Monthly Archives: October 2012

Doing the muse justice

29 Monday Oct 2012

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Reader, sometimes, well most of the time really, I don’t feel like I can do justice to my story ideas. I think of a great idea, it’s usually just a snippet, and then my mind takes hold and adds bits, moulds and hammers away at the raw material until I become afraid to actually attempt the writing.

Once I begin to actually write, if I don’t allow my analytical mind too much air time, it’s not such a problem. For me the space and time between an idea and getting it onto paper is the danger zone. I become afraid of the idea, of getting it right. Can I do the story justice, will I bring it to life or inadvertently suffocate it in my attempt to breath life into it?

Is it really supposed to be this darn hard?

When I tell someone or write down a brief snapshot of what a story is about, I get so excited, so keen to jump behind the keyboard and get going. If I’m not able to get stuck straight in, for various good reasons, that’s when the doubt creatures start to infiltrate. Worming their nasty little way in, seizing my thoughts,  planting seeds of doubts and making accusations.

“You can’t do this!” “You will never bring this idea to life.” “You should give up this writing and stick to being bad at bookkeeping.” “A writer you are not! ”

OK, we all know these creatures of confidence destruction. Everyone has doubts, whether they are writers or not. Do we listen and give up, ignore and blunder on, or determine to beat them at their own game.

I think I may go with the last 🙂

Yesterday I attended the National Novel Writing Month Kick Off Party at King Edward Park Newcastle. This has got me fired up and ready for NaNoWriMo kick off on November One. I met some awesome local writers and here are a couple of pics from the day.

King Edward Park Newcastle, on a bit of a lean 🙂 I took the photos on my iPhone.

Jo and Brooke, our Newcastle Municipal Liaison Dudes, and Jim in the centre, it was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

What I’ve got so far . . .

22 Monday Oct 2012

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As I’ve been prattling on for a while now reader, and you probably realise NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is looming, heading my way fast. I’d intended to be so so organised, plot out chapters and scenes. Research ahead of time. Prepare character bio’s. I would be ready reader, well that’s what I thought.

Reality is a cruel thing reader. I have barely done a shred of any of the above.

What I have is setting, two characters and a vague idea.

Setting: As I’ve mentioned before it’s the Solomon Islands. Honiara is a beautiful and crazy city. Third World, poor and dirty. There are beautiful people and scowling betel nut chewing shoppers. Dirty and smelly, hot and humid. So incredibly different to anything I’d experienced at home in Australia. A city ripe for a missing person search.

Characters: Kathryn Imogen King, aka Kiki King, celebrity chef, restaurant owner, rich, confident and insecure. Jared Stevens, freelance photographer specialising in underwater photography, loner, self deprecating, even tempered and self assured. Combine the pair in Honiara, give them something to share, a mission, see what they do.

Vague idea: Kiki’s brother is missing, I’m thinking he’s dead – a diving accident, she needs to go to the last known location, Solomon Islands. Jared arrives on the same plane as Kiki and watches as she leaves a trail of destruction behind her. They stay at the same hotel, eat in the same restaurant. Kiki is under-whelmed with the menu. He thinks she is painful. Kiki finds out that her brother was last know to have gone diving off a small island. Jared has chartered a boat and Kiki talks her way into hitching a ride. Jared is forced to help her find her brother if only to get her out of is hair.

I don’t know any more than that at this point, but I think I have a few ingredients that could be combined into a fun mystery and hopefully a “Happy Ever After”.

Any thoughts?

Are you doing NaNo this year? If so, what are you writing about? Or would you never ever share? Tell me if you do share, or why you don’t?

The Casual Vacancy – my thoughts

15 Monday Oct 2012

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Well reader, I’ve finished listening to JK Rowling’s latest, and I liked it.

I read only one review before I read it and saw JK interviewed by Jennifer Byrne. I loved the Harry Potter series, but have always thought that JK Rowling seemed a bit of a miserable sort. I’m not saying that more cheerful interviews don’t exist, but every interview I’ve seen she seems fairly negative and a bit sour.

The Jennifer Byrne interview was the only one I’ve seen where she seems the tiniest bit happy about anything. Jennifer Byrne looked like she was working hard to lift the mood of the discussion and didn’t really ever succeed. Even when JK was speaking of happy things like her kids, she looked like she could easily break into a moan about something. As I said, maybe it’s just the interviews I’ve seen and others portray her differently.

I think “The Casual Vacancy” fits her demeanour. Jennifer Byrne described it as dark. I thought it as raw and miserable, a bit “East Enders”. The ending was forgettable, literally forgettable, I had to go back the next day and re-listen as I couldn’t remember how it ended. I think that’s telling, perhaps it was just me, but I felt that the book didn’t end in the right spot.

It kind of reminded me of Martina Cole’s style, for anyone who hasn’t read her books, they are very much focused on the grimy side of life. I did enjoy the way she made the characters come to life and I could certainly empathise with them, from the rough Krystal to the resentful Mary. It’s all about the people and how they react to each other.

