known crime writers and wins lots of the local awards. I have been trying to track down some of the books by the newer female crime writers here but no luck so far. I belong to Sisters in Crime, and often read the reviews in their newsletter, but finding the books in the shops is not quite so easy.
Writing here continues, somewhat like wading through a bog in gumboots (galoshes? wellingtons?) that are a size too big for me. I sometimes talk to students about the middle-of-the-book-blues, but mostly we never get to that point because in a year of classes, most of them don't get beyond Chapter 3. So instead I talk a lot about perseverance and words on the page (regularly) and discipline and sticking at it and goal setting ... in the end it's up to them. You either have to really want to write that novel and tell that story, or you end up with odd chapters all over the place and nothing finished.
I agree with the people who say just finishing the first draft is worth a bottle of champagne!
I have just collected a reserve from my library - the second novel by Stuart MacBride (he of the crime novels set in Aberdeen where it rains all the time). I've never found any of his books in the bookshops here, so that's why I love the library. And why I shudder every time I read of funding cuts to libraries. Not just because it might affect me, although my local council is pretty good about our library funding so far, but because there are thousands and thousands of people who can't afford to buy books or even have the internet at home, and most of them are kids. You want your kids to learn stuff and love reading? Take them to the library, get them a library card, and then let them loose to choose whatever they want.
I discovered a new blog the other day, by accident, as we often do on the net. "When Dad Killed Mom" has long been a favourite book of mine, and then I found that its author, Julius Lester, has a website and a blog. His blog is wonderful, and is the kind of reading that keeps you thinking for some time after. The other day he was writing about silence and rest (ah yes, I kind of remember what they are!), and then about the way we are so obsessed with buying and selling stuff, and how commerce rules our world.
Have a look at http://acommonplacejbl.blogspot.com/
I've just finished reading a Peter Temple crime novel - Temple is one of Australia's best-known crime writers and wins lots of the local awards. I have been trying to track down some of the books by the newer female crime writers here but no luck so far. I belong to Sisters in Crime, and often read the reviews in their newsletter, but finding the books in the shops is not quite so easy.
Writing here continues, somewhat like wading through a bog in gumboots (galoshes? wellingtons?) that are a size too big for me. I sometimes talk to students about the middle-of-the-book-blues, but mostly we never get to that point because in a year of classes, most of them don't get beyond Chapter 3. So instead I talk a lot about perseverance and words on the page (regularly) and discipline and sticking at it and goal setting ... in the end it's up to them. You either have to really want to write that novel and tell that story, or you end up with odd chapters all over the place and nothing finished.
I agree with the people who say just finishing the first draft is worth a bottle of champagne!
Friday, February 16, 2007
It Has Rained
After two horrible hot days, we have just had a short thunderstorm and some rain. Rain is rare enough here these days to warrant a mention. Back to 38 degrees (C) tomorrow and Sunday. Erck.
The week has contained two Orientation days for students, one meeting with a local literary festival committee, much budgeting and paperwork, one interview with a police detective, one talk given by a Fraud Squad detective about identity theft (very interesting and now I want to buy a shredder), and one visit to my osteopath for acupuncture and various other treatments on the bits of me that have stopped working properly. And you're right - hardly any writing done.
But the research has been terrific, and I am currently reading another book written by an undercover cop which has some hilarious bits in it.
I also wrote a poem (yay!) and got a reply from an anthology publisher about a story of mine that made it right up to the final cut but not into the book (not so yay). And I found three boxes full of my old essays and stories and poems from my degree, which were a lot of fun to read. It was also very interesting to read their comments and compare them to the comments I make on my students' work. I think I'll leave that topic alone!
The festival is in Williamstown (in Melbourne, Victoria) and this will be the fourth year they've run it. They do a really good job and the festival gets better every year. Last year there was a session on Australian fiction publishing which was great, and because it's not a huge venue, the audiences are interested and keen to listen. I wish the Melbourne Writers' Festival had such a good atmosphere. There it tends to be extremely crowded and often the sessions are a bit boring because the speakers are 'playing safe'. Whereas at Willy last year we even had one of the comedy speakers strip and run around the hall!
Classes begin on Monday - I have boxes of stuff ready, and some notes, but I need still to organise the 'agenda' of what will happen when. That won't take long and then I will be writing.
The week has contained two Orientation days for students, one meeting with a local literary festival committee, much budgeting and paperwork, one interview with a police detective, one talk given by a Fraud Squad detective about identity theft (very interesting and now I want to buy a shredder), and one visit to my osteopath for acupuncture and various other treatments on the bits of me that have stopped working properly. And you're right - hardly any writing done.
But the research has been terrific, and I am currently reading another book written by an undercover cop which has some hilarious bits in it.
I also wrote a poem (yay!) and got a reply from an anthology publisher about a story of mine that made it right up to the final cut but not into the book (not so yay). And I found three boxes full of my old essays and stories and poems from my degree, which were a lot of fun to read. It was also very interesting to read their comments and compare them to the comments I make on my students' work. I think I'll leave that topic alone!
The festival is in Williamstown (in Melbourne, Victoria) and this will be the fourth year they've run it. They do a really good job and the festival gets better every year. Last year there was a session on Australian fiction publishing which was great, and because it's not a huge venue, the audiences are interested and keen to listen. I wish the Melbourne Writers' Festival had such a good atmosphere. There it tends to be extremely crowded and often the sessions are a bit boring because the speakers are 'playing safe'. Whereas at Willy last year we even had one of the comedy speakers strip and run around the hall!
Classes begin on Monday - I have boxes of stuff ready, and some notes, but I need still to organise the 'agenda' of what will happen when. That won't take long and then I will be writing.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Book Designs
My new book, "Sixth Grade Style Queen (Not!)", is coming out in May and we are up to page proofs. Normally I think I would have done these earlier, but the book has a very interesting page design and the publisher (which means the editors and designer) have been experimenting and trying out new things.
