Muse Media: Change and Junot Diaz

 Muse Media: Change and Junot Diaz

#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.

“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, and I wonder how 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 followed by  This Is How You Lose Her, in 2012. He is reported to be working on another novel, entitled Monstro. He is a 2012 MacArthur Fellow.

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Why Was Evelyn Waugh “Apalled” By His Own Work?

This is a reblog of one of Robert Bruce's posts from his fantastic website 101Books.net which is the best book site on the web in my opinion.

Why Was Evelyn Waugh “Apalled” By His Own Work?

by Robert on May 7, 2015

The critics love Brideshead Revisited. As you know, it’s on the Time list–that’s why I’m reading it–but it’s also #80 on the Modern Library list of English-language novels in the 20th Century. Newsweek listed the novel as one of its 100 best books of world literature, and the BBC lists it at #45 on its literature list.

By all accounts, this is literature at its finest.However, the novel’s author, Evelyn Waugh, wasn’t a fan of his own work. In 1950, he wrote to Graham Greene saying “I re-read Brideshead Revisited and was appalled.”Waugh doesn’t even hold back criticizing the novel in the Brideshead Revisited preface:

“It was a bleak period of present privation and threatening disaster – the period of soya beans and Basic English — and in consequence the book is infused with a kind of gluttony, for food and wine, for the splendours of the recent past, and for rhetorical and ornamental language which now, with a full stomach, I find distasteful.”

Well, doesn’t that really just get you in the mood to read? The author himself trashing the novel in its very own preface.How should one interpret this?I think it’s pretty simple. We’re always our own worst critics. That’s just human nature.So when an author says something he wrote sucks, I believe you have to take that with a grain of salt. Too many authors expect perfection from themselves and feel like failures when they don’t achieve that impossible standard.Evelyn Waugh might not have been a fan of Brideshead Revisited, but most everyone else who read it is.And that’s good enough for me.Here is the original post on 101books.net

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#Author in Focus: Virginia Woolf - A Life of Her Own

Virginia Woolf - A Life of Her Own

Portrait of Virginia Woolf (January 25, 1882 –...

Author In Focus Bio:

Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English writer, and one of the foremost modernists of the twentieth century. WikipediaBorn: January 25, 1882, Kensington, United Kingdom Died: March 28, 1941, River Ouse, Sussex, United Kingdom Spouse: Leonard Woolf (m. 1912–1941) Movies: Orlando, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, Golven, Simple Gifts, A Room of One's Own Siblings: Vanessa Bell, Thoby Stephen, Adrian Stephen

Virginia Woolf's Work and Life

Virginia Woolf’s career was filled with work that showed a desire to break free from the constraints she felt as a woman.

"A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."~ Virginia Woolf

Opportunities for women in the 20’s and 30s were undeniably less than they are today. But coming from a privileged, intellectual background Woolf had far greater means  to express herself than many women of her era. In the period between World War 1 and II, she was part of a London literary circle known as the Bloomsbury group, which included writers, painters and other intellectuals. She may have had the privilege of a wealthy family, but from the time of her mother's death when she was only 13 yrs old, combined with her sisters death 2 years later, Virginia suffered the first of several nervous breakdowns. Depression plagued her throughout her life, exacerbated by the sexual abuse both she and her sister suffered from their two half brothers.

“I thought how unpleasant it is to be locked out; and I thought how it is worse, perhaps, to be locked in.” ~Virginia WoolfFrom an early age, she grew up surrounded by intellectuals which doubtless gave her the desire and ability to question her role in society and the position of women in general. But her depression and mood swings never left. They ultimately led to her suicide in 1941.

English: Portrait of Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf and Women's Fiction

Despite her mental health problems, or perhaps in part because of them, she managed to be productive in her literary work. Woolf strove to rid herself of her demons, and while her writing  can be non-linear and freeform  making it hard to read, she forged a unique place in women's fiction. Now, decades later, I can appreciate the example she set for all women, striving to find 'a room of one's own' in a metaphorical, if not a literal sense.

“For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” ~ Virginia Woolf

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Author in Focus is a blog series featuring vignettes of 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

9 Famous #Authors Rejected by Publishers

I have been submitting my manuscript to agents over the past few months so I thought this was a great post to reblog from  Bridget Whelan Writer to include on my site. Enjoy.

