Aha! You thought I was going to skip Day Seven. Well, I didn't write as such. I have filled a page with all of the things that I have forgotten to explain or tie up or develop to a resolution in the novel, plus I did a writing exercise from the Sellars book that resulted in something exciting and surprising for me in terms of story ideas. I have done two hours of writing, just not two hours of typing, and it's sorted out quite a few niggly bits for me.
I've been emailing a writer friend, K, about how much time we spend writing. I think both of us have decided that we don't do enough - not so much in words, but more in terms of focused, extended writing time. My two hours per day for seven days has shown me quite a few things about my current writing routine (things that I need to address). I tend to write in a "snatch and grab" kind of way, fitting it in between teaching stuff, but I can see that in a lot of ways I've been slacking off a bit. I'm terrific at procrastination!
There's been nothing on TV to interest me, so reading at night has continued apace. I finished Jerry Spinelli's There's a Girl in my Hammerlock, which is about a girl who goes out for the wrestling team to get a guy (so she thinks). This was fun but also was a good example of a character journey - starting with one goal and ending up with another.
I've also read The Fall - the first book in Garth Nix's The Seventh Tower series. I didn't expect to like it, as I don't like the Mr Monday series at all, but I really enjoyed this. He creates some great fantasy worlds, and sets the scene very deftly, giving the reader plenty of information but all via action and description (not info dumps). I've been reading a number of kid's/middle grade novels this week to keep my head in middle grade space.
Now I have started Garry Disher's new crime novel. More on this soon.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Nature 2
This is only the second winter at Lancefield that I have seen such an array of fungi - little toadstools and mushrooms of all shapes, colours and sizes. They grow everywhere - pop out of the ground on the tracks and push aside everything in their way, out of the old tree stumps, and even out of the gaps in the bark in the gum trees. Everything is damp, and most of the gum trees have masses of seed pods on them. It's the easiest way to tell the difference between the species sometimes - by the different seed pods (or gum nuts). I'm hoping this means that the butterflies will lay more eggs this spring, and that eventually we'll return to how it was five years ago, when everywhere we walked, dozens of butterflies would swoop around us.
Nature 1
No, our fence is not on fire! We've had a few days of rain, then this morning the sun came out and it was pretty warm for a little while, and the fence began to steam! Amazing.
Day Six
Three hours. Because I was near the end and I wanted to keep going. The draft is finished, but it's a bit minimal (it was written fairly quickly). However, that's often the case for me. I'm not a writer who overwrites by many thousand words and has to spend revision time cutting.
I tend to write lean and then build the characters and story up more in the revisions. Mainly, I wanted to get the plot right this time, and I still have some threads that need tying up.
That's a job for Day Seven, and the rest of the two hours will be rewriting on something else. Can't stop yet!
I tend to write lean and then build the characters and story up more in the revisions. Mainly, I wanted to get the plot right this time, and I still have some threads that need tying up.
That's a job for Day Seven, and the rest of the two hours will be rewriting on something else. Can't stop yet!
Friday, July 06, 2007
Random Facts
Fellow blogger, Snail, has "tagged" me on Random Facts. I freely admit that usually I throw away chain letters, and email chains too, but this one is at least interesting, and it makes a nice break from my Seven Day thingie.
So - Eight Random Facts About Me:
1. I have two very elderly spinster great-aunts who run a B&B somewhere near Ulverstone in the UK, and one day I plan to visit them (hopefully soon).
2. The only dog I have ever owned was a Basenji, and the reason I got her was because she was described as the dog most closely resembling a cat in behaviour. Also Basenjis don't bark, and as I grew up on a farm with constantly barking dogs, that sounded like a good deal to me. And she was a lovely dog.
3. My first bout of RSI came when I was typesetting for a printer, on a broken chair, with a double keyboard (I'm going back 20+ years here) and I still haven't learned my lesson about ergonomics, but I'm trying.
4. I used to waitress at Pizza Hut. Enough said. (Again, 20+ years ago.)
5. The worst haircut I ever received was in Salisbury, Rhodesia. It was so bad that when I was in Europe not long after, the border guard at the France-Spain post checked my passport photo and then couldn't stop laughing.
6. Yes, I lived in Rhodesia for four months when it was still Rhodesia, and don't ever get me started on how Robert Mugabe has absolutely gutted that country.
7. I am an All Blacks supporter, and Chris Jack is my favourite player (and you probably didn't want to know that, but watch him play sometime...)
8. When I was at high school, the absolute last thing I ever wanted to be was a teacher. Ha! Second abhorrent career was nursing, but the world is totally better off for me not being a nurse. Hopefully my students don't feel the same way.
So - Eight Random Facts About Me:
1. I have two very elderly spinster great-aunts who run a B&B somewhere near Ulverstone in the UK, and one day I plan to visit them (hopefully soon).
2. The only dog I have ever owned was a Basenji, and the reason I got her was because she was described as the dog most closely resembling a cat in behaviour. Also Basenjis don't bark, and as I grew up on a farm with constantly barking dogs, that sounded like a good deal to me. And she was a lovely dog.
3. My first bout of RSI came when I was typesetting for a printer, on a broken chair, with a double keyboard (I'm going back 20+ years here) and I still haven't learned my lesson about ergonomics, but I'm trying.
4. I used to waitress at Pizza Hut. Enough said. (Again, 20+ years ago.)
5. The worst haircut I ever received was in Salisbury, Rhodesia. It was so bad that when I was in Europe not long after, the border guard at the France-Spain post checked my passport photo and then couldn't stop laughing.
