Do you Want to Start #Writing Like #Steinbeck?

 

This week marks the 75th anniversary of the the film release of Grapes of Wrath so I thought it was appropriate to re-purpose this post. If you want to start writing like Steinbeck, then take a look at some of the things he found important and include them in your writing. "Learn from the best"

John Steinbeck’s writing methodology was stringent and meticulous. When writer's you love talk about how they write, it’s hard not listen.Steinbeck really wanted Grapes of Wrath to be good  - exposing the exploitation of people in 1930’s Southern California, was a story he thought needed telling. I re-read the novel a while ago, and the style blew me away.

[tweetthis] "Nothing about The Grapes of Wrath is dated."[/tweetthis]

It's incredibly refreshing to read a book with such valuable social commentary that's also just a damn good story. Part of its success lies in the fact that we live, eat and sleep with the Joad family. Everything is personal, so we care about what happens to the characters, and it allows us to see the injustice very clearly, without the point being hammered home. Steinbeck simply tells a story.Below is part of John Steinbeck’s interview in the Paris Review*(Please note: Steinbeck died in 1968. A lot of the quotes were compiled in Steinbeck: A Life in Letters and published in October 1975 by Viking. Hence the Paris Review article was not until 1975.)The comments in italics are mine.

 ON GETTING STARTED

Now let me give you the benefit of my experience in facing 400 pages of blank stock—the appalling stuff that must be filled. I know that no one really wants the benefit of anyone's experience which is probably why it is so freely offered. But the following are some of the things I have had to do to keep from going nuts.

 1. Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish.

Lose track of the 400 pages and write just one page for each day, it helps. Then when it gets finished, you are always surprised.This is the most important one & can’t be said too often. One page at a time.

 2. Write freely

...and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on. It also interferes with flow and rhythm which can only come from a kind of unconscious association with the material. Don’t worry about anyone looking over your shoulder. Just get the work written. Good tip for all of us procrastinators.

 3. Forget your generalized audience.

In the first place, the nameless, faceless audience will scare you to death and in the second place, unlike the theater, it doesn't exist. In writing, your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out one person—a real person you know, or an imagined person and write to that one.I’ve heard this before, and I think it's an excellent way to keep yourself on track. You can't write for everyone. So write for one.

4. If a scene or a section gets the better of you

...and you still think you want it—bypass it and go on. When you have finished the whole you can come back to it and then you may find that the reason it gave trouble is because it didn’t belong there.Rewriting – its all there is. But don't be afraid to write non-sequentially. Sometimes one just isn't in the mood to write about a dramatic moment, so switch gears and go to a section you do want to write today.

 5. Beware of a scene that becomes too dear to you,

...dearer than the rest. It will usually be found that it is out of drawing.Tough to give them up isn’t it?

 6. If you are using dialogue

...say it aloud as you write it. Only then will it have the sound of speech.Excellent tip. If you read it out loud it will sound strained immediately if it’s not working.On my writers resources page I refer to his book Working Days, which is the diary he kept while he was writing Grapes of Wrath. (He wrote his first draft in 6 months BTW!). It’s a great book for writers if only to show how persistent one has to be to make the end product worthwhile.Are these methods  you can work with? Do you have different ways of attacking the same problems? 

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*Paris Review has rich resource material in their decades of interviews of famous people, writers included.I first saw part of this particular interview in one of my favorite blogs www.brainpickings.org

Author in Focus: How to #Write #War like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

English: Chimamanda Adichie

Chimamanda NgoziAdichieAuthor in Focus ChimamandaNgoziAdichie  (born 15 September 1977) is a writer from Nigeria. She has been called "the most prominent" of a "procession of critically acclaimed young anglophone authors is succeeding in attracting a new generation of readers to African literature".Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus (2003), was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction (2004) and awarded the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book (2005).ChimamandaNgozi Adichie's second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, named after the flag of the short-lived nation of Biafra, is set before and during the Biafran War. It was awarded the 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction. Half of a Yellow Sun has been adapted into a film  and is set for release in 2014.Her third book, The Thing Around Your Neck (2009), is a collection of short stories. (Wikipedia)

How does ChimamandaNgoziAdichie Succeed in Writing about War?

Half of a Yellow Sun

Half of a Yellow Sun is set both before and during the Biafran War. Those of us of a certain age, may remember ‘Biafran babies’ being one of the first poster children for starvation. A nation of starving children when Biafra attempts to become an independent republic in South East Nigeria in the 1960'sIn a nutshell, the reason Adichie’s work is so powerful is because she makes us care about her characters, and in doing do she personalizes the experience of the war. The extended family involved is an ordinary family with their own familial ups and downs, and the core nuclear family, is middle class, like many people who would read the novel. They had leftist views, but many of us do. So when their life takes a turn for the worse , we can relate to having our lives gradually stripped away. We can imagine what we might do in the same situation.

“Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person.”~Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The other reason is that clearly she did her research. The reasons behind the conflict, and how it plays out are shown in meticulous detail without bashing us over the head with a history lesson. Again, because she shows us through the characters. So we learn about what happened and why it happened. But it’s done in such a way, we don’t realize we are learning. We keep reading because we want to know what will happen next, will things get better or worse. Who will survive and who will not?

Why Write about War?

War is difficult to write about. How do you show the horrors  of war without the violence being gratuitous? Why write about it at all? Don’t we have enough coverage with our 24/7 news coverage these days?  There have been some excellent war reporters who have shown us front lines, shelled cities, and injured people, with truth and heartfelt coverage that is as unbiased as reporting can be. But a novel takes us further. It takes us into the hearts of the characters, and what it was like to actually live day to day in a wartime setting. I believe it’s important to keep writing about wars, both past and present, not to grind the same old saw, but so we can review events with a fresh perspective, and so ultimately we will never forget.

“There are some things that are so unforgivable that they make other things easily forgivable.”Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Cambridge April 2013, photo: Chris Boland

What are your favorite novels set during a war? Have you ever considered writing a short story or novel set during a war? If not, why not?

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Author in Focus: Ernest Hemingway and the Iceberg Effect

Author in Focus: Ernest Hemingway and the Iceberg Effect 

Hemingway Bio:

Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economical and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. WikipediaBorn: July 21, 1899, Oak Park, ILDied: July 2, 1961, Ketchum, IDMovies: For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, MoreSpouse: Mary Welsh Hemingway (m. 1946–1961), MoreChildren: Jack Hemingway, Gregory Hemingway, Patrick Hemingway

Why Hemingway?

Ernest Hemingway, was many things to many people and widely criticized for his machismo.  But for this purpose, let's focus on his style of prose known by a term coined by Hemingway himself: The Iceberg Effect.

The Iceberg Effect 

If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing. ~ Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway's prose bears out this philosophy which is in essence saying less is more. As a writer, I find nothing more liberating in my work than to edit out text, reducing it to what I consider to be the essential words.But this is very subjective and to reduce prose in the extreme way that Hemingway did, is difficult.It’s particularly difficult when you are dealing with events in the past, pertinent to the narrative. But the reader is there for a good story, not a history lesson.