Bridget Whelan Writer

9 famous authors rejected by publishers (comfort for emerging writers)

Heart of litrature...

I enjoyed reading the article published by The Writers Circle website about famous authors who were not only rejected (in one case 800 times), but also had to suffer crushing criticism and they don’t even mention J.K.Rowling’s numerous rejections. I wonder if there are publishers who still wake up in the middle of the night remembering that they once held the manuscript of Harry Potter in their hands.How well would you have coped if you were told:“…an absurd and uninteresting fantasy which was rubbish and dull.” (It has since sold  more than 14.5 million copies and helped the author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.)

“There certainly isn’t enough genuine talent for us to take notice.” (One of the most celebrated and admired writers of her generation)

“Stick to teaching.” (The publisher who offered that advice has been out of business a long time: she hasn’t been out of print for 150 years.)

Read the article in full HERE. Might be worth printing it out and sticking it on the wall somewhere so you can see it when you look up from the keyboard.

Have faith, keep going and never forget why you want to write: because you love it.

photo credit: 120/365. A Light Shines In My Heart. via photopin(license)

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10 Ways to Be Creative in the Summer

Does summertime make you feel creative and want to try new things? Or do you just like to have fun in the sun? I like both, so while I'll be posting all through the summer, I'm taking a break from blog commenting until after Labor Day. Some of you may remember this post from last year, but I felt it needed repurposing!What will You be Doing for Creative Fun this Summer?Summer is a great time to try things you might not normally do. Here are my suggestions for being creative this summer.

1.Build a Sandcastle or a Sand Painting

A.K.Andrew, http://akandrew.com

Building sandcastles are one of my favorite childhood memories as we always had beach holidays. Some of the ones you see are amazing, not just the fill a bucket and turn it upside down kind. I love making a moat with a sand castle too, all that foamy water rushing in. And then at the end of the day you can make it disappear with one sweep of your hand or wait for a wave to do the same thing. Creative things don't need to be permanent. Sand paintings are fun for that very reason. Do one on the beach with a stick or your finger, or buy a sand painting kit.

2.Write a Short Story

This is the time to let go, have some fun with it. And remember no-one but you will see it, unless you want them to. Write about an unexpected sexual encounter. Try out a different genre you don't usually use. Never written about vampires? Now's the time. Write in a different point of view, or from the point of view of a different gender, or sexual orientation. Hey, this is supposed to be fun right?

3.Go see a Film or Make a Movie

When was the last time you went to a cinema? No, not your home theatre, but a big screen-Dolby stereo-popcorn-selling cinema. Treat yourself. If you're a regular cinema goer then try a different kind of film. For me that would be a horror film. Of course, I'd have to take something to hold up in front of the screen though! Maybe you'll be inspired to make a short movie on your phone or camera. One of the best shorts I've ever seen was made by a guy who was stuck in his house in Minnesota one winter, and he used himself as the subject. It was so imaginative, and best of all, hilarious.

 4.Take a Photograph

A.K.Andrew, http://akandrew.com

We all spend so much time on our mobile phones these days, but do you use your phone camera for anything other than selfies or groups of friends laughing together? I love those photos, but it's great to capture even simple things you see that give you a memory of the place you've been and the good time you had.  Better still, take an actual camera!You remember those right? I must dust mine off. I happened to catch these cowboys with my phone while driving home last Sunday morning - I wasn't driving:-)

5.Try a Poem

Lots of people, myself included, sometimes find poetry intimidating. But if you think of poetry as being just the essential information you need, it's not so threatening. Of course, the arrangement and choice of words is what makes poetry beautiful, striking and memorable. Play around with words that come to mind, and put them together in a bizarre order. See what happens.

6. Watercolors and Painting

A.K.Andrew, http://akandrew

I used to think water colors had to be twee little scenes of cottages with roses round the door. They can be if that's what you want, but you can paint anything you want with watercolors including abstracts. Look at the beautiful watercolors from Leora Wenger she painted during a blackout. It's a brilliant medium to take on holiday. I have a little Winsor Newton box that is about 3"x  5 " with a telescopic paintbrush inside. The paints are little squares like a kids paint set. I've had so much fun with that little box. The key to both drawing and painting is really looking at your subject. And don't try and get the whole thing in the painting. Just pick a small section, like a doorway not the whole house, or a single plant, not the whole garden etc. If you really want to be adventurous, try acrylics or oil paints. The textures are delicious.