It's fascinating to see how this concept has developed, and then to see other publishers doing similar things. I picked up a copy of "Cathy's Book" a couple of weeks ago and it has been created to look like a girl's everyday school book, with a hard, black cover and the book inside like a notebook with doodles all over it, plus a pocket with other stuff inside the cover. I haven't read the book yet - it's a diary - so can't comment on the quality of the story. Yet.
I've just finished reading "Searching for the Secret River" by Kate Grenville, which is about the research and writing process for her novel "The Secret River". She details how she went about finding out information on her great-great-great grandfather, Solomon Wiseman, and how eventually the non-fiction book became a novel, in order to tell a story. A very interesting book if you like to write historical fiction. I have been to Wiseman's Ferry near Sydney and remember enough of it to be able to visualise what she writes about. It also helps that she is terrific at description!
Also have almost finished "The Silent War" - another of those books about crims and cops in Victoria in the 1980s and early 1990s (true crime). Quite a bit of the material has been in other books I've read, so the authors must be doing well from the same stories. It's one form of research, but the State Library newspaper files will probably be more useful. And interviewing a police detective is top of my list!
Went to see "Miss Potter" the other day and loved it. A five star movie for me.
Writing is in "struggle phase". It took me 5 hours to squeeze out 1700 words on Wednesday (admittedly there were interruptions, but still...) whereas on a good day I often write 2000 in an hour. But I am at that point where I need to make sure I'm not creating plot boo-boos that will affect the rest of the book, so slow and steady is probably the way to go.
And as it's only 9 days until teaching starts, I'm using the available brain power while it's there!
It's fascinating to see how this concept has developed, and then to see other publishers doing similar things. I picked up a copy of "Cathy's Book" a couple of weeks ago and it has been created to look like a girl's everyday school book, with a hard, black cover and the book inside like a notebook with doodles all over it, plus a pocket with other stuff inside the cover. I haven't read the book yet - it's a diary - so can't comment on the quality of the story. Yet.
I've just finished reading "Searching for the Secret River" by Kate Grenville, which is about the research and writing process for her novel "The Secret River". She details how she went about finding out information on her great-great-great grandfather, Solomon Wiseman, and how eventually the non-fiction book became a novel, in order to tell a story. A very interesting book if you like to write historical fiction. I have been to Wiseman's Ferry near Sydney and remember enough of it to be able to visualise what she writes about. It also helps that she is terrific at description!
Also have almost finished "The Silent War" - another of those books about crims and cops in Victoria in the 1980s and early 1990s (true crime). Quite a bit of the material has been in other books I've read, so the authors must be doing well from the same stories. It's one form of research, but the State Library newspaper files will probably be more useful. And interviewing a police detective is top of my list!
Went to see "Miss Potter" the other day and loved it. A five star movie for me.
Writing is in "struggle phase". It took me 5 hours to squeeze out 1700 words on Wednesday (admittedly there were interruptions, but still...) whereas on a good day I often write 2000 in an hour. But I am at that point where I need to make sure I'm not creating plot boo-boos that will affect the rest of the book, so slow and steady is probably the way to go.
And as it's only 9 days until teaching starts, I'm using the available brain power while it's there!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Drought and Bushfire
This the Australian bush right now. Even the bracken is dead. The leaves, twigs, dead bracken and fallen branches make a thick layer of fuel - one lightning strike or pyromaniac is all it takes. The lightning we can't do anything about. The pyromaniacs? If you live near bushland, keep an eye on it.But amongst all the dead stuff, we are still getting bush flowers. I think these are orchids.
Giving It Away Too Soon
I'm writing. And plotting. And agonising. I stopped writing for five days because I had come to a crucial point in the story - do I give the reader and main character this information now? Or hold it back for a bit longer?
I gave it. And came to a grinding halt.
Why? Because a large part of the mystery had been tied into what was in the box. Once I revealed this, that story question was resolved - there was nowhere else to go with it. Do I have any new story questions? Well ... yes ... but none that are big and exciting and tension-filled enough to keep the stakes growing higher and higher as I work towards the conclusion. Can I go back and take that information out? No. It does feel as though it needed to come out at that point.
In the meantime my main character is dithering, thinking through her next decisions (which has taken up about 500 words and will have to be cut later, but for now, it keeps the words and ideas simmering). I'll have to get out my plot diagrams and do some doodling and "what iffing" and some detailed notes. Then the next part will emerge, I hope.
At the moment, I'm reading an old Nancy Kress novel involving genocide via deliberately infected mosquitos. It's not very riveting, but my next visit to the library is a few days away so I'm digging into old boxes of books that I've never got around to reading.
I'm beginning to think my sister's clothing credo (if you haven't worn it for more than a year, throw it out!) might also apply to books. If you haven't read it and it's been sitting there for more than two years (books last better than clothes, usually, unless you drop them in the bath), give it away.
My goal of cleaning out my office (thank you, Randy Ingermanson and Alison Bottke for showing me how to do this so it's not quite as painful) proceeds at a slow pace. I am doing it properly, and using files and archive boxes as well as the rubbish bin. Today I found my old passport, so of course everyone got to have a good laugh at the photo. Mostly, I am astounded at how much I have kept "just in case".
I thought that maybe when it's all done, and my ten-year-old computer that is no longer used has been sent to computer heaven, I might buy a new one. Then Windows Vista came out, and I don't want it. I can just imagine the arguement with the computer guy, trying to persuade him to load on XP instead.
OK, enough procrastinating here on the blog - back to the writing and plotting.
I gave it. And came to a grinding halt.