“Hills Like White Elephants"

One of his most famous short stories is “Hills Like White Elephants". The couple in the story is drawn in such sparse prose, it leaves much to the reader's interpretation. The man is never given a name, and though it appears the couple are simply killing time while waiting for a train, they are in fact alluding to whether or not the girl should have an abortion and whether they will split up. All if this is done in basic exchanges of dialogue, and straightforward snatches of information. Here is an excerpt:‘They’re lovely hills,’ she said. ‘They don’t really look like white elephants. I just meant the colouring of their skin through the trees.’ ‘Should we have another drink?’ ‘All right.’ The warm wind blew the bead curtain against the table. ‘The beer’s nice and cool,’ the man said. ‘It’s lovely,’ the girl said. ‘It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig,’ the man said. ‘It’s not really an operation at all.’ The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on. ‘I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything. It’s just to let the air in.’ The girl did not say anything. The whole of the story is full of metaphor and innuendo, leaving the final interpretation up to the reader to make assumptions about the couples’ dynamic and what they are actually talking about.

Why The Iceberg Effect?

Supposedly Hemingway and others of his era, chose this style of writing as a backlash to the elaborate style of some 19th century writers e.g. Henry James.What is your response to this minimalist style of writing? Do you know any 21^st Century writers who write like this?

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Author in Focus is a blog series featuring vignettes on some of the greatest writers of the 20th & 21st century.

“A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say."  ~ Italo Calvino

Can Your Computer Drain Your Creativity?

Creativity and computers have been trying to blend together for some time now. Photoshop, painting apps, word processing freeing up writing time by throwing out the tipex and carbon paper. And yet how many of you feel that the time spent in front of your computer actually drains your creativity?I recently read an article in the Pacific Standard that did a field test about creativity and nature. Here's the opening paragraph:"Have you been staring cow-eyed at a computer all morning? Fiddling with your iPhone in line at Starbucks? Checking Twitter and ESPN every four minutes on your tablet?Good. Here’s a little quiz. What one word ties these three ideas together: water + tobacco + stove? How about widow + bite + monkey? Or, envy + golf + beans?Psychologists call such wordplay the “remote associates test,” or RAT, and use it to study creativity and intuition. The idea is that it requires a nimble, open mind to find the connection between seemingly unrelated ideas—in this case pipe, spider, and green."The study goes on to compare responses after people have been hiking in nature. Of course the results improve. But is this really to do with nature itself, or simply having relaxation time away from the computer? For some people a hike in the woods would be torture, and they might achieve the same rejuvenating effect with a walk around an art gallery, or even a shopping mall.

Do Computers Free Your Time for Creativity?

On one level, our computers free up time for creativity by making certain practical tasks easier e.g. editing and printing. Computers also give us the means to express ourselves in ways that were previously impossible . However, do you ever question whether the practical benefits outweigh the time we lose in the myriad of things we now do with our technology? Think Facebook. Think looking up a factoid and not returning to your original project until an hour and a half later as one "interesting article" distracted you and one website led to another.Without doubt we can network with others more easily. We might link up with creatively like minded individuals, or pursue online learning opportunities. But in terms of encouraging or tapping into our creativity, is our time better served in other pursuits?

 How well do you manage your computer time with your creative life? Does it complement or detract from your creativity? If the latter, what things would you like to change?

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The Wit and Wisdom of "Dear Abby"

Pauline Esther Philips, better known as the advice columnist Abigail Van Buren  or  "Dear Abby", died on Jan 16th 2013.Advice columnists, many of whom are women, are often dismissed as being rather trite, lacking in true writing skills. I don't believe that's true, and certainly not in the case of the well-loved "Dear Abby" column. Here are some of her pearls of wisdom:-

• "People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes."
• "Wisdom doesn't automatically come with old age. Nothing does — except wrinkles."
• "It is almost impossible to throw dirt on someone without getting a little on yourself."
• "It's only work if you'd rather be doing something else.

This high level of wit and insight is perhaps on a par with Dorothy Parker .Pauline Phillips career as an advice columnist began after she approached the San Francisco Chronicle in 1956, and maintained she could write a better column than the one they already had. She'd taken a journalism course in college, but her previous 17yrs had been spent as a housewife raising two children.  At its peak, "Dear Abby" was syndicated in 1,200 newspapers and reached more than 90 million people worldwide. Sadly, Pauline Phillips developed Alzheimer's disease. The column continued until 2002, when her daughter Jeanne took over the column and  continues to write it today.During her years as the columnist, according to the syndicate,  Pauline Phillips advocated "equal rights for women, minorities, people with mental illness and those who are physically challenged," and her column "promoted AIDS awareness and education, hospice care, the living will, organ donation and also raised awareness about gender apartheid suffered by women in Afghanistan,"Her response to her queries, though at times lengthy, were often punchy quips:"DEAR ABBY : Are birth control pills deductible?' - KAY"DEAR KAY - Only if they don't work"She also had her detractors:"DEAR ABBY:  Between you and me , I think the people who write to you are either morons or just plain stupid " - HENRY"DEAR HENRY  - Which are you?"To maintain a column for almost fifty years is a fantastic achievement - not bad for someone who's profession is tarred with the reputation of 'little skill'. FYI Pauline's twin sister was Ann Landers (real name Esther Pauline Lederer,) who wrote a rival advice column for the Chicago-Sun Times. Esther died in 2002.

Pauline Phillips was 94 when she died. In her case, age truly did bring wisdom.

 Do you have any favorite  "Dear Abby" quotes or memories?

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#Muse Media: The Future and #Joyce Carol Oates

 #Muse Media

#Muse Media looks for our muse by mixing prose with other media, in this case by looking at the future with Joyce Carol Oates 

 “Remembering backward is the easy thing. If you could remember forward, you could save yourself...”

Joyce Carol Oates, The Gravedigger's Daughter

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 Joyce Carol Oates never shys away from difficult issues. But her take on looking to the future in this quote is unique. I love the phrase "remembering forward". It sounds so realistic. So possible. The character speculates her own redemption from an unwanted fate, trying to take control over her future. But as a society our concept of  what the future brings changes continuously, effected by a myriad of influences from technology, world affairs, space travel and the influence of the individual. Writers no longer necessarily write linear novels. Time travel itself has long been speculated as a possibility. How much control do we have over any of this?

 Do we have any control over our future?

Can we at the very least have some influence?

Do  share your comments below and if you've enjoyed this post, please share it on your favorite social media.

Many Thanks!

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 Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her novel them (1969) won the National Book Award,^[4] and her novels Black Water (1992), What I Lived For (1994), and Blonde (2000) were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.Connect with me on: -Twitter: @artyyahPinterest: http://pinterest.com/artyyah/Facebook page : http://facebook.com/akandrewwriterFor regular updates of my blog: Subscribe Here 

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3 Memorable Reads of 2012

Happy New Year Everyone!