7.Drawing

A.K.Andrew,http://akandrew.com

Kids have so much fun with drawing , and there is no reason why adults can't either. If you want your drawings to look as if you were classically trained, good for you. But if like me, you don't have that skill, then draw whatever it is you see. If it's stick figures - fabulous.  You know who they are, and I can guarantee that if you forget about it having to look realistic, you will have fun with it. Think simple , but creative. Look at the work of Keith Haring. I used to think drawing was an innate skill. Some people have more of a natural talent, but it can basically be learned by anyone. So you might want to elaborate on your stick figures, and give it a shot. Drawing your own hands is a great way to practise. Or look in a mirror as I did above for this self portrait. Drawing images from photographs is much easier than from real life, so that's a good place to start too. Pencils are great, but charcoal or pastels are also really fun too. The important thing for me is the process.

8.Gardening

A.K.Andrew, http://akandrew.com

Gardening  is a fantastically creative pursuit and I'm often amazed the effects people can get from very simple things eg. putting a plant in an old metal jug, or combining flowers with herbs. It's hot and dry in the summer where I live, and I've seen some of the most amazing succulent gardens in our neighborhood. Years ago I thought they were a very boring plant, but once I saw them in the US, and particularly the ones that bloom, I've come to love them. They're great for needing little water too, which is always a good choice. Watch your back though - gardening is addictive, and it's easy to forget how much work you've done. If you find this is the case then try using raised beds. Here's one surprise I found in a neighbors garden....

 9. Music

How many times have you heard people say, I can't sing? Nonsense! Everyone who does not have vocal chord issues can sing. Some voices are more pleasant to listen to than others, but we're talking about having fun here. Sing at the top of your lungs, and who cares what it sounds like. Or pick up a musical instrument you haven't tried before. Harmonica's and tin whistles are inexpensive. Ukulele's can be very cheap these days. The chords are very simple,  - some only use one finger. It's all about having fun.

10. Cooking

A.K.Andrew,http://akandrew.com

Cooking does not have to be complicated, and in the summer, many of the dishes we eat are cold. Some people are so creative in what they make. Check out Susan Cooper's siteFindingourwaynow.com. She has lots of great recipes, and you can tell she has fun in her cooking. I like simple dishes in the summer. There's nothing more beautiful than a caprese salad - luscious heirloom tomatoes with fresh buffalo mozzarella, sprinkled with chopped basil and dribbled with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Talk about a treat for all the senses.

What else do you like to do creatively? Welding, sculpture, making jewellery, beading, rockhounding? Try something new this summer, and whatever it is, make sure you enjoy yourself.

Have a fantastic summer everyone and don't forget, comments have "Gone Fishing" until after Labor Day!

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Barbara Kingsolver: What is the Heart of a Novel?

 Barbara Kingsolver is an American novelist, essayist and poet. She was raised in rural Kentucky and lived briefly in the Congo in her early childhood. The novel which earned her a pulitzer prize nomination and an Oprah endorsement, was "The Poisonwood Bible"  published in 1998, and follows a missionary family in the colonial Congo.  She is now the author of 14 books and her most recent novel "Flight Behaviour ", deals with climate change.

How Does a Novel Start?

I talked a couple of weeks ago in my post on Ray Bradbury, about the short story, referencing one of his quotes. This week I'd like, through Barbara Kingsolver, to look at how a novel might come to fruition. We can look at what is the heart of a novel by looking at her inspiration for it's beginning.

“I woke up one morning with a vision,” she says. “I don’t know whether it was a dream, but it felt very dreamlike. And I saw – I don’t want to say it because I’ve made a point of not revealing the secret – the beautiful thing that arrives, that starts this novel rolling. I just woke up and saw that, in these forested mountains where I live.”...“I didn’t even understand what I’d imagined,” Kingsolver says, recalling that vision she had, “but I spent all day thinking about it and I’m enough of a biologist to ponder what it would really mean if that did happen here. I immediately saw the whole thing. Often there is a moment when I can see the novel sort of unrolling like a carpet in front of me and that did happen with this book. I think the novel is very much about how we understand and process what we see and how very true it is how we decide first what we believe and then collect evidence to support it, rather than the reverse. When you look at the conversation about climate change it’s baffling that everyone is presented with the same facts but people come away with very different convictions about what’s going on.”