6. Yes, I lived in Rhodesia for four months when it was still Rhodesia, and don't ever get me started on how Robert Mugabe has absolutely gutted that country.
7. I am an All Blacks supporter, and Chris Jack is my favourite player (and you probably didn't want to know that, but watch him play sometime...)
8. When I was at high school, the absolute last thing I ever wanted to be was a teacher. Ha! Second abhorrent career was nursing, but the world is totally better off for me not being a nurse. Hopefully my students don't feel the same way.
Day Five
Day Five started with a movie. T and I went to see "Nancy Drew", not because I was a big fan of the books (I've never read any that I can remember, and I never saw the TV series, although T says she did), but because my current work-in-progress is a mystery/suspense novel for middle grade. More suspense than mystery. Definitely not of the sleuthing kind.
I was astonished at the beginning of the movie, which is a bit overdone in terms of the 1950s- type town and soppy townsfolk, but once we got into the danger and daring part of the story, and I got a grip on what Nancy's character was supposed to be, I quite enjoyed it. About two-and-a-half stars out of five for me, probably because Nancy was so ... Nancy, whereas often in kid's movies, I cringe at the acting. For some reason, I loved the over-achievement at high school bit.
Anyway, it didn't inspire my writing at all, but I knew those two hours were ready to be counted, so off I went. And spent about fifteen minutes re-reading previous bits, trying to work out where on earth I'd been planning to go next. Luckily I had written notes for myself yesterday. I actually think the fact that my other half decided to sit and drink coffee with me was the problem. But shouting "Go away!" at one's nearest and dearest doesn't add to your relationship much.
I'm writing at the kitchen table, by the way, because the rest of the house is like an iceberg. I put the heater on low, so my ankles are warm and the rest of me is still kind of in motion. Probably being cold helps keep the brain working.
So two hours passed, around 3300 words appeared again, and I'm happy. Rewriting is in the distance (next week, before I start teaching again, I hope) and so for now, first draft flow carries me on.
I was astonished at the beginning of the movie, which is a bit overdone in terms of the 1950s- type town and soppy townsfolk, but once we got into the danger and daring part of the story, and I got a grip on what Nancy's character was supposed to be, I quite enjoyed it. About two-and-a-half stars out of five for me, probably because Nancy was so ... Nancy, whereas often in kid's movies, I cringe at the acting. For some reason, I loved the over-achievement at high school bit.
Anyway, it didn't inspire my writing at all, but I knew those two hours were ready to be counted, so off I went. And spent about fifteen minutes re-reading previous bits, trying to work out where on earth I'd been planning to go next. Luckily I had written notes for myself yesterday. I actually think the fact that my other half decided to sit and drink coffee with me was the problem. But shouting "Go away!" at one's nearest and dearest doesn't add to your relationship much.
I'm writing at the kitchen table, by the way, because the rest of the house is like an iceberg. I put the heater on low, so my ankles are warm and the rest of me is still kind of in motion. Probably being cold helps keep the brain working.
So two hours passed, around 3300 words appeared again, and I'm happy. Rewriting is in the distance (next week, before I start teaching again, I hope) and so for now, first draft flow carries me on.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Day Four
Ah, Day Four. Two hours zoomed by, in one block, filled with words. 3300 of them. Lovely.
Plotting continues, with diagrams, notes and reminders to myself. I like this new method I've developed, of having just one large notebook to put everything into. No more scrabbling for bits of paper - want to know when Great-Grandfather was born? Flick back a few pages to the family tree I drew. Finished writing these scenes I'd plotted? Turn the page and start again, or carry on the thread.
Beats me why I never thought of this before, although with the historical pirate novel, I have ended up with half of a filing cabinet drawer full of research, maps, timelines, photocopies, pictures and diagrams. The various drafts occupy another half of a drawer.
I'm not even thinking about Day Five yet.
Last night I finished "Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time" by Lisa Yee. She has managed to show both the outer always-in-trouble boy and the inner vulnerable boy so well. This is a book to re-examine for that very reason. She says in the back of the book that she had to go and eavesdrop on some boys of the right age to find out what they talk about and how they act together, as initially her boys were too "girly" (meaning they talked about their feelings etc). Her descriptions of how boys eat food are so gross but so real.
I was interested to see that this book is a re-telling of the Millicent Min novel, but from Stanford's point of view. And that she has written a third book from Emily's point of view, still about the same summer experiences. I hope to get hold of a copy of "Millicent Min, Girl Genius" and see how she's done it, as I'm the kind of reader who hates to know the ending. I also hate to know the endings of movies, and football games. It takes all the anticipation and fun out of it for me, yet I know someone who cannot read past Chapter 1 until she's gone and read the ending first. I think this is also why I resisted plotting and planning for so long. I had the idea that if I knew everything that was going to happen in the book, it wouldn't be so much fun to write. Now I realise that I always know what my ending is going to be anyway - the planning just helps me to weave it all together better, and not have great sagging holes in the middle.
Plotting continues, with diagrams, notes and reminders to myself. I like this new method I've developed, of having just one large notebook to put everything into. No more scrabbling for bits of paper - want to know when Great-Grandfather was born? Flick back a few pages to the family tree I drew. Finished writing these scenes I'd plotted? Turn the page and start again, or carry on the thread.
Beats me why I never thought of this before, although with the historical pirate novel, I have ended up with half of a filing cabinet drawer full of research, maps, timelines, photocopies, pictures and diagrams. The various drafts occupy another half of a drawer.
I'm not even thinking about Day Five yet.