Over the past year, I've read more than thirty five books, but as you've doubtless read a plethora of  year end book lists, I'll keep mine simple.  Here are three of my Memorable Reads of 2012

 The Long Song   

by  Andrea Levy

                                                             

It was hard to know if Levy could match 'Small Island', winner of the 2004  Orange Award,  but The Long Song  is an incredible tour de force  and was short listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2010.Here is an excerpt from the beginning: You do not know me yet. My son Thomas, who is publishing this book, tells me, it is customary at this place in a novel to give the reader a little taste of the story that is held within these pages. As your storyteller, I am to convey that this tale is set in Jamaica during the last turbulent years of slavery and the early years of freedom that followed.I was relieved to know right from the beginning that July, the main character, survives. The novel centers around July's own story on a Jamaican sugar cane plantation, as a house slave. She is there during the Baptist war of 1831 and she is still there when slavery is eventually declared illegal. So her journey through slavery's last turbulent years, as well as the upheaval that followed, as you can imagine, is fraught with difficulties.But Levy's rich prose is the heart of the book, and shows how much she's grown as a writer. While she manages to covey the horrors of slavery, she uses particularly awful occurrences sparingly, concentrating more on the characters and their relationships. We see the division of the house slaves and the plantation workers, as well as the derision in which the owners themselves are held by July and her fellow house slaves. They take what freedoms they can within their limited abilities. In showing this, Andrea Levy gives her readers a picture that  muddies the waters of  the preconception that slaves are all good, owners are all bad. They are individuals, and Levy's beautiful prose carries us through the story with such a range of emotion, including joy and humor, that we feel left with a balanced account of a truly terrible part of British Colonial history, despite the fact July is in truth an unreliable narrator.

Revolutionary Road  

by  Richard Yates

I saw the film of Revolutionary Road before I read the book, and as usual I preferred the book. Not only is the characterization more developed, but the events and sentiment that lead up to the ending are a little different.The novel encapsulates the hope of the 1950's in a young couple, Frank and April Wheeler, who move from Manhattan, with two young children, to a starter home in the suburbs. Suburban bliss is not something either expected, and very quickly it's not what either want; particularly April, who is artistic, and feels her husband has the potential to be anything he wants. The fact that Frank is unsure of what that is does not deter April. But claustophobia and boredom soon set in and the certainty of what they thought their life was going to be, starts to fall apart.Here's an excerpt : Intelligent, thinking people could take things like this in their stride, just as they took the larger absurdities of deadly dull jobs in the city and deadly dull homes in the suburbs. Economic circumstance might force you live in this environment, but the important thing was to keep from being contaminated. The important thing,always, was to remember who you were.Richard Yates style is very much of the era - straight forward, no flowery prose needed to convey the basics of the situation. But in being forthright, he subtly displays with compassion and no mistake, that  April and Frank have sacrificed their own potential in being seduced by the promise of the American Dream of the 1950's.

 Snake Ropes 

by  Jess Richards

Jess Richards Snake Ropes was short listed for the 2012 Costa First Novel Award and is also on the long list for the Green Carnation Prize.  Here is a short extract:

"No-one here goes to the main land, and no-one wants to. Our boats aren't strong enough, we dun know the way, them can't understand us, we're fine as we are. We have so many reasons; them stretch as wide as the distance to cross to take us there."

Snake Ropes takes place on an island that is "just off the edge of the map". The people who  live there trade with the Tall Men who come from the mainland in their boats and exchange supplies. After such a visit, Mary's young brother goes missing and she needs  to find him. The fact that it ostensibly starts as a relatively "simple tale of simple folk", and  then turns out to be anything but, makes the reveal of its brutal events have a particularly strong impact.

It's an exceptional novel, both in its stylistic uniqueness, but also in managing to successfully combine narrative and myth - real or imagined - while at the same time dealing with intense issues. I was impressed how the author managed to subtly, but consistently, maintain the tension throughout. It intensifies in the second half  of the novel which also gives the reader  lots of fantastic plot twists towards the end. Truly a stunning debut novel.

What were your memorable reads over the past year?

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#Muse Media: The Past and #John Steinbeck

 Muse Media

Muse Media looks for our muse by mixing prose with other media, in this case by looking at the past with John Steinbeck.  The Woody Guthrie video 'Talking Dust Bowl Blues' is quintessential Guthrie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOpsGkC5-tE&list=AL94UKMTqg-9CJ1YQ5c7kHpvFbX-8QATJw&index=5

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“How can we live without our lives? How will we know it's us without our past?”

 John Steinbeck from "Grapes of Wrath"

Woody Guthrie's song gives us an idea of one family's hard times during the same era of Grapes of Wrath. I like the line at the end which speaks of how his wife had made some potato stew so thin you could read a magazine through it. "If it a been a little thinner some of those politicians could have seen through it." John Steinbeck's seminal work brings up a number of social issues.  This particular quotes asks the question of us as individuals.

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In what way does the past affect your present life? 

How do you include events from the past in your work, or do you deliberately avoid them?

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John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939) and East of Eden (1952) and the novella Of Mice and Men (1937). As the author of twenty-seven books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and five collections of short stories, Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.

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#Muse Media: Change and #Junot Diaz

 Muse Media

#Muse Media is a series of  simple posts, looking for our muse by mixing prose with other media.  If this was in the form of a Haiku with an image, it might be called a Haiga. For the moment  let's enjoy the prose of some wonderful authors.

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“She would be a new person, she vowed. They said no matter how far a mule travels it can never come back a horse, but she would show them all.” Junot Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

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I love this gutsy quote. The "in your face " style epitomizes Diaz work.

Change is often hard. How is the woman in the quote going to succeed? 

In what ways do you manage change?

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Junot Díaz (born December 31, 1968) is a Dominican-American writer, creative writing professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and fiction editor at Boston Review. Central to Díaz's work is the immigrant experience. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, in 2008. He is a 2012 MacArthur Fellow.

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Muse Media: Books and David Mitchell

 #Muse Media:Books and David Mitchell

#Muse Media is a series of  short posts, looking for our muse by mixing prose with other media.  If this was in the form of a Haiku with an image, it might be called a Haiga. For the moment  let's enjoy the prose of some wonderful authors.

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“Books don't offer real escape, but they can stop a mind scratching itself raw.” David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

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Lots of people read books to escape, and depending on the novel it can be more and less successful. But the authors prose is what will determine how engrossed or not you become.

Why do you read books?

What do you read?

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David Stephen Mitchell (born 12 January 1969) is an English novelist. He has written five novels, two of which, number9dream (2001) and Cloud Atlas (2004), were shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He has lived in Italy, Japan and Ireland. Cloud Atlas has been recently adapted as a film. See the video below.

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Muse Media: Time and Louise Erdrich

 #Muse Media

#Muse Media is a series of short posts, looking for our muse by mixing prose with other media.  If this was in the form of a Haiku with an image, it might be called a Haiga. For the moment  let's enjoy the prose of some wonderful authors.

 

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"Time is the water in which we live, and we breath it like fish"

                                                                   Louise Erdrich  from "Four  Souls"

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Karen Louise Erdrich, known as Louise Erdrich, (Little Falls, Minnesota June 7, 1954) is an American author of novels, poetry, and children's books featuring Native American heritage.Erdrich is widely acclaimed as one of the most significant writers of the second wave of what critic Kenneth Lincoln has called the Native American Renaissance. In April 2009, her novel The Plague of Doves was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In November 2012, she received the National Book Award for Fiction for her novel The Round House

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The quote exemplifies the incredibly rich prose of Louise Erdrich. I have to wonder whether she labors for hours to come up with such a phrase, or if her muse guides her into a flow of  beautiful language. This quote is what prompted me to start this series.