This is one person's experience, but it struck a chord for me. A novel can start with just the tiniest of sparks, and from that it can unfold or unroll like a carpet, as Kingsolver says. Like the short story, and even more so, you need to have a feeling about the work and be totally immersed in that feeling, otherwise what the book is really about - it's theme - will be jumbled and confused. One can have more than one theme, but there needs to be a core sentence which you can refer to that tells us what the novel is about. You could call it the elevator pitch, but it is really the heart of the novel. "Flight Behaviour"  certainly has plenty of heart, and while I loved "Poisonwood Bible", I think "Flight Behaviour" is her best novel to date. [tweetthis]I think the novel is very much about how we understand and process what we see ~Barbara Kingsolver[/tweetthis]As a novelist, can you summarise your latest novel in one sentence? As a reader do you think it's important to know the theme? Does the theme of the novel influence you in buying the book?

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Do You Keep A #Writer's Notebook?

I've recently been taking a free online poetry class through the Iowa Writer's workshop, and it reminded me how useful - essential even - a writer's notebook is. After all I did name a whole website after it!

What is A Writer's Notebook?

Any kind of notebook that you jot down ideas, words, stories, poems or drawings if that helps you. You don't need the classic Moleskine notebook, any notebook will work. Sometimes the more ordinary it is the better. Fancy notebooks can make us feel overly precious about what we write.

Who Would Benefit from Using A Writer's Notebook?

Any kind of writer, or anyone who wants to record their thoughts. It's not important to give yourself a label to use a useful tool.

What Are the Benefits?

1. You won't forget your ideas

When you overhear a conversation where someone says something memorable, what are the chances of remembering it word for word ?  Nil of course. But beyond whole conversations , even small details, in fact particularly small details, are things that will be lost but have the potential to enrich our work. Red shoes on a subway station. The bird had a pinkish head with a pale underbelly. "I could 'ave bloody well killed 'er" I overheard on a cell call on a bus one time in England.

2. Developing Ideas without Pressure

The important thing about a writer's notebook is that it is totally private - unless of course you want to share it. This in itself lets you write down ideas you might never consider sharing with anyone. Which is liberating, because you can jot down things you might think are stupid but once followed through lead onto to a kernel of something worth running with.

 3. Brainstorming is productive - one idea leads to another

Whenever I'm thinking of a title of a piece I start with one word, which leads to another, letting them lead on until I have a whole list of words. Inside that list I can usually find a title. The same goes for character traits, or descriptions - words to describe the wind blowing against a pane of glass for example. Lashing, hurl, pebbles, slanting rain, rain heavily, heaving against the glass, pouring, slash, ripples, windswept, sweeping torrents etc. You will likely go through a number of options before you get to something you like.

4. Writing words makes you write more words

When you start writing, something becomes released. Almost as if to put it on a page lets it go and you can move on to the next thing. Often when we have writer's block all we need to do is write. Jotting something down on a piece of paper, is a very low threat way to get back into the flow of one word following another.

5. Writing down rather than typing makes for a strong connection

Although I don't find it feasible to write a whole novel by hand, I'm a big believer that writing by hand taps into the subconscious more readily than if you type it. There are studies that have proved that people learn better if the exercise has been written by hand.

6. All your Ideas in one place

I know you have "notes" and "evernote" and a myriad other ways of keeping information on a computer and obviously I do, but there's nothing like picking up a notebook, flicking through it's pages and having your information all in one place. If you don't want to carry a notebook with you, carry a post-it pad or other little pad to jot things down on. You can consolidate it later. Paste it in with Scotch tape if you dont' want to rewrite it. My particular favorite is a notebook that has a little envelope at the back where I can keep either scraps of notes, or say a ticket stub to remind me of an exhibition or a train ride.[tweetthis]The important thing about a writer's notebook is that it is totally private.[/tweetthis]

Do you keep a notebook of any kind? How do you like to organise your thoughts, memories or experiences?

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Do You Want to Watch An Animated Ray Bradbury Interview?