Last night I finished "Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time" by Lisa Yee. She has managed to show both the outer always-in-trouble boy and the inner vulnerable boy so well. This is a book to re-examine for that very reason. She says in the back of the book that she had to go and eavesdrop on some boys of the right age to find out what they talk about and how they act together, as initially her boys were too "girly" (meaning they talked about their feelings etc). Her descriptions of how boys eat food are so gross but so real.
I was interested to see that this book is a re-telling of the Millicent Min novel, but from Stanford's point of view. And that she has written a third book from Emily's point of view, still about the same summer experiences. I hope to get hold of a copy of "Millicent Min, Girl Genius" and see how she's done it, as I'm the kind of reader who hates to know the ending. I also hate to know the endings of movies, and football games. It takes all the anticipation and fun out of it for me, yet I know someone who cannot read past Chapter 1 until she's gone and read the ending first. I think this is also why I resisted plotting and planning for so long. I had the idea that if I knew everything that was going to happen in the book, it wouldn't be so much fun to write. Now I realise that I always know what my ending is going to be anyway - the planning just helps me to weave it all together better, and not have great sagging holes in the middle.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Day Three
I was dreading Day Three. Not because 3 is unlucky, or guaranteed to be Writer's Block day. No, it just seemed as though, after two days of writing and 6000 words, that Day Three would be when I'd get well and truly stuck in the mud.
Isn't the psychological side of writing incredible? There was a chance I'd talk myself out of writing at all, but that's where the Seven Day Commitment kicked in. I had absolutely promised myself that I'd do two hours a day, even if that meant two hours staring out the window.
The first hour was mud-wading. Mud up to my metaphorical armpits. I ate lunch. I went for a long walk, planning to think about what would come next in the story. My mind was a blank, and I was blown around by the wind (but the sun was shining so the walk was great).
I came home, made myself sit down at the table and started writing. The mud slowly disappeared. By the end of the second hour, I was still going. Another few hundred words and I was able to sit there and work out the rest of the plot (with some major changes from the last draft that hopefully have solved my motivation and credibility problems). Day Four might not be less muddy, but at least I feel confident about where I'm going now.
While those of you who write six or seven hours a day might be thinking - two hours is nothing! - I can tell you that two hours equals around 3000 words for me, all going well. Not always, but if I have plenty of thinking/vegetating time around those two hours, I can usually write a couple of thousand at least. I'm a fast typist. It's the brain power that's slow!
Finished "The Crazy Horse Electric Game" by Chris Crutcher last night. Another great CC book. His novels are always top of my list for recommendations.
I've started "Stanford Wong Flunks Bigtime" by Lisa Yee. Had to buy it on Amazon (not available here, and her earlier novel not available anywhere) - and ordered it after reading Cheryl Klein's blog entries about Yee's books. Klein is an editor at Arthur A. Levine Books and her blog is here. She has some terrific articles on her website as well. And yes, she is one of the editors who works on the HP books.
Isn't the psychological side of writing incredible? There was a chance I'd talk myself out of writing at all, but that's where the Seven Day Commitment kicked in. I had absolutely promised myself that I'd do two hours a day, even if that meant two hours staring out the window.
The first hour was mud-wading. Mud up to my metaphorical armpits. I ate lunch. I went for a long walk, planning to think about what would come next in the story. My mind was a blank, and I was blown around by the wind (but the sun was shining so the walk was great).
I came home, made myself sit down at the table and started writing. The mud slowly disappeared. By the end of the second hour, I was still going. Another few hundred words and I was able to sit there and work out the rest of the plot (with some major changes from the last draft that hopefully have solved my motivation and credibility problems). Day Four might not be less muddy, but at least I feel confident about where I'm going now.
While those of you who write six or seven hours a day might be thinking - two hours is nothing! - I can tell you that two hours equals around 3000 words for me, all going well. Not always, but if I have plenty of thinking/vegetating time around those two hours, I can usually write a couple of thousand at least. I'm a fast typist. It's the brain power that's slow!
Finished "The Crazy Horse Electric Game" by Chris Crutcher last night. Another great CC book. His novels are always top of my list for recommendations.
I've started "Stanford Wong Flunks Bigtime" by Lisa Yee. Had to buy it on Amazon (not available here, and her earlier novel not available anywhere) - and ordered it after reading Cheryl Klein's blog entries about Yee's books. Klein is an editor at Arthur A. Levine Books and her blog is here. She has some terrific articles on her website as well. And yes, she is one of the editors who works on the HP books.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Day Two
Two hours again. The first hour went smoothly, words came, stayed, sounded OK. Then I had a break, a phone call, lunch ... the words started squeezing out like half-dried glue stuck in the tube. I persisted. Lasted the hour and fifteen minutes more. Around 3000 words. Only tomorrow will tell if they are worth keeping.
I keep telling myself it's the rhythm that counts, the sticking-at-it until the flow happens on its own. That's one thing I learned from doing NaNoWriMo one year - the more you write on a daily basis, the better it gets. It's the times when you can't write for a week or more that causes the blockages. You're not inside the story and characters anymore.
I am persisting with fp/pt, despite the fact that late in the second hour I found myself accidentally back in fp/simple past for a few paragraphs.
My reward for today's toil was to go and sit in the sun, weak and wintery though it was, and read some of my Chris Crutcher novel. It's old (published 1987 - now that is a solid backlist when someone can still pick up a 1987 book in the bookshop), but good.
I am still trying to move a whole heap of books out of my office, but as the bookshelves still have not arrived, they are sitting in boxes. What this does do is remind me that I said I would put a list of my favourites on my website. It's coming soon ... but first, two hours writing every day.