Despite it's quantifiable nature, the notion of time often feels very subjective.

In what ways are you effected by time in your life?

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Receiving a Sunshine Award for Blogging

Quite out of the blue last week, I had an email from the writer and fellow blogger  Hemmie Martin,  to tell me she had awarded me the Sunshine Award . Thank you so much Hemmie - what a thrill and an honor! Hemmie is an author of Contemporary Women’s fiction, published by Winter Goose Publishing. The Divine Pumpkin is available, and Hemmie’s second novel is due out in February 2013.“The Sunshine Award is an award given by bloggers to other bloggers. The recipients of the Sunshine Award are: “Bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere.” The way the award works is this: Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them. Answer questions about yourself. Select 10 of your favorite bloggers, link their blogs to your post and let them know they have been awarded the Sunshine Award!” 1. Favourite Time of the Year? Spring.After the long slog of winter, when bright green buds start inching their way forward, it’s as if the world is renewed and anything is possible.2.Favorite Festive movie? It’s A Wonderful Life. I love the schmaltzy moments along with films idea that your life actually does have meaning, even in it’s small details. It’s always on during the holidays, so it’s easy to pick up the plot anywhere. The quote where Clarence, the angel says:- “Every time you hear a bell ring, it means that some angel’s just got his wings”, was renewed for me after a ‘Roseanne’ episode where she said  “Everytime two lesbians kiss, an angel gets her wings.” It’s good to have modern twist on the classics!

3.What is your Passion? What else but writing and painting?4. Favorite Color?Yellow5. Favorite time of the Day? The morning. I have the most energy at that time of day and love the early morning light. Except of course for those grey, drizzly mornings that are an English specialty. Then I have a good excuse for staying home to write!6. Favorite flower?The tulip. Even when tulips droop they’re beautiful. 7. Favourite Non-Alcoholic Beverage Ginger beer. It’s fantastic there are great companies making ‘proper’ ginger beer with a nice bite these days, rather than the watery stuff in a can. (It goes very well with vodka BTW  – then it’s called a Moscow Mule…)8. Favorite Physical Activity? I used to love cycling, but unfortunately can’t do that now. At the moment, a back care Pilates class is my favorite physical activity. Even if I go feeling tired and stiff, I always come away feeling rejuvenated and more flexible.9.Favorite Vacation? My first trip to Venice. My partner and I went during Carnivale  a number of  years ago for our tenth anniversary, and it was magical. Stunning scenery, fabulous food, artwork everywhere, breathtaking costumes and the light indescribably beautiful. We walked for hours, got endlessly lost, listened to a quartet play Vivaldi in the church he’d frequented, drifted down tiny canals in a gondola past crumbling palazzi and went to see glass being blown in Murano. Sharing all this with my favorite person in the whole world was more than I could have ever hoped for.

 Here are my nominees for the Sunshine Award:

Bindurani Saju

Jeri Walker-Bickett

Laura Darling

Cheryl Therrien

Leora Wenger

Tasha Turner

Tope Olofin

Lubna Kably

Rebecca Thompson

K.S.Moore

Go check out their blogs and see what they are up to!

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The Next Big Thing week 15: Interview with an Author

The Next Big Thing is an author's Work In Progress project  from SheWrites. When I read Jeri Walker-Bickett’s  blog last week,  I immediately thought what fantastic questions for any author to ask themselves. So I was thrilled that afternoon, when Jeri emailed, and invited me to participate. A Big Thank You to Jeri.What is the working title of your book?‘Under The Bed’. It comes from the phrase ‘Red’s Under the Bed’, used in 1950’s America.Where did the idea come from for the book?I was set to write the sequel to my first book Radio Echo, catching up with the characters a few years after the end of WWII, but I decided to spread my wings as a writer, switched countries and found a completely different voice. The 50’s anti-Communist era in America struck a chord with me as part of the backdrop. In doing my research and seeing how widespread the effect of McCarthyism was, I didn’t want to focus on the more publicized Hollywood Blacklist, so decided to move cross country and settle my characters in New York.  What genre does your book fall under?Literary fiction. Specifically mid-Century historical literary fiction. Set in both the early 50's and late 60's, makes it a tricky time frame, as some camps argue historical fiction has to be 50 years in the past. Other’s say it can be considered historical fiction if the time period - and its depiction - is at the core of the story. I think if the work involves major political or social events of the time and the character’s role in those events are interlinked, it’s historical.Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?I'll let the two main characters in the novel comment on this.Midge: “I know Izzie said I was a pissy mess the other week, but I'm trying darling, I really am. Putting on a few pounds wasn't a crime the last time I looked, but pudgy is such an ugly word. And these Chanel suits don’t buy themselves. I was a very successful business woman before the shit hit the fan. Life Magazine was always doing some article on Boswell Designs. Seems a lifetime ago now... like someone else’s life.... Er,... where was I?  Oh yes... The actress would  have to play a younger me as well wouldn't she?  To do both roles justice,  I think Sharon Stone  would be marvelous. She’s got the same coloring too, don’t you think?”Izzie: “Do you think I give a shit who plays me in the film? How hard can it be to write some crap poetry, and take a few lousy photo’s in the East Village?  [Takes a hit on a joint]. OK, fine. So I do care. I bet that skinny-assed  Girl With a Dragon Tattoo actress would could make a stab at being me. Yeah, Rooney Mara. She’d be good.”What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?Two women, a generation apart, each burdened by guilt regarding the death of a sibling, find their own lives in danger during the Vietnam era, when the older woman’s brush with McCarthyism emerges during their collaboration on her autobiography.   Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?I will definitely look for an agent to represent me.How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 11 months. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?I obviously wouldn't dream of comparing myself to these authors, but I have certainly been inspired by them. These came to mind, each for different aspects of their content.Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. This is one of my favorite novels and spans the narrators lifetime, who is in her 80's as she is writing.The novel pays particular attention to the pre & post WWII years, but goes far beyond that in  encapsulating a number of different story lines as well as time lines.Toby's Room by Pat Barker. Well know for her incredible "Regeneration Trilogy" ,  this is a sequence to Life Class,  though it's also a stand alone novel. Set during WWI, the novel is as much about the interpersonal relationships as it is about the era. However, the two are interchangeable and it is the societal times of the era on the life of the individual that, for me is the real correlation between this and Under the Bed.The Night Watch by Sarah Waters. This is mid 20th century fiction, set during WWII. But Waters deals with the time frame in a very interesting way as she goes from finish to start.  Who or What inspired you to write this book?After a friend told me about growing up with parents who were in the Communist Party in the UK, and what it was like as a teenager in the sixties to have your phone bugged, it made me think about the invasion of people’s privacy and what effect it has on them. Since 9/11 the invasion of privacy has became almost an accepted ‘right’ by Western governments in the quest to protect our freedom. CCTV tracks us constantly and emails are tagged continuously in the fight against terrorism. I questioned the end justifying the means. Eventually I decided to follow how anti-communist fervour has moulded certain key elements of American history, and chose to juxtapose the eras of the Vietnam War and McCarthyism, with 1969 being 'present day'.What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?The novel blends the struggle of the individual with that of the bigger picture of the political events of the time. Can we as both individuals or as nations, learn from our past? I believe we can, and yet, as we know, history repeats itself. ‘Under the Bed’ explores how an individual’s lack of control over their fate can be in the hands of the government, even a generation apart. But ultimately the fight for survival and coming to terms with past mistakes is up to the individual. Here are the authors I’ve tagged for the project. Check out their websites and you'll be able see their interviews posted there next week.Claire CappettaDoreen PendgracsHemmie MartinSusan CooperBridget WhelanSally O’Reilly I’d love  your feedback on the interview, so do leave a comment below. Or post this blog to your favourite social media.Connect with me on: -Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/artyyah/Twitter: @artyyahLike my Facebook page : http://facebook.com/akandrewwriterFor regular updates of my blog: Subscribe Here