Why? Because a large part of the mystery had been tied into what was in the box. Once I revealed this, that story question was resolved - there was nowhere else to go with it. Do I have any new story questions? Well ... yes ... but none that are big and exciting and tension-filled enough to keep the stakes growing higher and higher as I work towards the conclusion. Can I go back and take that information out? No. It does feel as though it needed to come out at that point.
In the meantime my main character is dithering, thinking through her next decisions (which has taken up about 500 words and will have to be cut later, but for now, it keeps the words and ideas simmering). I'll have to get out my plot diagrams and do some doodling and "what iffing" and some detailed notes. Then the next part will emerge, I hope.
At the moment, I'm reading an old Nancy Kress novel involving genocide via deliberately infected mosquitos. It's not very riveting, but my next visit to the library is a few days away so I'm digging into old boxes of books that I've never got around to reading.
I'm beginning to think my sister's clothing credo (if you haven't worn it for more than a year, throw it out!) might also apply to books. If you haven't read it and it's been sitting there for more than two years (books last better than clothes, usually, unless you drop them in the bath), give it away.
My goal of cleaning out my office (thank you, Randy Ingermanson and Alison Bottke for showing me how to do this so it's not quite as painful) proceeds at a slow pace. I am doing it properly, and using files and archive boxes as well as the rubbish bin. Today I found my old passport, so of course everyone got to have a good laugh at the photo. Mostly, I am astounded at how much I have kept "just in case".
I thought that maybe when it's all done, and my ten-year-old computer that is no longer used has been sent to computer heaven, I might buy a new one. Then Windows Vista came out, and I don't want it. I can just imagine the arguement with the computer guy, trying to persuade him to load on XP instead.
OK, enough procrastinating here on the blog - back to the writing and plotting.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
The Info Dump
There are millions of people in the world who read Linda Fairstein's books and love them. Fairstein's main character is Alexandra Cooper, a prosecutor in NY, and she has two sidekicks who are policemen. I hadn't read any for a while so the library provided me with the most recent - "Bad Blood".
It begins with Cooper prosecuting a case against a guy who has killed his wife, probably using a hitman. Said hitman was never caught, so husband is on trial. I couldn't quite see how the evidence could ever prove him guilty, but ... I read on. And stopped around page 90.
Why? Two things (and they're both subjective, which goes to show that you will always have readers who just don't like the way you do things as a writer). One was I didn't find the sidekick's constant putdowns of Cooper funny. He calls her blondie, Coop, the princess and kid, all within about five pages. And likes to make cracks about her looks and makeup. OK, that's her problem, if she wants to put up with it (or the author wants to make her). But the thing that really made me put the book down was a severe case of "let's tell the reader a whole heap of information about New York's water supply system going back 300+ years and let's do it with about 10 pages of dialogue with some guy called Teddy". A couple of summary paragraphs would have done me, thanks, and then get on with the story.
Then I picked up another library choice, a writer I'd never heard of before - that's the joy of the library. The book was "Cold Granite" by Stuart Macbride. It's set in cold, miserable Aberdeen where it never stops raining, and has a main character called Logan McRae who's just back from a year off after being nearly stabbed to death by a killer. Yes, it's a serial killer story, but with lots of twists and turns (not all the deaths of the children are caused by the one person) and stuff-ups by the police. It's Macbride's first novel, and I'll be looking out now for the next one which was due out last year.
And I know lots about Aberdeen and its horrible weather now, and I don't think I noticed one info dump. Just a lot of characters being rained on and frozen!
It's a hard call when you're writing, especially when you are trying to evoke a world or a city or a village most of your readers will be unfamiliar with - how much is an info dump? How else can you provide information about the setting that's important to the story without going overboard?
We're told "show don't tell" so many times, and certainly dialogue is one way of getting across info for the reader, but even then, it can be overdone and obvious. Michael Connelly talks about "the telling detail" and how one truly evocative, short description can do the work of a paragraph. But a short summary can sometimes work too. It's knowing how to use it effectively and concisely. And keep the story moving at the same time.
It's another one of those things you start to see by simply reading with a writer's eye.
By the way, Amazon.com, where's my copy of "Reading Like a Writer"? Surely it's not still on that slow boat from China?
It begins with Cooper prosecuting a case against a guy who has killed his wife, probably using a hitman. Said hitman was never caught, so husband is on trial. I couldn't quite see how the evidence could ever prove him guilty, but ... I read on. And stopped around page 90.
Why? Two things (and they're both subjective, which goes to show that you will always have readers who just don't like the way you do things as a writer). One was I didn't find the sidekick's constant putdowns of Cooper funny. He calls her blondie, Coop, the princess and kid, all within about five pages. And likes to make cracks about her looks and makeup. OK, that's her problem, if she wants to put up with it (or the author wants to make her). But the thing that really made me put the book down was a severe case of "let's tell the reader a whole heap of information about New York's water supply system going back 300+ years and let's do it with about 10 pages of dialogue with some guy called Teddy". A couple of summary paragraphs would have done me, thanks, and then get on with the story.
Then I picked up another library choice, a writer I'd never heard of before - that's the joy of the library. The book was "Cold Granite" by Stuart Macbride. It's set in cold, miserable Aberdeen where it never stops raining, and has a main character called Logan McRae who's just back from a year off after being nearly stabbed to death by a killer. Yes, it's a serial killer story, but with lots of twists and turns (not all the deaths of the children are caused by the one person) and stuff-ups by the police. It's Macbride's first novel, and I'll be looking out now for the next one which was due out last year.
And I know lots about Aberdeen and its horrible weather now, and I don't think I noticed one info dump. Just a lot of characters being rained on and frozen!
It's a hard call when you're writing, especially when you are trying to evoke a world or a city or a village most of your readers will be unfamiliar with - how much is an info dump? How else can you provide information about the setting that's important to the story without going overboard?