I keep telling myself it's the rhythm that counts, the sticking-at-it until the flow happens on its own. That's one thing I learned from doing NaNoWriMo one year - the more you write on a daily basis, the better it gets. It's the times when you can't write for a week or more that causes the blockages. You're not inside the story and characters anymore.
I am persisting with fp/pt, despite the fact that late in the second hour I found myself accidentally back in fp/simple past for a few paragraphs.
My reward for today's toil was to go and sit in the sun, weak and wintery though it was, and read some of my Chris Crutcher novel. It's old (published 1987 - now that is a solid backlist when someone can still pick up a 1987 book in the bookshop), but good.
I am still trying to move a whole heap of books out of my office, but as the bookshelves still have not arrived, they are sitting in boxes. What this does do is remind me that I said I would put a list of my favourites on my website. It's coming soon ... but first, two hours writing every day.
Monday, July 02, 2007
The Seven Day Plan
I felt like I wasted an entire week last week. Horrible. I think I managed 6000 words of editing, plus 500 new words. And after my comments in this blog about first person/present tense, I was horrified to discover that this new draft of the novel has elbowed its way into exactly that - fp/pt. Arrgghh! I'm going with it for now, knowing I can always change it back later, even if it will be an excruciating process, because ... that's the way it's rolling out on the page.
And if nothing else, it's making me very conscious of showing instead of telling, and making sure there is plenty of movement and action. But at the same time, it's slowed me down, and today I felt as if I was wading in thick mud most of the time.
This was Day One of my Seven Day Plan (sounds like a diet), in which I committed myself to writing a minimum of two hours each day, no matter what. That two hours does not include research - today I was researching crime in Melbourne in the 1920s, and Squizzy Taylor in particular, who died in 1927 as the result of a shoot-out in Carlton. I got briefly sidetracked into an article about a murder in a rooming house in Carlton around that time, along with some really interesting background info about how Carlton was a slum area then with lots of brothels and illegal businesses, as well as extreme poverty. Hard to imagine it, as Carlton is now known for its Italian restaurants and great coffee, as well as very expensive restored houses.
The two hours also does not include plotting. As I have put aside all earlier drafts of this novel and am starting again from scratch, I need to keep track of the plot elements I want to keep, but re-order them and add more. I have cut out one main subplot, and need to build up the others.
The commitment to write every day will keep the novel firmly in my head, and it's the thinking time that contributes as much to the novel as the writing time.
At a 50th birthday party I went to yesterday, a writer friend was telling me how she is reading "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron at the moment, and is up to the part where she has to read absolutely nothing for a whole week. Not even the newspaper. Not even the back of the cereal packet. I'm not sure I could do that. I'm not sure what that would do to me, or my sanity.
And if nothing else, it's making me very conscious of showing instead of telling, and making sure there is plenty of movement and action. But at the same time, it's slowed me down, and today I felt as if I was wading in thick mud most of the time.
This was Day One of my Seven Day Plan (sounds like a diet), in which I committed myself to writing a minimum of two hours each day, no matter what. That two hours does not include research - today I was researching crime in Melbourne in the 1920s, and Squizzy Taylor in particular, who died in 1927 as the result of a shoot-out in Carlton. I got briefly sidetracked into an article about a murder in a rooming house in Carlton around that time, along with some really interesting background info about how Carlton was a slum area then with lots of brothels and illegal businesses, as well as extreme poverty. Hard to imagine it, as Carlton is now known for its Italian restaurants and great coffee, as well as very expensive restored houses.
The two hours also does not include plotting. As I have put aside all earlier drafts of this novel and am starting again from scratch, I need to keep track of the plot elements I want to keep, but re-order them and add more. I have cut out one main subplot, and need to build up the others.
The commitment to write every day will keep the novel firmly in my head, and it's the thinking time that contributes as much to the novel as the writing time.
At a 50th birthday party I went to yesterday, a writer friend was telling me how she is reading "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron at the moment, and is up to the part where she has to read absolutely nothing for a whole week. Not even the newspaper. Not even the back of the cereal packet. I'm not sure I could do that. I'm not sure what that would do to me, or my sanity.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Book signings vs Book launches
Yes, this is me at Dymocks Southland, doing a book signing gig. Notice the lack of people? Unlike a book launch, where you invite lots and lots of people and have champagne and celebrate, a book signing is "people by chance". The bookshop arranges for you to be there on a day when they are usually busy, with lots of customers and passing traffic, and you sit and look happy and approachable and wait for lots of people to buy your book and then you sign it.I did meet some very nice people, and the bookshop staff at Dymocks were terrific, and we did sell two books. While sitting there, I noticed the number of kids who stopped and looked at the poster for the new Harry Potter book (due out in July) and argued over whether the cover on the poster was going to be the cover on the book ... and wondered if I should have hinted in some way that I was related to JKR ... (except I'm not).
Book signings are often like this, believe it or not. I think it's good to be there, to have your books on display, and chat to people. They might come back later and buy a book, or they might remember your books next time they're in the shop. Linda at Dymocks had made up little giveaways with my postcards, and I will go back next year when the Littlest Pirate picture book comes out and read at their Storytime morning. It's all good.
Unlike my rugby team, the All Blacks, who lost last night to the Wallabies. Grrrrr. We went to the game at the MCG and were overjoyed that not only did our team lose, but we had a bunch of idiots in front of us who spent most of the time standing up so we only saw half of the game. Makes me almost glad I can't afford to go to the World Cup in France in September. Children's author assaults rugby spectator never makes a good headline!