5 Reasons to Focus on the Visual Content of Pinterest

If you think those who focus on the visual content of Pinterest are only fashionistas and cuddly kitten lovers, think again. The visual media platform has become so broad in its content and appeal there is literally something for all interests.But I don’t get it… I admit I was a doubter when I was first invited to Pinterest some months ago. In trying to build an author’s platform I focused my efforts entirely on words with a few images in my weekly blog. Then articles kept coming across my computer on the impact of Pinterest and when I took a second look, it  finally clicked. A few weeks ago I set up my Pinterest page http://pinterest.com/artyyah/. Now I’m hooked.

 

A.K.Andrew Pinterest page

 Is Pinterest Coming out of Left Field for you?Imagine you’re an avid baseball photo collector. Your baseball photo Pinterest “board” might include some photos  you have , and  “re-pins”  of other people’s photos from Pinterest. You now have your own virtual baseball photo collection to look at any time, to share with others and exchange or add images and comments. How cool is that? Can Pinterest work for pleasure and business ? Definitely.If you’re a baseball photo seller, with Pinterest, you now have a brand new audience who has access to your products. Sports fans love statistics. Make then visual, make then fun.  Infographics are the hottest thing in marketing at the moment, so add  those too.  Check out my infographics "Board" for some examples. https://pinterest.com/artyyah/infographics/ 

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OK. Lets’s get to the nitty gritty -

Five Reasons to Focus on Pinterest

 1. Visually VelocityHands up who loved picture books as a child?  Yep, everyone. Adults are no different. We’re naturally drawn to images. In today's media overload, short attention span society, a picture truly does say more than a 1,000 words.When we find an image of  something we’re interested in, it grabs our attention immediately. The Pinterest search feature is a snip.  "Pinning" is fun and interactive, and along the way we might just find something  that inspires us to do more in both the virtual and real world. Last week, through Pinterest, I discovered a site that showed me how to transfer photographic images onto wood. Not something I was looking for, but I was jazzed.Your soul might be enriched by a beautiful image, but for business, education and non-profits, who have used visual aids for eons, they know they can capitalize on people’s intake of information being more easily reached by an image than a few dry paragraphs. Think infographics.2. Fastest Growing New Kid on The BlockBy January 2012, Pinterest became one of the fastest growing websites around, hitting 11.7M unique visitors. Those kind of numbers can't be ignored by anyone who is trying to get a message, product, thought or vision out there.  A recent study from Shareaholic shows that Pinterest now drives more referral traffic than Google+, Linkedin, and YouTube  combined! Why has it been so successful so quickly? Because of it’s broad appeal in both subject matter and its delivery of information. Visual is key. 3. Flexible Imaging -  "Do do ...that Voodoo… that You Do So Well…"Pinterest lends itself to just about anything you want to say, sell, show or share. It’s as effective for an individual wanting to share  photo’s of their Patagonian trip, as it is for a health organization to convey the benefits of walking. Businesses have been using advertising since bartering went out of style, and as we all know first hand, image is key in selling products.B2B is a fast growing aspect of Pinterest with businesses varying from Manufacturing, to Healthcare, Technology and Software , many of whom use infographics as well as strong visual content.Want to show the actual product? – go ahead. Want to show how your web-design business will benefit a client? - how better than to show that client how creative you are with your boards. With Pinterest, you  have virtually unlimited space to show yourself off.

Individuals have a myriad of reasons for pinning. For those trying to build a name or brand, what better way for your clients or readers to learn a little more about you, and what you’re interested in personally. People like to know who they’re dealing with.

There are literally millions of new “pins” a week, and “pinners” are having fun. It’s the interactive nature combined with the visual appeal that makes it so successful for both personal and business use. It’s ability as a powerful social media is already established. 4. Being Sociable with Link Love. Each time an image is “re-pinned”, it always links back to the original post, so the interchange of information in terms of people’s website’s is phenomenal. People love link love. It makes one feel good to have an image “liked” or “re-pinned”, or even better being “followed”. People often reciprocate and/or go to your main site. Like bloggers, I’ve found “pinners” to be a friendly bunch. These are people that may never have come across you  any other way.5. Creative  CuriosityWhatever your interest, Pinterest helps you think of things in a different way, encouraging you to be creative. How shall I group my images? What shall I call my boards? They can be as simple or complex as you want them to be. Just  express yourself  with the wealth of images easily reached through their search feature for you to play with. I look at what other people do and sometimes think WOW, that's a great idea – in short Pinterest can be inspiring. Another writer, Priscilla Warner, http://pinterest.com/priscillawarner/my-dream-writing-studios/, has a board called ‘My Dream Writing Studio’s’, which vary from tree houses to a tropical paradise. She heads her board saying ”My Office is my Bed. But I would happily bring my laptop to any of these places…"   I can relate.Go ahead - explore. Allow yourself to dream.Pinterest is still by invite only. You can request one directly from Pinterest, but feel free to contact me if you'd like an invite.

If you're already on Pinterest,  what do you enjoy about it & how do you feel it's benefited you ? (Do include your Pinterest URL if you'd like people to check out your page.) If you're not on Pinterest, what is stopping you ? I've heard people mention time, but your page can be grown as slowly as you want. What else is stopping you?