Lisa Potts did an interview with Ray Bradbury  in 1972 and she by chance found it again in 2012. Since then, it's been animated though the wonderful "Blank on Blank" , in part of their PBS series. Thanks so much to Maria Popova of Brainpickings.org - one of my favourite websites BTW - for introducing me to this wonderful series. Alongside writer Bradbury, Blank on Blank  have animated interviews with Maya Angelou, musicians such as Lou Reed, John Lennon and actors Philip Seymour Hoffman and Heath Ledger among others. A real gem of a find.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ciQoov55fMHere is part of what Ray Bradbury says about writing:

"Don’t pay any attention to what anyone else says — no opinions! The important thing is to explode with the story, to emotionalize it, not to think it. If you start to think it, the story’s going to die on its feet. It’s like anything else… People who take books on sex to bed become frigid — you get self-conscious.You can’t think a story — you can’t think, “I shall do a story to improve mankind.” It’s nonsense! All the great stories, all the really worthwhile plays, are emotional experiences. If you have to ask yourself whether you love a girl, or whether you love a boy, forget it — you don’t! A story is the same way — you either feel a story and need to write it, or you’d better not write it.[…]You write to please yourself. You write for the joy of writing. And then your public reads you and it begins to gather around…The enthusiasm, the joy itself draws me — so that means, every day of my life, I’ve written. When the joy stops, I’ll stop writing."

You Can't Think a Story

This to me was the best thing I've heard on writing for a while. So what is the difference between thinking and feeling a story? To me, "thinking " a story is working out the plot, developing a clever idea that would make a snappy little tale. "Feeling' the story is either having a call to write about a particular thing you feel strongly about, or starting a story with an essence and let the words flow from that emotion.Bradbury might not have  meant this at all, but that's how I look at the written word. It's not that I don't plot - of course I do at a certain level - especially with a novel. But with a short story, the mood of the piece needs to carry you forward to allow the story to unfold.[tweetthis]All the great stories, all the really worthwhile plays, are emotional experiences ~ Ray Bradbury[/tweetthis]How do you like to write? Do you plot and plan? Do you pick a theme? Do you start with a freewrite,no clue as to how the story is going to unfold? 

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How to Express the Golden Gate Homesick Blues

A.K. Andrew,akandrew.com,a writers notebook ,Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Point

We're coming to the end of National Poetry Month and I want to share a poem I wrote a few years ago in a poetry workshop. I was living in England at the time, feeling very homesick for San Francisco, as well as nostalgic for a time when I was more mobile than I am now.So this was the result - the first poem I'd written since I was a child, in fact. For this collection of emotions, I found the process of writing a poem very cathartic.The location is the waterfront near to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge at Fort Point. For those of you who remember the scene in Vertigo where Kim Novak falls in the water - that's where I'm talking about!

Fort Point

A.K. Andrew, Fort Point, Golden Gate Bridge, akandrew.com,a writers notebook

Fort Point, Golden Gate Bridge

Ghosts of blue-bellies dash between chill, meagre quartersRunning up concrete stepsRunning up the flag ofthe Red Brick FortAlone facing the Pacific OceanNow nestled beneath rumbling red girders of the Bridge.An Alliance of Gateway and Protector ofThe CityOur City.White foamy tentacles crash, splitRusting chain links,Goliath chainServing only to taunt, not protectA leap to the rocks or giant watery mouth inviting init’s enormity, its moving depth beckoning.Agonizing beauty surround once morePacific blasts tearing at hair and heartA white rogue wave rises uphitting crumbling brick, splashing medrenchingHer.Laughing stillwe cycle home on the bays blue edgewarmed by love, vigour,youth.

I found the process of writing a poem very cathartic

How do you feel about happy memories? Does it make you sad to think of them and wish that things were still the same, or do you feel fortunate to have had the good times to look back on? Perhaps you don't like to dwell on the past at all, but prefer to look forward rather than back.

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Oscar Wilde:120th Trial Anniversary in National #Poetry Month

Oscar Wilde in New York

April 3rd 2015 marks the 120th anniversary of the start of the trial of Oscar Wilde that went to court in 1895. Ironically it was Wilde himself that pushed for the court hearing, ignoring advice of friends, after the Marquess of Queensbury left her calling card with the note:"For Oscar Wilde, posing somdomite" Wilde picked up the gauntlet and sadly paid dearly to clear his name. While imprisoned for 2yrs, his health deteriorated and he died a few years later in 1900.Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish author, playwright, but also a poet. As April is national Poetry Month, I thought it appropriate to look at his work. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. Today he is remembered for his epigrams, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, his plays, as well as the circumstances of his imprisonment and early death.My favorite epigram is actually the one most quoted:

“We are all in gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars” ~ Oscar Wilde

Trials of Oscar Wilde

English: Card of John Douglas, 9th Marquess of...