Onto books - just finished Golden by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I wanted to read something in YA that is part of the latest hot genre - paranormal. Golden is about a girl who can see auras, and tell from their colours what the person is like and what mood they are in. All of the females in her family have the Sight in one way or another. It was interesting, but the aura stuff went on for ages and ages, focusing on the teenagers in the school and their relationships, then suddenly in the last 25% of the book, it turned into a murder-suspense story. It was an OK book, but felt a bit unbalanced, almost as if it changed horses mid-stream (excuse the cliche). I think teen and tween girls would like it. I felt an urge to ask the author to do another draft and make the first half stronger. But that might be the grumpy All Black supporter in me coming out this morning.
Friday, June 29, 2007
The Interruptor
There are all kinds of interruptions in life. In my house, the heat from the fan heater is most often interrupted (read "hogged") by this cat, who plants herself in the prime position.In my writing life this week, it has been paint. Specifically, having the hallway and doors painted. It's great that I don't have to do it, but the house smells very strongly of paint, to the point where I feel like I've been drinking it! And the painter has been around so it's been hard to focus on the novel (not that I need any excuse to procrastinate!).
Then yesterday morning, I woke at 5am with the first three lines of a short story in my head. They wouldn't go away. Every time I woke up, they were still there. Finally I got up and wrote them down, and kept writing. Three pages later, I had the start of a story that came from nowhere. I don't even think I was dreaming about it.
My other aim while on leave - apart from writing - was to continue cleaning out my office and getting rid of stuff. This means moving a large number of books out to a new bookcase. But the new bookcase has not arrived at the shop. So I am dodging piles of books and archive boxes and trying not to touch wet paint.
It's about now that I'm wondering why I didn't book for two weeks in Vanuatu or something. Because, in order to help the paint to dry, we have all the doors and windows open, and it's about 12 degrees. Maybe if I imagine myself lying on the beach in the sunshine with a great book to read, I'll feel warmer. There's certainly no point trying to get close to the heater...
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Another writing book
Along with the other two books I'm "consulting" right now, I've added "Writing the Popular Novel" by Loren D. Estleman. He's been around for years as a western and crime writer, and I haven't read as many of his books as I'd like to. In particular, I now want to read "Bloody Season", which is his novel about Tombstone, Wyatt Earp and the OK Corral.
Estleman has a direct style, and his book warns you that you'd better be serious about writing - his routine is five pages a day. I like the little quotes at the end of each chapter, and one talks about how Agatha Christie killed off both Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple in books that were published after her death, thus ensuring that no one else would be able to write novels about them. Not that that would stop anyone these days (that's why the prequel was invented) but apparently no books have been published with Poirot or Marple in charge.
This, of course, would just add more fuel to those who are placing bets that Harry Potter will die in Book 7.
Back to Estleman - one of the points he makes is about relying on the internet for accurate information. His comment about those who believe vows of accuracy: "any credentials posted on a Website are liable to come from the same bozo who posted the misinformation in the first place." That gives you an idea of what the book is like! Down to earth and direct. And useful.
Estleman has a direct style, and his book warns you that you'd better be serious about writing - his routine is five pages a day. I like the little quotes at the end of each chapter, and one talks about how Agatha Christie killed off both Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple in books that were published after her death, thus ensuring that no one else would be able to write novels about them. Not that that would stop anyone these days (that's why the prequel was invented) but apparently no books have been published with Poirot or Marple in charge.
This, of course, would just add more fuel to those who are placing bets that Harry Potter will die in Book 7.
Back to Estleman - one of the points he makes is about relying on the internet for accurate information. His comment about those who believe vows of accuracy: "any credentials posted on a Website are liable to come from the same bozo who posted the misinformation in the first place." That gives you an idea of what the book is like! Down to earth and direct. And useful.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Books about Writing
There are always new books coming out, and I blogged recently about "Chapter After Chapter" by Heather Sellars, which is more about actually being a writer rather than the nuts and bolts of writing fiction.
At the moment, I'm working my way through "Characters, Emotion and Viewpoint" by Nancy Kress. This is very definitely a writing how-to book, with lots of interesting points on all those things associated with character, such as motivation and conflict. I find it useful to read a book like this while I'm wrestling with a rewrite/revision, as I can focus on the bits that relate to what I'm trying to achieve with the manuscript. The current version of this particular novel of mine has, let's face it, too many "issues" to do with the main character and they get in the way of the story rather than deepening it. So something had to go, and I've more or less decided which issue will bite the dust. It's a middle grade novel (or upper primary) so I need to focus on the tension and pace of the story and allow the mystery/suspense elements to integrate more with the family stuff. The bullying issue will still be there, but in a different way, not in terms of a big backstory element that was slowing down the narrative drive.
Kress's book has a great chapter on the motivationally complicated character. There's a tendency with kid's books to think that it is all about one thing, one character goal, one need or desire. But many stories start with the character wanting one thing, then further complications and disasters lead her into wanting a much bigger thing. It's part of the character and plot arcs, and means tension rises effectively. It also means you have to keep your eye on the ball (excuse the cliche) and make sure your story doesn't get out of control. Everyone struggles with mixed motivations and emotions, e.g. it's possible for you to dislike someone and feel sorry for them at the same time.
Kress also talks about whether your characters are changers or stayers. And that you should know this about all your major characters. Not everyone has to change. Not everyone has to change in a big way.
The other book I'm skimming at the same time is "You Can Write a Mystery" by Gillian Roberts. This is very much a down-to-basics book (hence the skimming over the standard character/genres/point of view stuff) so my interest here is in her pointers on plotting. How to lay clues, red herrings, create other suspects, etc. My novel isn't strictly a mystery, more suspense-oriented, but my plot does need a restructure, so anything that makes me think more about specific problems to be solved is useful.