We're told "show don't tell" so many times, and certainly dialogue is one way of getting across info for the reader, but even then, it can be overdone and obvious. Michael Connelly talks about "the telling detail" and how one truly evocative, short description can do the work of a paragraph. But a short summary can sometimes work too. It's knowing how to use it effectively and concisely. And keep the story moving at the same time.
It's another one of those things you start to see by simply reading with a writer's eye.
By the way, Amazon.com, where's my copy of "Reading Like a Writer"? Surely it's not still on that slow boat from China?
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Book of the Week
I read two books on Sunday - and no writing, but I needed a short break after 3000 words on Saturday.
One book was a YA romance (I'm teaching Writing for YA this year) that I skimmed, then I picked up a book I'd bought last week. And read it almost in one sitting.
The blurb starts: "I buy one pig a month. I can't afford any more. I've no idea whether this is enough, but it keeps the Beast alive. He's grown so big. I'm going crazy with worry that someone will discover him." That and the first two pages were enough to convince me to buy it. And I wasn't sorry. It's not just that you don't find out what the Beast is until halfway through - that's only part of the suspense - or that right up to the end you have no idea how he is going to solve the growing problem. It's more the the author has created a flawed main character, a 17-year-old boy who's got a terrible family and has been in foster homes for years, and who is the kind of boy to whom bad things happen without him having any control over them. Then when things go wrong, he is always the first accused, and he fights back as best he can.
But the Beast is a whole different kind of problem. Enough of the commendations from me! It's called "Beast" by Ally Kennen (Marion Lloyd Books).
BTW, Marion Lloyd was one of the publishers who came out to the Sydney Writers' Festival in 2005, along with Sharyn November and David Fickling. A great bunch of publishers, who all said very interesting things about the books they wanted to publish.
One book was a YA romance (I'm teaching Writing for YA this year) that I skimmed, then I picked up a book I'd bought last week. And read it almost in one sitting.
The blurb starts: "I buy one pig a month. I can't afford any more. I've no idea whether this is enough, but it keeps the Beast alive. He's grown so big. I'm going crazy with worry that someone will discover him." That and the first two pages were enough to convince me to buy it. And I wasn't sorry. It's not just that you don't find out what the Beast is until halfway through - that's only part of the suspense - or that right up to the end you have no idea how he is going to solve the growing problem. It's more the the author has created a flawed main character, a 17-year-old boy who's got a terrible family and has been in foster homes for years, and who is the kind of boy to whom bad things happen without him having any control over them. Then when things go wrong, he is always the first accused, and he fights back as best he can.
But the Beast is a whole different kind of problem. Enough of the commendations from me! It's called "Beast" by Ally Kennen (Marion Lloyd Books).
BTW, Marion Lloyd was one of the publishers who came out to the Sydney Writers' Festival in 2005, along with Sharyn November and David Fickling. A great bunch of publishers, who all said very interesting things about the books they wanted to publish.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Feedback and Research
I took the challenge before Christmas and submitted a 250 word hook to Miss Snark, ready for her to tear my words to shreds. Amazingly, I got to Stage 2, submitting the first 750 words of my novel.
While she was accepting children's and YA novels, I went for broke and sent adult crime. I read a huge amount of crime fiction, and have always been in awe of the plotting skills of crime writers. I wrote one crime novel about 10 years ago but it wasn't very good and I realised it in time to avoid lots of postage costs and rejection letters.
So why am I writing a crime novel? For fun. Because I had a great idea for the story about three years ago that just would not let go. And for the challenge - the plotting challenge. It's all there but does it work? Do I give the solution away too soon? Do the main character's personal demons intrude on the crime/mystery element too much? Who knows? Only critical readers can tell me, and I'm not up to that yet. More rewriting to do.
Anyway, did Miss Snark like my 750 words? Kind of. She said too much of it was setup, but the characterisation was good. And I did receive a huge number of comments on the Comments trail. Enough people liked it to make me think I was doing OK.
We all know that doesn't mean it will eventually be publishable! But it helps.
What I did learn was how to edit and cut more ruthlessly. When you only have 750 words in which to get the story moving, show character, and hopefully get to a point where the reader will say 'I want more' ... that means cutting out backstory, explanations and info dumps, tightening dialogue and making every word count. Even doing this for the first two pages is a great lesson in how it can be done for the whole book.
Kristin Nelson's blog this week has a great post on points to watch out for in genre fiction - things that are taking your story nowhere, such as characters sitting around talking about what happened.
It's here at http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2007/01/glitch-take-two.html
What am I reading right now? I whizzed through another old Patricia Cornwell - I was re-reading them in order of publication, and I'm over it now.
So off to the library, and I came home with, among other things, a couple of true crime books - Australian true crime focusing on Melbourne gangland and undercover cops. I need to read these a bit at a time. They're somewhat overpowering otherwise. No wonder I love fiction so much - real crime that's happening around me, even if I don't directly experience it, is scary. Try one of these books and you'll see what I mean (the Underbelly series by two Age journalists is a good starting point).
On the other side of research, I have to thank the two ambulance officers (paramedics) who were having a quiet coffee break in Borders the other day and barely flinched when I approached them and asked if I could get some information from them. They gave me on-the-spot info about what happens when they attend a scene when someone has been stabbed and bashed (my character), what their procedures are, etc. It's called 'primary source' material, but it's important to get this stuff right. Thanks!
Now all I need is a detective in our police force for the next bit of research.
While she was accepting children's and YA novels, I went for broke and sent adult crime. I read a huge amount of crime fiction, and have always been in awe of the plotting skills of crime writers. I wrote one crime novel about 10 years ago but it wasn't very good and I realised it in time to avoid lots of postage costs and rejection letters.