I'd love to hear your comments, so come join the discussion. Follow me on: -Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/artyyah/Twitter: @artyyahFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/akandrewwriterFor regular updates of my blog: Subscribe Here 

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Writing #Location as #Character

 In many works of fiction, location is so vital to the heart of the book, it's essentially another ‘character’. This doesn't apply to all novels, but in others the author  creates a location, just like a character, that's incredibly memorable whether real or imaginary. To me this is part of the beauty of reading – I’m transported to Leningrad  in Helen Dunmore’s The Siege, Newfoundland in Annie Proulx's Shipping News, or to a mythical place  "off the edge of the map" in the sizzling debut novel Snake Ropes, by Jess Richards.As a writer, I think about the location almost before anything else. To me, that sets the scene, and from there the theme and characters can grow and live and become as three-dimensional as characters in a novel can be.I currently live in Brighton UK. It’s on the south coast of England and is surrounded by the chalky cliffs of the South Downs. Think ‘White Cliffs of Dover’, and that’s what they look like. There have been a number of novels and films set here, the most famous being Graham Greene’s ‘Brighton Rock’.The book was written in 1938, and the original film made in 1947 with a very young Richard Attenborough as ‘Pinkie.’The underworld of violence and crime is juxtaposed against the perception of Brighton as a fashionable resort only fifty miles away from London.  In the film,   location is key  – Brighton railway station with the beautiful arched ironwork, characteristic Brighton architecture of tall, sweeping  terraces  painted cream, and of course the pier, where many scenes, including the finale are filmed. My most vivid memory from first reading the book as a teenager, was Pinkie pouring vitriol onto the wooden railing of the pier to frighten his girlfriend - what would happen if it was thrown in her face! Scary stuff back then.There used to be two piers in Brighton – the West Pier, and the Palace Pier. The West Pier was closed in 1975, and burnt down in 2003.The remaining Pier is now simply called Brighton Pier. But the West Pier, now the town’s very own metal sculpture, stranded about 50 yards from the shore, has become an icon as well as something of a bird sanctuary. In the winter a murmeration of starlings appears and swirls between the two piers finally coming to land on the West Pier.In thinking of location as a key part of a novel, as vital as the main protagonist, I thought about the West Pier as that character. Starting as the darling of the Victorian era, coming into her heyday when the British seaside tourist trade gets under way in the 1920's and 30's. Eventually, like an aging dowager she starts to get a little tarnished and shunned by everyone. She falls into disrepair, and is closed off. Finally, in mirroring the fate of Miss Faversham in Great Expectations, the West Pier is set alight, and any thought of restoration vanishes . Once she's stripped to a skeletal structure, she takes her place in today's history as a modern sculpture, a new landmark icon for the city of Brighton.What a story you could weave around the life and death of the West Pier. Mmmm… maybe for my next novel.Now it's your turn. Is location important to you when you read a novel? If you wrote a book set in the place you live, what kind of novel would it be? I’d love to hear your ideas.

#Dorothy Parker On Fiction

  In researching the 1950’s for my novel ‘Under the Bed’ , Dorothy Parker's name came up as one of the Hollywood writers black-listed. It is also 45 years ago this week since her death.Dorothy Parker was renowned for her wit, being a keen critic, her poetry, short stories, plays and her left wing politics. When she died of a heart attack in 1967, her estate was left to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. foundation. Following King's death, her estate was passed on to the NAACP. In 1988 the NAACP dedicated a memorial garden to her in Baltimore and erected a plaque. She’d suggested her tombstone should read ‘Excuse my dust’. They didn't argue. But first, let’s have some fun and see if you can complete three of Parker’s famous quotes. No.1 is my favorite and was the name of the lunchtime theatre play in London where the wit of Dorothy Parker finally came into my life, a decade after her death. Answers are at the bottom of this post!

1. Men seldom make passes,

At girls…………………..2.     Guns aren’t lawful;Nooses give;Gas smell awful;You…………………….3.     You can lead a whore to culture,But ……………………… The following is taken from a Paris Review interview she gave in 1956, on the Art of Fiction.* If you're not already familiar with them, the archives of Paris Review have some incredible interviews of literary figures  - thoroughly enjoyable and a fantastic writer's resource.On how she started writing:

“I fell into writing, I suppose, being one of those awful children who wrote verses. I went to a convent in New York—the Blessed Sacrament. Convents do the same things progressive schools do, only they don’t know it. They don’t teach you how to read; you have to find out for yourself. At my convent we did have a textbook, one that devoted a page and a half to Adelaide Ann Proctor; but we couldn’t read Dickens; he was vulgar, you know. … But as for helping me in the outside world, the convent taught me only that if you spit on a pencil eraser it will erase ink. And I remember the smell of oilcloth, the smell of nuns’ garb. I was fired from there, finally, for a lot of things, among them my insistence that the Immaculate Conception was spontaneous combustion.”

On whether her reputation as a wit interfered with her acceptance as a fiction writer:

“I don’t want to be classed as a humorist. It makes me feel guilty. I’ve never read a good tough quotable female humorist, and I never was one myself. I couldn’t do it. A “smartcracker” they called me, and that makes me sick and unhappy. There’s a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words. I didn’t mind so much when they were good, but for a long time anything that was called a crack was attributed to me—and then they got the shaggy dogs.

On contemporary writers:

“…as for living novelists, I suppose E. M. Forster is the best, … at least he’s a semifinalist, wouldn’t you think? … He once wrote something I’ve always remembered: “It has never happened to me that I’ve had to choose between betraying a friend and betraying my country, but if it ever does so happen I hope I have the guts to betray my country.” Now doesn’t that make the Fifth Amendment look like a bum?

On her own writing practice:

“It takes me six months to do a story. I think it out and then write it sentence by sentence—no first draft. I can’t write five words but that I change seven.

On whether her political views made any difference to her professionally?

“Oh, certainly. Though I don’t think this “blacklist” business extends to the theater or certain of the magazines, in Hollywood it exists because several gentlemen felt it best to drop names like marbles which bounced back like rubber balls about people they’d seen in the company of what they charmingly called “commies.” You can’t go back thirty years to Sacco and Vanzetti. I won’t do it. Well, well, well, that’s the way it is. If all this means something to the good of the movies, I don’t know what it is. Sam Goldwyn said, “How’m I gonna do decent pictures when all my good writers are in jail?” Then he added, the infallible Goldwyn, “Don’t misunderstand me, they all ought to be hung.” Mr. Goldwyn didn’t know about “hanged.” That’s all there is to say. It’s not the tragedies that kill us, it’s the messes. I can’t stand messes. I’m not being a smartcracker. You know I’m not when you meet me—don’t you, honey?

 If Dorothy Parker was alive today, what issues do you think she'd be writing about?   *From Dorothy Parker, The Art of fiction No 13,Interviewed by Marion CampionTo read this interview in full, go to:http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4933/the-art-of-fiction-no-13-dorothy-parker Endings of Dorothy Parker quotes above:1.At girls who wear glasses. 2. You might as well live. 3. But you can’t make her think.  

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  Related articles Time and Place: 1950?s USA (akandrew.com)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Parkerhttp://onetrackmuse.com/2012/06/11/a-year-in-booksday-154-the-portable-dorothy-parker/#more-3123http://www.npr.org/2012/06/07/154148811/how-dorothy-parker-came-to-rest-in-baltimorehttp://www.dorothyparker.com/wordpress/        

What is Your #Point of View?

I went onto the Sussex Downs at the weekend and was in awe of the beautiful rolling hills punctuated by the brilliant yellow of the rape fields in bloom. I mentioned to a friend how beautiful they were and his response was tempered by the fact he was allergic to them. We had a different point of view on how great they were. Different opinions.In writing, Point of View or POV, refers to who is ‘speaking’, or from who’s ‘vantage point’ the narrative is written. Before I became a writer, I hadn’t paid much attention to this. Waiting for me was the mine field of 'Point of View', with all it pratfalls.Prior to the 20^th century, the ‘omniscient ‘ POV was the norm. The omniscient author, who knew everything about the plot, the characters, and was often free with their opinion, told the story. Think of this wonderful opening line:  

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”

‘Tale of Two Cities'  by Charles Dickens

-Yeah it was, but says who? The author of course.