Yesterday, I had a reading pig-out again. Finished "Bad Luck and Trouble" by Lee Child before going to bed. Great read. Every now and then I stop and look at how he uses short sentences - an interesting stylistic thing that adds to the main character, Reacher, because it makes you feel like he is a man of few words before you even get to his dialogue.
I make my second year students do my version of close reading on several different excerpts, and even though some of them complain, if they start to see and understand even one or two things about language and style and sentence construction, I'm happy.
At the moment, I'm working my way through "Characters, Emotion and Viewpoint" by Nancy Kress. This is very definitely a writing how-to book, with lots of interesting points on all those things associated with character, such as motivation and conflict. I find it useful to read a book like this while I'm wrestling with a rewrite/revision, as I can focus on the bits that relate to what I'm trying to achieve with the manuscript. The current version of this particular novel of mine has, let's face it, too many "issues" to do with the main character and they get in the way of the story rather than deepening it. So something had to go, and I've more or less decided which issue will bite the dust. It's a middle grade novel (or upper primary) so I need to focus on the tension and pace of the story and allow the mystery/suspense elements to integrate more with the family stuff. The bullying issue will still be there, but in a different way, not in terms of a big backstory element that was slowing down the narrative drive.
Kress's book has a great chapter on the motivationally complicated character. There's a tendency with kid's books to think that it is all about one thing, one character goal, one need or desire. But many stories start with the character wanting one thing, then further complications and disasters lead her into wanting a much bigger thing. It's part of the character and plot arcs, and means tension rises effectively. It also means you have to keep your eye on the ball (excuse the cliche) and make sure your story doesn't get out of control. Everyone struggles with mixed motivations and emotions, e.g. it's possible for you to dislike someone and feel sorry for them at the same time.
Kress also talks about whether your characters are changers or stayers. And that you should know this about all your major characters. Not everyone has to change. Not everyone has to change in a big way.
The other book I'm skimming at the same time is "You Can Write a Mystery" by Gillian Roberts. This is very much a down-to-basics book (hence the skimming over the standard character/genres/point of view stuff) so my interest here is in her pointers on plotting. How to lay clues, red herrings, create other suspects, etc. My novel isn't strictly a mystery, more suspense-oriented, but my plot does need a restructure, so anything that makes me think more about specific problems to be solved is useful.
Yesterday, I had a reading pig-out again. Finished "Bad Luck and Trouble" by Lee Child before going to bed. Great read. Every now and then I stop and look at how he uses short sentences - an interesting stylistic thing that adds to the main character, Reacher, because it makes you feel like he is a man of few words before you even get to his dialogue.
I make my second year students do my version of close reading on several different excerpts, and even though some of them complain, if they start to see and understand even one or two things about language and style and sentence construction, I'm happy.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
How do writers party?
Now that we've had the official launch for Sixth Grade Style Queen (Not!), some of my writer friends decided we needed an unofficial celebration (despite the number of kids whose eyes lit up at the mention of champagne, our school launch went without!).
A few people had other things on, so our numbers were small - small enough for us all to sit around, drink champagne, eat a mountain of food, and talk about books and writing and publishing. And websites and publicity and agents. And other stuff too.
It's great to celebrate a new book with a bunch of people who understand exactly how hard the journey is, and that it's a new mountain to climb each time. My writing group always celebrates each publication success with a cake, but sometimes a whole book needs more.
Writers tend to be solitary. It's the only way to get the job done. Socialising and doing housework and running kids around and cooking and going to (paid) work all keeps us from writing, so when we do wrestle free time from the daily grind, we have to be alone. I don't even listen to music when I write anymore. Silence is bliss.
I write in another world - my made-up world - and emerge from it blinking and a little dazed. Now that I have two weeks leave, I have a rewrite of a middle grade novel to finish. And I'll be doing it alone. My kitchen table will be my writer's retreat.
But it was great to have a writers' gabfest night before I head into solitude.
A few people had other things on, so our numbers were small - small enough for us all to sit around, drink champagne, eat a mountain of food, and talk about books and writing and publishing. And websites and publicity and agents. And other stuff too.
It's great to celebrate a new book with a bunch of people who understand exactly how hard the journey is, and that it's a new mountain to climb each time. My writing group always celebrates each publication success with a cake, but sometimes a whole book needs more.
Writers tend to be solitary. It's the only way to get the job done. Socialising and doing housework and running kids around and cooking and going to (paid) work all keeps us from writing, so when we do wrestle free time from the daily grind, we have to be alone. I don't even listen to music when I write anymore. Silence is bliss.
I write in another world - my made-up world - and emerge from it blinking and a little dazed. Now that I have two weeks leave, I have a rewrite of a middle grade novel to finish. And I'll be doing it alone. My kitchen table will be my writer's retreat.
But it was great to have a writers' gabfest night before I head into solitude.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Errors that are catching
There are some errors that drive me nuts. I see so many people write, "I thought to myself." Er, unless your character is telepathic, who else would they be thinking to?
Wrongly placed apostrophes grow like mushrooms. If you see the wrong it's in a story, it won't be long before you'll also see your's and her's.
Miss Snark and others had a field day a few months ago on her Crapometer - the problem was the people who talked about having written a "fiction novel". A novel is fiction. That's like saying an automobile car.
I thought it was obvious. Then today I received my email newsletter from Borders and it has a discount coupon on it - 20% off a fiction novel.
Arrgghhh!!!
Wrongly placed apostrophes grow like mushrooms. If you see the wrong it's in a story, it won't be long before you'll also see your's and her's.