So why am I writing a crime novel? For fun. Because I had a great idea for the story about three years ago that just would not let go. And for the challenge - the plotting challenge. It's all there but does it work? Do I give the solution away too soon? Do the main character's personal demons intrude on the crime/mystery element too much? Who knows? Only critical readers can tell me, and I'm not up to that yet. More rewriting to do.
Anyway, did Miss Snark like my 750 words? Kind of. She said too much of it was setup, but the characterisation was good. And I did receive a huge number of comments on the Comments trail. Enough people liked it to make me think I was doing OK.
We all know that doesn't mean it will eventually be publishable! But it helps.
What I did learn was how to edit and cut more ruthlessly. When you only have 750 words in which to get the story moving, show character, and hopefully get to a point where the reader will say 'I want more' ... that means cutting out backstory, explanations and info dumps, tightening dialogue and making every word count. Even doing this for the first two pages is a great lesson in how it can be done for the whole book.
Kristin Nelson's blog this week has a great post on points to watch out for in genre fiction - things that are taking your story nowhere, such as characters sitting around talking about what happened.
It's here at http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2007/01/glitch-take-two.html
What am I reading right now? I whizzed through another old Patricia Cornwell - I was re-reading them in order of publication, and I'm over it now.
So off to the library, and I came home with, among other things, a couple of true crime books - Australian true crime focusing on Melbourne gangland and undercover cops. I need to read these a bit at a time. They're somewhat overpowering otherwise. No wonder I love fiction so much - real crime that's happening around me, even if I don't directly experience it, is scary. Try one of these books and you'll see what I mean (the Underbelly series by two Age journalists is a good starting point).
On the other side of research, I have to thank the two ambulance officers (paramedics) who were having a quiet coffee break in Borders the other day and barely flinched when I approached them and asked if I could get some information from them. They gave me on-the-spot info about what happens when they attend a scene when someone has been stabbed and bashed (my character), what their procedures are, etc. It's called 'primary source' material, but it's important to get this stuff right. Thanks!
Now all I need is a detective in our police force for the next bit of research.
Friday, January 12, 2007
NY Resolutions
Every year I vow "No resolutions, just goals". What's the difference? Resolutions for me tend to be things that aren't to do with writing but more things like staying healthy, going to the gym, walking more ... and they don't last long, sad to say.
Goals are the things I write down and pursue. I've been doing this for years, and my writers' group also does goals together in February. Usually I have the same list all round - no point having two! I also keep most of my goals to myself (I share them with my group, because they understand what writer's goals are, whereas other people like my family might want to ship me off to the funny farm). I put things on my goals list that are steps towards publication - simple jobs such as sending out my work regularly. If you have ever sat down to send out query letters or manuscripts to publishers or magazines, you'll know how that will eat up a whole morning without even trying. It's part of the job, but often a part that I don't focus on as much as I should. That's because I'm usually writing in the spare hours!
But my big goal right now is to clean out my office. That's BIG. That's not a two-day job. It's a two-month project, at least, that will require a hard heart and a large rubbish/recycling bin. Not to mention some boxes for all those books that will be going to the charity shop.
It's not that I'm a hoarder (I am, a bit) but more that I tend to keep stuff in case I can use it in class for teaching. I'm not organised enough to tear articles out of magazines and file them, so I keep the whole magazine. I also firmly believe that if I had room for one more large bookcase in my house, I could get rid of the piles of books everywhere. Yes, I also know that if I stopped buying books, I'd begin to solve the problem, but there is just nowhere to fit another bookcase right now.
The whole project is so overwhelming that I decided to approach it the way I do other things - one little step at a time on a regular basis. Yesterday I did one shelf on my main bookcase, and managed to throw out one-third of what was there. Onward and upward!
I'm also keeping track of words written this month, which I don't normally do in a formal way. Maybe I'm mentally setting a benchmark for the other months of the year?
Goals are the things I write down and pursue. I've been doing this for years, and my writers' group also does goals together in February. Usually I have the same list all round - no point having two! I also keep most of my goals to myself (I share them with my group, because they understand what writer's goals are, whereas other people like my family might want to ship me off to the funny farm). I put things on my goals list that are steps towards publication - simple jobs such as sending out my work regularly. If you have ever sat down to send out query letters or manuscripts to publishers or magazines, you'll know how that will eat up a whole morning without even trying. It's part of the job, but often a part that I don't focus on as much as I should. That's because I'm usually writing in the spare hours!
But my big goal right now is to clean out my office. That's BIG. That's not a two-day job. It's a two-month project, at least, that will require a hard heart and a large rubbish/recycling bin. Not to mention some boxes for all those books that will be going to the charity shop.
It's not that I'm a hoarder (I am, a bit) but more that I tend to keep stuff in case I can use it in class for teaching. I'm not organised enough to tear articles out of magazines and file them, so I keep the whole magazine. I also firmly believe that if I had room for one more large bookcase in my house, I could get rid of the piles of books everywhere. Yes, I also know that if I stopped buying books, I'd begin to solve the problem, but there is just nowhere to fit another bookcase right now.
The whole project is so overwhelming that I decided to approach it the way I do other things - one little step at a time on a regular basis. Yesterday I did one shelf on my main bookcase, and managed to throw out one-third of what was there. Onward and upward!
I'm also keeping track of words written this month, which I don't normally do in a formal way. Maybe I'm mentally setting a benchmark for the other months of the year?
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
We're Off and ... Writing
I always know when the holidays have truly kicked in because I am writing regularly again. Not just putting words on the page (I do a fair bit of that anyway) but holding the novel in my head, thinking about the characters and the plot, letting the back of my brain do some of the work too, and generally feeling like I am in the writing zone.