Because omniscient authors are god-like, they know what’s in everyones mind at all times, which they may or may not share with the reader. The author can choose to have a ‘limited omniscient’ POV, and in that situation the author focuses on only certain characters, and their inner thoughts.The other end of the spectrum is first person - the story is told, not by the author, but by a character in the novel. While they can act as a narrator, more often than not they are the main protagonist.In first person, the reader is in the mind of the person telling the story at all times. It's sometimes considered an ‘easy’ way to go for a debut novel, as you only have one POV to put forward. But the main drawback to first person POV, is that the reader is limited to the  experience of the character telling the story. We can only know what they know.There are ways around this e.g. someone else recalling an experience to the character. Murakami usually writes in first person, and uses this technique of a separate individual telling a tale in the ‘Wind-up Bird Chronicles’. We’re taken from the world of Murakami’s quirky narrator who enjoys cooking and music, to a Japanese soldier’s recollection of wartime Manchuria. For me, the latter was in some ways the most memorable part of the novel, in part because of an exceptional, albeit graphic, portrayal of a brutal scene. First person POV is often used when the protagonist has a very strongly defined character. Catcher in the Rye is a perfect example of first person, prominent protagonist. We immediately catch a glimpse of the kind of strong character Holden Caulfield will be. Not all first person novels have protagonists with such a striking personality, but the POV certainly lends itself to doing so.

 ‘If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”

'Catcher in the Rye' by J.D.Salinger

  In second person POV, the author tells the story. It’s a very underused POV, but it too can have an intimacy to it – as if we’re being told secrets by the author that only we the individual reader will know. It’s more often used in an instructional way, like in a ‘How To Book’.                                                                                 

 “Rub a little on the back of your neck, your forehead and your wrists before you start fishing, and the blacks and skeeters will shun you. The odor of citronella is not offensive to people. It smells like gun oil. But the bugs do hate it.”

 Camping Out.’ by Ernest Hemingway

 The most commonly used POV is third person. The narrative is told by the author, but from a particular person(s) point of view. Third person has the most variety of possibilities of all POVs and though the term suggests objectivity and distance, it doesn’t necessarily mean the reader is remote. We create distance or closeness in the way we write. Closeness can come in third person by the description of concrete things and letting us hear a character’s thoughts.

“His chest was heaving. He could smell Jack –the intensely familiar odour of cigarettes, musky sweat and a faint sweetness like grass, and with it the rushing cold of the mountain.”

 'Broke Back Mountain'  by Annie Proulx,

 Using more than one POV, once considered radical, has become more commonplace. Innovative novels such as 'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell and Margaret Atwood’s 'Oryx & Crake' used this technique. It lends itself to interesting work, if it's well written.Generally speaking, switching POV’s is most successful if the entire chapter is in one POV, or at the most, only changed paragraph by paragraph. A classic novice mistake is to change the POV in the same sentence without even noticing e.g. ‘I was two hours late, and ran upstairs to avoid my mother, who was more relieved than angry.’ – In this first person excerpt, how could the narrator know what the mother was thinking?Though it's more usual to have a novel written in one or two POVs, modern fiction constantly challenges the so-called rules. However, if there are too many POVs for the content to support, then it becomes an unconvincing piece of writing. In 'The Sacred Art of Stealing', a satirical thriller  by Christopher Brookmyre, there are five POVs. It was a humorous read until the author turned to lazy writing, adding in POVs merely as a convenient way to move the plot along, without any of the initial punch of the novel.Literary agents typically want to know ‘whose story is it’? So then it’s a tough call for an inexperienced author to give multiple POVs without making sure there is one clearly rising above the rest. I sometimes question if visual entertainment can successfully have an ensemble cast, then why can’t novels do the same?Trying to convey a theme, or premise can be done using any Point of View. But deciding which POV is best to use to present your premise, is one of the biggest challenges a writer faces, and will most likely determine the success of the novel.What POV do you prefer either as a reader or writer? What problems or frustrations have you had with this issue?   Footnote: This post is dedicated to the writer Ged Duncan. He and I have  spent countless hours over the past few years discussing POV. He's also allergic to rapeseed flowers. To follow this blog, click on "FOLLOW" at the bottom  of the page, or SUBSCRIBE at the top of the page!  

#Authors - An Infinite Writer's Resource

Writers are always looking for resources, whether it’s for technique, style, how to get published, or ideas for a story. The single best resource is using other authors as a reference for better ways of working.During my Creative Writing Certificate course at Sussex University, we spent one semester on  ‘Special Author’.  We each chose an author, and a particular novel, whose work we thought would most benefit our own. I chose The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. We looked at all aspects from first encounter, tracing sub-plots and the climax of the story to name a few.At the end of the semester we each gave a verbal presentation to the class, which forced us to study the work, and think about it in a critical way we’d never have done otherwise. We were lucky to have Susannah Waters as our tutor - a stickler for precision in technique and critique skills,  with an incredible passion for the process. (FYI Susannah does independent mentoring and manuscript assessment, as well as  teaching at Arvon. See *below for contact details)The purpose of the course was not to necessarily emulate the author, but to look at how they might deal with different aspects of writing from dialogue to creating suspense, character and setting and thereby learn from them. A simple example is in my novel Radio Echo- the first scene in Bologna is set in a graveyard. I’d had no thought of using that location until our tutor asked us to create a scene in a setting used by our Special Author.As an example of how to learn from another writer’s work, I’ve chosen two pieces of text from The Blind Assassin to look at dialogue and description, and see what Atwood does with them. The sparingly used dialogue in Atwood’s novel, functions as an insight into character relationships, rather than moving the plot forward.  The immediacy is emphasized by the use of present tense. The dialogue is tight, short phrases back and forth, rarely interrupted by gesture. This accentuates the intimacy and envelopes two individuals in their own world during the scene. It’s the lover’s first sexual encounter; this is never stated, but just enough information is given to spark the reader’s own imagination. Don’t worry so much, he says. Lie Down.Don’t you’ll tear it. Wait a minute.She hears her own voice. It isn’t her voice, its too breathless. ....Smoke  taste on his mouth, salt in her own; all around, the smell of crushed weeds and cat, of disregarded corners. Dampness and growth, dirt on the knees, grimy and lush; leggy dandelion stretching towards the light.Below where they’re lying the ripple of a stream. Above, leafy branches ...the blue sky in splinters. Hard dirt under her back.¹ The text shows Atwood’s excellent use of metaphor and simile. Her descriptions are not elaborate: they simply use evocative words to show what’s in the scene. Once that is established, she then places the character, in a physical sense, into the scene, which highlights the physical nature of the encounter, but also grounds the reader.The second text shows description of setting that also conveys the mood of the scene. It’s the last time the lovers meet and the scene depicts resignation, a bleak encounter in a rundown motel.A carpet once dark blue and red. A pathway strewn with flowers, worn down now to the roots.I’m sorry, he says. It could be better. ² Painters are renowned for learning from other painters – “learn from the masters”. So why should it be any different for writers? We’re not talking plagiarism, but simple learning by example.At the end of the course I realized as a writer I'd always have an infinite resource if I was stuck and wanted to know how to deal with a scene. Looking for a spare style?  - go Raymond Carver, or Cormac McCarthy. Want to portray a character who’s fraught to the point of despair? - go to the scene in 'Anna Karenina' leading up to the suicide. Write text that will push emotional buttons? – Jodi Picoult.Etc. ad infinitum.We first learn to love books by reading them. Learn to love writing from the same source.Who or where do you go to when you’re stuck? What authors would you recommend for particular styles?Let me know. For me, learning is an ongoing process.  Excerpts from The Blind Assassin by Margaret AtwoodPaperback 2001 Virago press¹Pg 32 -33 Chapter - The Lipstick Heart²Pg 563 Chapter – The B Rage Room *Susannah Waters:-susannahwaters@yahoo.co.ukLiterary Mentoring and Manuscript Assessment. To follow this blog click on “FOLLOW” in the bottom right hand side of the page. 