Miss Snark and others had a field day a few months ago on her Crapometer - the problem was the people who talked about having written a "fiction novel". A novel is fiction. That's like saying an automobile car.
I thought it was obvious. Then today I received my email newsletter from Borders and it has a discount coupon on it - 20% off a fiction novel.
Arrgghhh!!!
All Readers are not created equal
I've just finished reading King Dork by Frank Porter, and I'm a little mystified on how to comment on it. It's YA, it's about a guy who believes (probably correctly) that he is the biggest dork in his school, and the novel is about a couple of months in his life. He and his friend are in a band, although neither of them can really play the guitar and it takes them a while to find a drummer, but he can't count beyond 3. The dork has a very weird mother and a hippie-like stepfather, he obsesses about a girl he groped and kissed in the dark at a party (first time ever), and also obsesses about his father's death and reads his dad's old books from high school to try and find out more about him. Towards the end, he also tries to find out how his dad really died.
That's about it really.
I was trying to describe it to my friend, G, and saying that it was quite a long book but nothing really happened. She said, "Do you mean the dramatic story arc just stayed low (imagine her hand in a very gentle upwards slope) instead of having that big rise in tension and drama that we're used to (hand veers sharply upwards)?"
Um, yes. I did keep reading it to the end, but it was an effort. Then I started wondering who the intended reader is. Some girls might like it, and feel sorry for the main character. In trying to work out what kind of young male reader might like it, I came up with either: 1) guys who think they, too, are dorks and identify with the character and story, 2) guys who like music and the whole wanting-to-be-in-a-band plotline, or 3) guys who like reading (there are quite a few) and like the characters anyway.
I don't think I'm the intended reader - not just because I'm not a teenager, but because I do like stories with bigger dramatic plot and character arcs. I find them more interesting and satisfying. I'm going to keep a look out for reviews on this book, especially those written by teen readers. Or if you've read it, please do post a comment.
I've moved on to the new Lee Child. Jack Reacher rules!
That's about it really.
I was trying to describe it to my friend, G, and saying that it was quite a long book but nothing really happened. She said, "Do you mean the dramatic story arc just stayed low (imagine her hand in a very gentle upwards slope) instead of having that big rise in tension and drama that we're used to (hand veers sharply upwards)?"
Um, yes. I did keep reading it to the end, but it was an effort. Then I started wondering who the intended reader is. Some girls might like it, and feel sorry for the main character. In trying to work out what kind of young male reader might like it, I came up with either: 1) guys who think they, too, are dorks and identify with the character and story, 2) guys who like music and the whole wanting-to-be-in-a-band plotline, or 3) guys who like reading (there are quite a few) and like the characters anyway.
I don't think I'm the intended reader - not just because I'm not a teenager, but because I do like stories with bigger dramatic plot and character arcs. I find them more interesting and satisfying. I'm going to keep a look out for reviews on this book, especially those written by teen readers. Or if you've read it, please do post a comment.
I've moved on to the new Lee Child. Jack Reacher rules!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Delving Into Point of View
It can be hard to get inside your character's head. Sometimes the plot idea comes first and the main character seems a bit fuzzy, or you can't quite decide who they'll be. And because character backstory, motivations and actions/decisions all feed into the plot, if you go ahead and develop your plot without doing the work on your character, you end up with someone who doesn't feel "real". Her/his voice is bland, actions seem inconsistent, motivations unclear - all this leads to the reader not being fully engaged with the story.
It's almost a rule in fiction - if the reader doesn't care what happens to the main character, they won't want to read the book. I say almost a rule because characters like James Bond work differently, but mostly your main character needs to be strong and engaging.
Then comes point of view. Beyond whether you tell your story in first person or third person (intimate/subjective - there are different terms for this), if you are using that close POV, the reader wants to feel they are right there with the character, thinking their thoughts, feeling their emotions, experiencing their life with its highs and lows.
Sometimes this inner bonding with your character comes easily, maybe because they are part of you, or express a part of you that you explore via the story. You hear their voice, seem to know them intimately before you've written more than a dozen pages, understand their strengths and failings and how these will figure in your story.
But more often, you have to make them up, and then make them real. Masha Hamilton (at the Pima Writers' Workshop) said that probably only 10% of what you know about your character will appear on the page. The rest is all the stuff you need to know and understand about them, their life, their backstory, in order to be able to write about them convincingly.
There is a trap within first person narrative. It's the assumption that once you "get" the voice of that narrator, the rest will fall into place. If you are able to write your character onto the page as you go along, great. But you have to do a lot of writing to get there.
It's easier to do the background stuff first, even if it looks like a lot of extra work.
I see a lot of students struggling with POV, and ending up with pieces of writing or chapters where everything seems to happen at a distance, as if the narrator is just reporting, or it's the author who is doing all the work and the narrator is looking over her/his shoulder. A simple sign that this is happening is when the narrator refers to their mother as "my Mum" (as in - My Mum said, "Where are you going?"). When you are right in the POV, your narrator would usually just say Mum - Mum said, "Where are you going?".
This is where I am right now. I am up to Rewrite Number 8 on a manuscript that I haven't looked at in nearly a year, and I've kind of lost my grip on who my characters are, why they're doing what they do in the story. I also need to do a lot more work on my other major characters, to avoid them being one-dimensional and poorly motivated.
My mantra is: Every character has their own journey in the story.
And I need to know what it is. Out with the notebook and pen, and away I go.
It's almost a rule in fiction - if the reader doesn't care what happens to the main character, they won't want to read the book. I say almost a rule because characters like James Bond work differently, but mostly your main character needs to be strong and engaging.