English: The Wilde Trial as recorded in The Il...

Oscar Wilde was renowned for his quick wit, which he maintained through much of the trial proceedings. Here is a small snippet from the trial:G--Your view, Mr. Wilde, is that the "shame" mentioned here is that shame which is a sense of modesty?W--That was the explanation given to me by the person who wrote it.  The sonnet seemed to me obscure.G--During 1893 and 1894 You were a good deal in the company of Lord Alfred Douglas?W--Oh, yes.G--Did he read that poem to you?W--Yes.G--You can, perhaps, understand that such verses as these would not be acceptable to the reader with an ordinarily balanced mind?W--I am not prepared to say.  It appears to me to be a question of taste, temperament and individuality.  I should say that one man's poetry is another man's poison! (Laughter.)

Wilde’s Poetry

By the Arno The oleander on the wallGrows crimson in the dawning light,Though the grey shadows of the nightLie yet on Florence like a pall.The dew is bright upon the hill,And bright the blossoms overhead,But ah! The grasshoppers have fled,The little Attic song is still.Only the leaves are gently stirredBy the soft breathing of the gale,And in the almond-scented valeThe lonely nightingale is hard.The day will make thee silent soon,O nightingale sing on for love!While yet upon the shadowy groveSplinter the arrows of the moon.Before across the silent lawnOn sea-green vest the morning steals,And to one’s frightened eyes revealsThe long white fingers of the dawn.Fast climbing up the eastern skyTo grasp and slay the shuddering night,All careless of my hearts delight,Or if the nightingale should die. By Oscar Wilde(First published in 1876 in the Dublin University Magazine.)It’s interesting to me that a man with such caustic wit, known for comedic plays, could also write such sensitive verse, which such delicate phrasing.What do you think of most when you remember Oscar Wilde? His trial, his novel "The Picture of Dorian Grey", his plays, his  epigrams or his poetry?

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How Many of These 12 Essential #Writing Tips Do You Use?

All writers - authors, bloggers, journalists, screenwriters - have writing tips that help them.  I feel these twelve are essential for all writers.

1. Write

It may seem obvious that writing is the best way to improve your craft,  but without deadlines, it’s easy to slip into the habit of not writing. I’ve recently picked up an old habit of handwriting something, however short,  in a notebook each day. Most days it’s not the only writing I do, but some days it is, and that very act keeps me in touch with who I am - a writer!

2. Read

Read anything and everything you can find the time to put your hands on. Listen to books or articles if it’s not possible to read. Reading is the second best thing you can do to learn how to write well. Check out my post on #Authors, an Infinite Resource. which shows how we have an endless resource from the world of books and authors in print.

3. Explore the World Around You

Inspiration can come in many forms, but most characters whether in fiction or non-fiction are based on real people, however larger than life we end up making them. So sit in a cafe and eavesdrop. Public transportation is a perfect way to overhear what people say, and if you’re lucky you might glean a few different accents too.

4. Embrace the First Shitty Draft

I love the phrase “First Shitty Draft” and first heard it from Catherine Smith , my tutor during my initial semester at my Creative Writing Certificate course at the University of Sussex, UK. It's such an appropriate phrase and an essential part of the process. Just write the thing down before you do more than a cursory edit, otherwise you’ll slow the process and potentially lose your train of thought & interrupt the creative flow.

5. DON’T Share Your Work in Progress with….

...friends and family. Generally speaking , and there are always exceptions, I think it’s a bad idea. They are not going to give you impartial advice and if you’re unlucky may even become a negative influence on your self confidence.

6. DO Share Your Work in Progress with ….

... other writers. There’s a point where we need to write alone, and not be interrupted by other peoples views of what we’ve written. But after a certain point, it is good to get feedback from other writers you trust, and who’s opinion you value. These impromptu editors will be more and less skilled in the ability to critique. Jeri Walker -Bickett wrote a great post about The Necessity of Critique Groups which I recommend you check out. You will find at the very least a camaraderie about the process you are going through, and most likely the fresh eye your work needs.