Other times of year, I'm either not able to write at all for a couple of weeks at a time (usually when I am marking student writing or workshopping it - it kind of sucks the urge to make your own words right out of you), or I work on shorter things that have a smaller focus.
I also read more in the holidays, and am able to think more about what I'm reading. Yes, I am still examining Lionel Shriver's sentence constructions!
"We Need to Talk About Kevin" is a very scary book, especially if you've had kids. The idea that you might give birth to someone who ends up murdering eight people is bad enough, but then to seriously consider how you might have contributed to that outcome ...
Here in Australia, "The West Wing" is into series 6, thanks to the ABC (taxpayers' channel) who got hold of it and are providing us with two episodes a week. We still haven't got up to the episodes I saw in Tucson in Sept 05! But last night's episode on Iran and nuclear plants was eerily echoed by the news broadcast straight afterwards. It's the one thing about watching the show so long after it was originally made - the news has caught up with the fiction.
Other times of year, I'm either not able to write at all for a couple of weeks at a time (usually when I am marking student writing or workshopping it - it kind of sucks the urge to make your own words right out of you), or I work on shorter things that have a smaller focus.
I also read more in the holidays, and am able to think more about what I'm reading. Yes, I am still examining Lionel Shriver's sentence constructions!
"We Need to Talk About Kevin" is a very scary book, especially if you've had kids. The idea that you might give birth to someone who ends up murdering eight people is bad enough, but then to seriously consider how you might have contributed to that outcome ...
Here in Australia, "The West Wing" is into series 6, thanks to the ABC (taxpayers' channel) who got hold of it and are providing us with two episodes a week. We still haven't got up to the episodes I saw in Tucson in Sept 05! But last night's episode on Iran and nuclear plants was eerily echoed by the news broadcast straight afterwards. It's the one thing about watching the show so long after it was originally made - the news has caught up with the fiction.
Friday, January 05, 2007
That Fish
My friend Snail, who is the expert around my way on all things in the animal and insect world, may be able to tell me what this is.
I said puffer or toad fish. But I was guessing.
And the bit at the front (mouth end) is bait and hook. Said fish was safely released into the briny when hook had been removed.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Running Out of Books
Nothing worse than a holiday where you run out of books to read and (gasp!) there are no bookshops nearby. I was reduced to the bookshelf at the holiday house and am now convinced that what you will inevitably find on such shelves are all the books other people bought to read on holiday and, discovering they are terrible and not worth reading, leave them behind for the next desperate reader. It's not often I give up on a book but I will if the main character is unlikeable. Such was the case with "Before You Sleep" by Linn Ullman. While I'm not averse to a character who feels compelled to seduce men she sets eyes on at weddings and in supermarkets, I do want to feel at least some sympathy for her. This girl was awful. So mean-spirited and mealy-mouthed. So I didn't care what happened to her. Bang! The book went back to the shelf.
Then I discovered that I had another book in my suitcase that I had forgotten about! "We Need to Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver. It had been on my pile, waiting to be read, for months. Now was the time! So far I am finding it very interesting and engaging, all the while taking note of her sentence constructions (sounds boring and anal but I'm sure other writers know what I mean).
Miss Snark did finally reach my entry for the Crapometer, and amazingly enough, I was asked for 750 words. So not only did I not get totally Snarked, but I have another chance at having my writing eviscerated by the inestimable MS. I think that blew all my other Xmas presents out of the water!
New Zealand was cool and changeable, and I managed to acquire a minimal tan, all the while feeling very un-PC, because having a tan now is considered foolhardy and silly, thanks to the hole in our ozone layer and the prevalence of skin cancer. I also managed to survive a boating accident, where a rock suddenly materialised in front of us too quickly to avoid. Boat suffered gouges in the hull (thank goodness we were aluminium, not fibreglass) and a bent propellor. We were able to head for home and reach it OK. I doubt I could have swum 6km back to the beach.
On the other hand, I did catch a few fish, including a glorious fish with spikes that one person said was a toad fish and another said was a puffer fish. Either way, it was fat and ugly. I also caught a schnapper, a cod, a pink maumau, a terakihi, a trevally and some leatherjackets, most of which went back in the water because they were too small. A veritable marine aquarium!
And best of all, I wrote. As most of my family now accept that I am a writer and I do get stuff published, they more or less left me to get on with it. Although the strange looks I received when I wasn't writing (but was gazing out to sea for long periods), and I explained that I was plotting ... well, I guess they all thought I should be typing!
Then I discovered that I had another book in my suitcase that I had forgotten about! "We Need to Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver. It had been on my pile, waiting to be read, for months. Now was the time! So far I am finding it very interesting and engaging, all the while taking note of her sentence constructions (sounds boring and anal but I'm sure other writers know what I mean).
Miss Snark did finally reach my entry for the Crapometer, and amazingly enough, I was asked for 750 words. So not only did I not get totally Snarked, but I have another chance at having my writing eviscerated by the inestimable MS. I think that blew all my other Xmas presents out of the water!
New Zealand was cool and changeable, and I managed to acquire a minimal tan, all the while feeling very un-PC, because having a tan now is considered foolhardy and silly, thanks to the hole in our ozone layer and the prevalence of skin cancer. I also managed to survive a boating accident, where a rock suddenly materialised in front of us too quickly to avoid. Boat suffered gouges in the hull (thank goodness we were aluminium, not fibreglass) and a bent propellor. We were able to head for home and reach it OK. I doubt I could have swum 6km back to the beach.
On the other hand, I did catch a few fish, including a glorious fish with spikes that one person said was a toad fish and another said was a puffer fish. Either way, it was fat and ugly. I also caught a schnapper, a cod, a pink maumau, a terakihi, a trevally and some leatherjackets, most of which went back in the water because they were too small. A veritable marine aquarium!