Then comes point of view. Beyond whether you tell your story in first person or third person (intimate/subjective - there are different terms for this), if you are using that close POV, the reader wants to feel they are right there with the character, thinking their thoughts, feeling their emotions, experiencing their life with its highs and lows.
Sometimes this inner bonding with your character comes easily, maybe because they are part of you, or express a part of you that you explore via the story. You hear their voice, seem to know them intimately before you've written more than a dozen pages, understand their strengths and failings and how these will figure in your story.
But more often, you have to make them up, and then make them real. Masha Hamilton (at the Pima Writers' Workshop) said that probably only 10% of what you know about your character will appear on the page. The rest is all the stuff you need to know and understand about them, their life, their backstory, in order to be able to write about them convincingly.
There is a trap within first person narrative. It's the assumption that once you "get" the voice of that narrator, the rest will fall into place. If you are able to write your character onto the page as you go along, great. But you have to do a lot of writing to get there.
It's easier to do the background stuff first, even if it looks like a lot of extra work.
I see a lot of students struggling with POV, and ending up with pieces of writing or chapters where everything seems to happen at a distance, as if the narrator is just reporting, or it's the author who is doing all the work and the narrator is looking over her/his shoulder. A simple sign that this is happening is when the narrator refers to their mother as "my Mum" (as in - My Mum said, "Where are you going?"). When you are right in the POV, your narrator would usually just say Mum - Mum said, "Where are you going?".
This is where I am right now. I am up to Rewrite Number 8 on a manuscript that I haven't looked at in nearly a year, and I've kind of lost my grip on who my characters are, why they're doing what they do in the story. I also need to do a lot more work on my other major characters, to avoid them being one-dimensional and poorly motivated.
My mantra is: Every character has their own journey in the story.
And I need to know what it is. Out with the notebook and pen, and away I go.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Website Problems
I've been having some annoying problems with my site in the past few weeks - mainly that although I can update and change/add text, I can't upload any photos or book cover images. They upload from my end but when I look at the site, they don't appear. I've tried everything - reloading, taking other images out, disarming the firewall (temporarily) and, finally, completely uploading the site from another computer.
No luck. So I am forced to conclude that it's my ISP that is the problem. I am supposed to have 10MB of space, and you would think that if I had somehow exceeded my limit, then taking material and images off the site would make room for the new ones. When I called my ISP Tech Help, they said they had no way of checking if I was over the limit and even if I was, I couldn't buy any more!
To say I am not happy about this (especially with a new book just out and some great photos to add) is an understatement. So I've gone away and paid for hosting with another company, and in a few days will undertake the big move. A bit daunting as I am not a website expert - I tend to stick with what I know and keep my fingers crossed.
Stay tuned for screams of frustration (or, hopefully, cries of joy).
No luck. So I am forced to conclude that it's my ISP that is the problem. I am supposed to have 10MB of space, and you would think that if I had somehow exceeded my limit, then taking material and images off the site would make room for the new ones. When I called my ISP Tech Help, they said they had no way of checking if I was over the limit and even if I was, I couldn't buy any more!
To say I am not happy about this (especially with a new book just out and some great photos to add) is an understatement. So I've gone away and paid for hosting with another company, and in a few days will undertake the big move. A bit daunting as I am not a website expert - I tend to stick with what I know and keep my fingers crossed.
Stay tuned for screams of frustration (or, hopefully, cries of joy).
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Chili Again
My recipe - I warn you that this is just a good estimate. I tend to cook without recipes for things I'm familiar with, or I try to reproduce something I've eaten in a restaurant by guessing. Not always successfully.
So I'll give this a name (because I like titles):
WRITER'S HOT FINGERS CHILI
500gm good beef mince - brown it in a non-stick saucepan and then drain off the fat.
Add 1 large chopped onion, cook for a couple of minutes. Then make a hole in the mince and onion so you can put the following onto the hot surface of the pan: 1 tsp chili powder, 1-2 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp minced ginger, 1 tsp cumin, 2 tbsp tomato paste.
Cook the spices etc for half a minute, stirring so the paste doesn't burn, then mix into the mince. Add one tin of chopped tomatoes (can add two if you really like lots of tomatoes in it). I also add stock powder - about 1 tsp (then you can add salt later if you think it needs it). Cook for about 15 minutes, add a tin of kidney beans (what size is up to you), and cook another 30 minutes.
I serve it with rice, but you can serve it any way you like - rice, burritos, tacos, etc.
If you want it really hot, you can increase the chili powder, but I find chili can be vicious in powder form - it's often stronger than you think!
And like curry, it improves with age, so leftovers next day might be even better.
So I'll give this a name (because I like titles):
WRITER'S HOT FINGERS CHILI
500gm good beef mince - brown it in a non-stick saucepan and then drain off the fat.
Add 1 large chopped onion, cook for a couple of minutes. Then make a hole in the mince and onion so you can put the following onto the hot surface of the pan: 1 tsp chili powder, 1-2 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp minced ginger, 1 tsp cumin, 2 tbsp tomato paste.
Cook the spices etc for half a minute, stirring so the paste doesn't burn, then mix into the mince. Add one tin of chopped tomatoes (can add two if you really like lots of tomatoes in it). I also add stock powder - about 1 tsp (then you can add salt later if you think it needs it). Cook for about 15 minutes, add a tin of kidney beans (what size is up to you), and cook another 30 minutes.
I serve it with rice, but you can serve it any way you like - rice, burritos, tacos, etc.
If you want it really hot, you can increase the chili powder, but I find chili can be vicious in powder form - it's often stronger than you think!
And like curry, it improves with age, so leftovers next day might be even better.
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