I spent the first half of the book waiting to see what they were on about, then when I realised what was motivating the dynamics, it lost momentum for me. The most memorable scene for me was when self mutilating teen, Sukhvinder described a memory of Krystal and a rowing competition.  I think if all the book had been written along a similar vein, it would still have shown the hardship and misery, without leaving a feeling of hopelessness.

The book isn’t a light hearted romp and if JK was trying to get as far away from Harry as possible, she succeeded. Having said all that, I thought it was ok, I liked it, I didn’t love it and I wouldn’t read it again. But it’s not terrible. I would recommend it, if only out of curiosity to see what JK does to get away from Harry Potter.

Dave on the other hands hated it, he liked “Fifty Shades of Grey” better, and said Fifty Shades was a better story and well written in comparison. LOL I can’t comment as I’ve not listened to or read Fifty Shades.

Writing, the agony and ecstasy

08 Monday Oct 2012

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Reader, it’s a funny thing, last week I had myself tied in knots about my writing.

I had lost my way and didn’t even know where I’d gone wrong. After talking to Dave (Man Of The Trucks), who I must say has not read the full first draft, who gave me a good telling off for not sticking to my original idea. I began to see a glimmer of what had happened. Still I was not quite convinced. Next I spoke to my very good friend and one of my Alpha Readers, and she said the same, only maybe more nicely phrased.

She reminded me that my story was not a romance, but an historical novel with a romantic sub plot. Again, seeking reassurance, we writer’s are a fragile lot, I spoke to another good friend and alpha reader. Guess what reader, she said the same thing. These good friends and butt kickers have reminded me of what I love about my story. Yes there is a romantic element, but the real story is about Maddy and her moving to New South Wales in 1831. Her struggles to make a place for herself, both in the new and unknown country and a new and emerging society.

I’m excited again reader, I’m ready to dive in, get the edit/rewrite done and out of the way for NaNoWriMo.

Here comes Saturday and I have a full day ahead, I have no other commitments, I can sit under the tree, coffee at my side, chickens clucking, dogs snoring, cat tying me up in his elastic lead.

Wait, all is not as blissful as it seems reader, Friday night throws a nasty stink bomb. I found some amazing excerpts about the Wyndham family. This is brilliant, Maddy’s real life neighbours have left a wonderful trail of crumbs to follow. A window into their life and therefore, Maddy’s part imaginary, part real world.

I read a sentence that caused me to wonder if I’d misunderstood where the Wyndham family were living in 1831/32. As Maddy visits there regularly and Daniel lives with them, I had to get it right. Saturday morning rolls around, cue coffee and laptop, dogs, cats and chickens. I’ll just check the dates, better to sort it now than have to back track and fix up crucial scenes.

Oh reader, what a dilemma!

I couldn’t find the reference, in my endless scrolling through web pages and my history, I accidentally clicked on the “clear history” tab. Gone, all the sites I’d read through the night before. Agony.

So I began a 5 hour hunt for the missing article. Did I find it? NOPE!

In despair I gave up, disheartened and wondering what I was doing trying to write an historical novel. I was not up to the task if I couldn’t even remember to bookmark important documents.

I shuffled inside, shoulders slumped, I chucked the fourteenth coffee (slight exaggeration) down the sink as I passed and wandered into the office and looked around. There, on the printer, what is that? OH MY GOODNESS!!!

Reader, I had actually printed the article. There it was, sitting patiently waiting for me to discover it. Relief and chagrin fought within me! Laugh out Loud, I was saved.

I read through it to find that I was correct in the first place, the Wyndham’s were living at Dalwood for the period I’d chosen to set “On the River Bank”.

Long story short reader, I hadn’t needed the information after all. I had nothing to change in my story, so I’d wasted almost 6 hours of precious editing time.

Bleed for your Art

02 Tuesday Oct 2012

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This was some advice offered to me this week reader.

I must say, at the moment, I feel as if there has never been a truer work spoken.

Reader, I find it difficult to admit, but On the River Bank is feeling like hard slog at the moment. My mind is darting about, flitting from one story change to another. I think of changes that would make the story stronger, then I get confused and think I shouldn’t change the plot.

I’ve just completed a month long writing course and come away wondering what on earth I’m doing. The course itself was brilliant, showed me how to get into Deep POV with my characters. To really get inside Maddy’s skin and show the reader (that’s you) how she is feeling. Great, well you’d think so. But now I’m in a dilemma as to whether or not I can do justice to her story.

Now I know reader that this is my first real go at editing, and one part of me ( and Dave says) to just keep going. Write my story, make it as strong as I can and then see how it goes. Complete each stage and then make a decision as to whether or not the plot needs changing.

This sounds good, but will I need to go and change it all over again at a later date.

To give myself a bit of breathing space, I’m going to work on my NaNoWriMo plots and see where I go from here.

Here is a lovely painting by convict artist Joseph Lycett circa 1820 for your enjoyment, while I go and make a coffee and consider my options. It really shouldn’t be this difficult, after all, it’s only a story. I wish I did feel that way, but it’s more than a story to me!