And best of all, I wrote. As most of my family now accept that I am a writer and I do get stuff published, they more or less left me to get on with it. Although the strange looks I received when I wasn't writing (but was gazing out to sea for long periods), and I explained that I was plotting ... well, I guess they all thought I should be typing!
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Finished ... shopping
I finished the last of my Xmas shopping on Wednesday. The feeling of relief was immense.
Today in Melbourne it is very hot and dusty, but not as smoky as yesterday, when we had the highest pollution reading ever (I think), comprised mostly of airborne particles, i.e. smoke from the bushfires. Right here in the middle of Melbourne, my house is not likely to catch on fire (unless someone is silly enough to leave Xmas lights going and they short out). But there are a lot of people out in the bush who have been on high alert for more than a week. As one said yesterday, "I wish the bloody thing would just come so we could fight it and be done."
Our house seems to be suffering from pre-Christmas bah and humbug (not me, I'm hiding from them all and writing). You would think the joy of being on holiday and not having to go to work would cause some level of happiness. Apparently not.
Having spent many $$ on gifts, I was reluctant to spend more on books (a good reason to hate Xmas actually) so I decided to do something I'd been considering for a while - get out some old Patricia Cornwells and read them and try to work out why I dislike the last two Scarpetta books. And I think I've figured it out. The recent books have been written in first person/present tense. The old ones are in first person/simple past tense. She seems to be one of those writers who can't handle present tense. She's not alone. It can be clunky, slow and verbose, the opposite of the immediacy you might be trying to achieve.
Go back to simple past, Ms Cornwell. Do us all a favour.
And I also read (in one day - you can tell I'm on holiday!) "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar. Terrific book. Great example of raising the stakes for the main character, making things gradually worse and worse, while you're biting your nails, hoping that this time the guy makes the right decision.
OK, back to the rewrite I'm working on. I've read Miss Snark's crapometer for the day - it'll be days and days before she gets to my entry. I can wait.
Today in Melbourne it is very hot and dusty, but not as smoky as yesterday, when we had the highest pollution reading ever (I think), comprised mostly of airborne particles, i.e. smoke from the bushfires. Right here in the middle of Melbourne, my house is not likely to catch on fire (unless someone is silly enough to leave Xmas lights going and they short out). But there are a lot of people out in the bush who have been on high alert for more than a week. As one said yesterday, "I wish the bloody thing would just come so we could fight it and be done."
Our house seems to be suffering from pre-Christmas bah and humbug (not me, I'm hiding from them all and writing). You would think the joy of being on holiday and not having to go to work would cause some level of happiness. Apparently not.
Having spent many $$ on gifts, I was reluctant to spend more on books (a good reason to hate Xmas actually) so I decided to do something I'd been considering for a while - get out some old Patricia Cornwells and read them and try to work out why I dislike the last two Scarpetta books. And I think I've figured it out. The recent books have been written in first person/present tense. The old ones are in first person/simple past tense. She seems to be one of those writers who can't handle present tense. She's not alone. It can be clunky, slow and verbose, the opposite of the immediacy you might be trying to achieve.
Go back to simple past, Ms Cornwell. Do us all a favour.
And I also read (in one day - you can tell I'm on holiday!) "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar. Terrific book. Great example of raising the stakes for the main character, making things gradually worse and worse, while you're biting your nails, hoping that this time the guy makes the right decision.
OK, back to the rewrite I'm working on. I've read Miss Snark's crapometer for the day - it'll be days and days before she gets to my entry. I can wait.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
This Writing Job
Most jobs in life are noted for their sameness - you do the same thing day after day, week after week, or things go in cycles but are usually predictable. While many people declare they hate their jobs (95% according to a recent survey), they would probably say what they hate is the boredom and sameness. Yet, paradoxically, this is the very reason why they don't quit. Sameness is safe, predictable, secure. You work your hours and you go home at the end of the week with a nice paycheck that pays the bills and buys food.
Writing? Never the same. Just because one story or novel worked out well, that's no guarantee that the next one will be easier, or even work at all. If you write the same story over and over, the critics will lay into you and you'll be labelled unadventurous or boring or predictable. If the new book is deemed of a lesser quality than the previous, you'll get it in the neck for that too.
Money comes and goes. Usually, it goes. Last year's bestseller is this year's remainder, and that healthy royalty cheque dwindles alarmingly, so that you start to think about going back to waitressing or driving taxis.
Output surges and dies. One year you produce three books, the next year(s) you strike a story that just won't work and several years later you have to abandon it. No product, no sales, no advances, no royalties.
The exciting flush of the first draft dies under rewrite after rewrite after rewrite. Your agent stops answering your calls. But you have to keep writing. What else can you do?
Actually, you can stop. I've known several writers who have written three or four novels, then gone off to do something else. I've known talented writers who decided it was all too hard. No one is knocking on your door, begging for your latest manuscript. No one cares much whether you write or not. Your mother keeps hinting that you should get a real job.
Depressed yet?
Not me. Not right now. Oh, there are times when I yearn after my old waitressing job (except now I'm such a cranky person I'd probably be a reincarnation of Carla from 'Cheers', only worse). But the lure and promise of the story idea not yet written, the vision of the story that haunts me for several years until I just have to write it no matter what, the high that comes from having written, the way in which my own words can surprise me at times as if it wasn't really me who wrote them ... there are a million reasons not to give up, and they are all to do with writing. Not with getting published. That's the honey bee on the hibiscus (well, you didn't think I was going to say 'icing on the cake', did you?).
That's my quiet Wednesday evening rumination after lunch today with my writers' group, the best group of women writers I'll ever know. They're my Christmas present every Wednesday afternoon, all year.
Write on, girls.