Cantoni Sisters - What's in a Name?

I've changed the name of my first novel to The Cantoni Sisters.What's in a name? Depending on what it is  - everything.  For a person, it's either a moniker they're stuck with and hate their entire life, or probably for most of us it's one we're ok with, maybe we play around with abbreviations, nicknames, but settle for what we're given. But names are important. Rightly or wrongly, they can give an impression of what that person is like, or let us foolishly go along with our preconceptions.Would we think of a strong, manly figure being called Pinkie? Well, I would have said no But take the main character in Brighton Rock, by Graham Greene. He's called Pinkie and he's a mean spirited thug. But did that make him strong and manly?  You make the call.For writers, and particularly novelists, as we need to live with the characters for so long - as do our readers - names are incredibly important. I spent hours deliberating names for my characters for my first novel. The fact they are Italian names did not make the job easier. We each have personal associations that interfere with potential choices - people we know, or someone we don't care for; perhaps a teacher who was particularly mean. Our own history colours our decision as well as the characters we're trying to portray.Some people say having names that begin with the same letters make it confusing for the reader. Two brothers called Harry and Henry, I can imagine being easy to mix up, unless their characters are either extremely well defined and/or very different from each other. Take the Kray brothers - Ronnie and Reggie Kray.  Can anyone remember which was which despite the publicity at the time, or the filmic portrayals etc.? I can’t.The younger sister in my novel is called Alma. But initially the older sister, the main protagonist of the novel, was Essie (an Italian abbreviation of Esther). For me I knew who they were, but other people found their names too similar. They had the same number of syllables and they found them confusing. I eventually changed Essie’s name to Raffaella, which instantly made her a different character both in my mind and on the page. I also had to admit, part of the problem was her character hadn’t been clearly enough defined. So changing her name helped me shape her character. I talked about character in my blog a few weeks ago (see Real Characters Feb 18^th).So where does that leave us with the title of the work, in this case a novel? That too has to fit, has to mean something to someone who picks up the book and has only the blurb on the back cover and the title to help them decide whether or not to buy it. For the past 3 yrs the novel has been called Tracing Paper. And it fit the novel when I began. But the novel has changed so much, that the meaning behind it has become diluted.So after a professional critique of the beginning chapters and other writers who thought it no longer fit, I have changed the title to The Cantoni Sisters.Letting go of the original name has been hard – almost like letting go of a friend. But as with any rewrites, you have to be prepared to be brutal, even if it was a favourite piece of the work. Publishers often change titles, so I may have to let go of it again. But to me, writing is all about change and rewrites. How else can the work grow and improve? My hope is that long term it will help me deal with change in real life, which is usually just a tad bit harder than a quick tap of a key or stroke of a pen.How do you go about choosing names, or the title for your latest work? Was it a difficult process? Is it one that's ongoing?I’d love to hear from you.

Savouring Taste Treats: Using the Senses in Writing

Senses evoke such different responses in everyone, so it was fantastic to get feedback from people about their experiences, from last week’s blog, 'Music Evoking Memories'. Thank you.When we try to describe a situation we might have encountered to someone else,  we often simply talk about what we saw, or maybe what was said. But for an author, all the senses need to be engaged, to really capture the moment. Much as I love photography, I’m always frustrated that only the visual is captured. Who was on the street? What did it sound like?  What did the air smell of, or taste like?The sense of taste, like any other sense can evoke memory. But much as we might enjoy certain foods over another, at a basic level we also associate it with being hungry, or once we’ve eaten, being full.These are things most people reading this blog will take for granted. We get hungry we eat, we 're full. A few hours later the ritual is repeated. Sometimes we eat alone. Sometime times with others. Each time has a different connotation, a different emphasis, and through these experiences we build memory and associations.Radio Echo is set during World War II and food rationing was a major part of life for all the countries involved. Ration books were issued in the UK at the beginning of 1940 and continued until 1953. It was not limited to food but included petrol, clothing, bicycles and most hard goods. The US brought in similar rationing in 1943.Much of the effort to encourage people to participate fully and get behind the idea in the UK came from the Ministry of Food.Here is a short flash film:httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdVSNALj1XYMany people had ‘Dig for Victory Gardens’ and grew their own food. And of course the lack of protein was made up for in creative ways – two of which were using whale meat and eating horses!httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ouu_aignRfUIn the novel, as in the reality of wartime, the black market is used for those who had both the money and the contacts.Italy, where Radio Echo is set,  is known for its fabulous food and  wonderfully simple, but flavorful ingredients.  But during the war, Italy was badly hit by poverty and food shortages, especially in cities like Bologna that had been heavily bombed. Communal kitchens were set up, and neighbors for the most part helped each other. But the Black market was thriving there as well as in the UK and US. There was no waiting at the Bologna Market Hall for hours for a loaf of bread for the Benedetti family who is central to the novel.But whether it was bought from the Black Market or doled out in the small rationed portions, food was savored, appreciated in a way that is foreign to many of us today. An onion or an orange is not a rare commodity.  We take them for granted. And by doing so, we miss the uniqueness of their taste. Their specialness. The sense of taste evoking memory is different for different people. Perhaps the first time you ate a particular food or something you might have been forced to eat as a child sticks in your mind and is remembered by the same taste. Or avoided.At my junior school, after the boiled meat and cabbage variation on lunch, we often had pink blancmange for dessert – basically jelly (Jell-O) with milk. God knows what the pink was from  - some gross strawberry flavoring. It’s the kind of thick pudding that lodges in your throat, making you feel sick with every spoonful. I have a clear humiliating memory of being made to stay in the canteen for the second sitting with the ‘big kids’ until I finished my pink blancmange. Maybe that’s why I’ve never liked the color pink.Let me know what your taste buds long for or where they take you. Your comments are always the most interesting part of writing this blog.To end on the note of one of the the most popular tastes - if you’re looking for a great chocolate shop somewhere near you, check out this blog http://diversionswithdoreen.com/.Doreen is writing a Chocolate Travel book.Happy eating.