Writing? Never the same. Just because one story or novel worked out well, that's no guarantee that the next one will be easier, or even work at all. If you write the same story over and over, the critics will lay into you and you'll be labelled unadventurous or boring or predictable. If the new book is deemed of a lesser quality than the previous, you'll get it in the neck for that too.
Money comes and goes. Usually, it goes. Last year's bestseller is this year's remainder, and that healthy royalty cheque dwindles alarmingly, so that you start to think about going back to waitressing or driving taxis.
Output surges and dies. One year you produce three books, the next year(s) you strike a story that just won't work and several years later you have to abandon it. No product, no sales, no advances, no royalties.
The exciting flush of the first draft dies under rewrite after rewrite after rewrite. Your agent stops answering your calls. But you have to keep writing. What else can you do?
Actually, you can stop. I've known several writers who have written three or four novels, then gone off to do something else. I've known talented writers who decided it was all too hard. No one is knocking on your door, begging for your latest manuscript. No one cares much whether you write or not. Your mother keeps hinting that you should get a real job.
Depressed yet?
Not me. Not right now. Oh, there are times when I yearn after my old waitressing job (except now I'm such a cranky person I'd probably be a reincarnation of Carla from 'Cheers', only worse). But the lure and promise of the story idea not yet written, the vision of the story that haunts me for several years until I just have to write it no matter what, the high that comes from having written, the way in which my own words can surprise me at times as if it wasn't really me who wrote them ... there are a million reasons not to give up, and they are all to do with writing. Not with getting published. That's the honey bee on the hibiscus (well, you didn't think I was going to say 'icing on the cake', did you?).
That's my quiet Wednesday evening rumination after lunch today with my writers' group, the best group of women writers I'll ever know. They're my Christmas present every Wednesday afternoon, all year.
Write on, girls.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Bookshop Addiction
A lot of writers I know suffer from the inability to walk past a bookshop. Even worse, many of us cannot enter and then leave a bookshop without buying at least one book. This is only partly solved by visiting the library more often, as they have this unfortunate rule that you have to take the books back to them (and they even fine you when you're late!).
But there is nothing more joyful than wandering along the shelves and finding a new book by one of your favourite authors. Such was the case last week when I discovered a new book from Louise Rennison. First of all I had to check it really was new (her books are often released in the UK and US with different titles, and here in Australia we get both), and then because it was hardcover, I had to hold my breath and check the price. US and UK hardcovers here often cost AU$35-40, which puts them out of my reach.
Lo and behold (a suitable Christmas expression), it was a "cheap" version at only $20. So it went into my shopping basket immediately. If you want a good laugh, try her books - YA humour written in diary form - they are guaranteed to make me laugh out loud.
I'm still waiting for Kate di Camillo's book, "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane", to come out here in paperback. That's one HC that does pass the $35 mark.
My holidays are looming so now is when I start stockpiling "good reads" for my time off. Christmas? What Christmas? Don't bug me, I'm reading. Yes, and writing lots instead of little bits. Headspace is gradually returning, filling with words instead of admin and chores and grading and enrolment stuff-ups.
Books I would recommend from this year's reading? I tend to go with the ones that stay in my head - to me that means they were strong enough to be memorable. "Whale Talk" by Chris Crutcher, "Dairy Queen" by Catherine Murdock, "Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata, are three I can think of right now.
I've enjoyed the new Ian Rankin, James Lee Burke and Tess Gerritson. And my binge on literary fiction in the middle of the year was great for thinking and writing. I've also got "We Have to Talk About Kevin" on my stockpile, along with "Thirteen Moons" by Charles Frazier.
All that reading will be wonderful, and it will keep me away from the computer which has caused my neck and shoulder to seize up again (serves me right for not doing something about the ergonomics). The laptop will be allowed on holidays with me as long as it stays on my lap and doesn't sneak up to the table (too high and screen at bad angle). I have to get this ergo stuff right, because the dictation software programs all hate my voice and make millions of errors.
But there is nothing more joyful than wandering along the shelves and finding a new book by one of your favourite authors. Such was the case last week when I discovered a new book from Louise Rennison. First of all I had to check it really was new (her books are often released in the UK and US with different titles, and here in Australia we get both), and then because it was hardcover, I had to hold my breath and check the price. US and UK hardcovers here often cost AU$35-40, which puts them out of my reach.
Lo and behold (a suitable Christmas expression), it was a "cheap" version at only $20. So it went into my shopping basket immediately. If you want a good laugh, try her books - YA humour written in diary form - they are guaranteed to make me laugh out loud.
I'm still waiting for Kate di Camillo's book, "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane", to come out here in paperback. That's one HC that does pass the $35 mark.
My holidays are looming so now is when I start stockpiling "good reads" for my time off. Christmas? What Christmas? Don't bug me, I'm reading. Yes, and writing lots instead of little bits. Headspace is gradually returning, filling with words instead of admin and chores and grading and enrolment stuff-ups.
Books I would recommend from this year's reading? I tend to go with the ones that stay in my head - to me that means they were strong enough to be memorable. "Whale Talk" by Chris Crutcher, "Dairy Queen" by Catherine Murdock, "Kira-Kira" by Cynthia Kadohata, are three I can think of right now.
I've enjoyed the new Ian Rankin, James Lee Burke and Tess Gerritson. And my binge on literary fiction in the middle of the year was great for thinking and writing. I've also got "We Have to Talk About Kevin" on my stockpile, along with "Thirteen Moons" by Charles Frazier.
All that reading will be wonderful, and it will keep me away from the computer which has caused my neck and shoulder to seize up again (serves me right for not doing something about the ergonomics). The laptop will be allowed on holidays with me as long as it stays on my lap and doesn't sneak up to the table (too high and screen at bad angle). I have to get this ergo stuff right, because the dictation software programs all hate my voice and make millions of errors.
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