7. Be Passionate about Your Work

If you’re not passionate about your subject matter it will show in your work. And for a novelist, it will be an unbearable long slog to get the book finished. So choose your subjects carefully if it’s anything but a short article.

8. Exercise

Writing is a usually a sedentary practice, and makes it even more more important for writers to get physical exercise. Murakami wrote a great book called What I Talk about When I Talk about Running, which is mainly an insight into his writing habits. But exercise does a body good in many ways, not only your heart and lungs etc, but your brain, as well. Who knows what you might see on your morning walk? The other morning I saw a snake!

9. Don’t Give Up

It’s hard to finish projects sometimes - any projects actually. Garages across the world are a testament to unfinished projects. But it’s even easier with writing to say it’s not good enough or I’m bored, or it’s too hard, or whatever. Sound familiar? The world is full of people who have lots of great ideas, and lots of half finished manuscripts, short stories and articles stuck in a drawer or file gathering dust on their computer. Do you want to be one of them, or do you want to put your work out in the world? If so, don’t give up.

10. Write New Creative Work During the Revision Process

If you’re a writer, you’re going to spend a lot of time revising or editing. After all  "All writing is re-writing". But if you’re a novelist you may spend years in the revision process. I think it’s important to write new creative work even during your big edit. It's realistic if you stick with a short work - flash fiction, or a short story. It’s a very different skill set to edit than to write new work, so don’t get too out of practice with the latter.

11. Don’t Become an Isolated Writer

I feel it’s essential to seek out other writers, not only to help with critiques, but also to not feel isolated. Find other writers where you live if possible and talk about your work, or problems that might arise because of it. Social Media is also a great place to meet other writers and I’ve made good writer friends through a variety of online groups. It’s another way of being out in the world, and hearing new voices, opening yourself up to new information and experiences.

12. Learn to Accept Criticism

This is absolutely essential for any writer who wants to have their work published. Not only as I mentioned, will you get constructive criticism from your critique buddies, but you will also -hopefully - get feedback from your readers, and not all of it will be positive. So develop a thick skin early on in the process. I was surprised how unnerving I found blogging when I first started, as it puts your opinions out into the world. I’ve been lucky that I've had a lot of support from other bloggers. But I’ve made mistakes, and had a bunch of rejection letters from prospective agents for my novels too. You just do the best you can, change the work as necessary, and realise people will have different opinions to yours, which only makes life more interesting.

Believe in yourself. Isn’t that the most important thing of all that will help you continue your life as a writer?    ~   A.K. Andrew

What writing tips do you use?  What good one’s do you have that I’ve not listed? What have you found the best or most difficult aspect of being a writer? 

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To Kill a Mockingbird - Do you want to read the sequel?

Have you ever finished a novel and wished you knew what happened to the characters after the final page has been turned? It looks as if you may be able to have that experience with one of America's greatest classics. Last week it was announced that Harper Lee is going to release another novel after 55 yrs, somewhat of a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird. The new novel, Go Set A Watchman, is set to be released by HarperCollins on July 14th, 2015, with an initial print run of two million copies. It's set twenty years after To Kill a Mockingbird, in the fictional town of Macomb, Alabama when Jean Louise Finch , or "Scout" goes back to visit her father. The novel, with similarities To Kill a Mockingbird, deals with the racial tensions of the 1950s, as well as the complex relationship between father and daughter.It seems that the manuscript, which was recently found in Ms. Harper's boxes in storage, was written before To Kill a Mockingbird, and was the first manuscript she tried to get published. Ms Lee was a young writer - as yet unpublished- and took the advice given by her editor who liked Scout's flashbacks and thought the real story should be about Scout as a young girl. And so Harper Lee went back and revised her manuscript and To Kill a Mockingbird became her first novel, and the classic that has been translated into more than 40 languages and has sold over 30 million copies.

“I was a first-time writer, so I did as I was told,” Ms. Lee said in a statement released by her publisher.

 My initial excitement of a new novel by Harper Lee was at first tempered by the thought that perhaps the manuscript would not be as good as the classic. But then I thought even if it wouldn't be, why should it matter? In fact as a writer, I was interested in reading the story that was the genesis for the final novel published back in 1960. Often the story a novelist starts out to write turns out to be something completely different, and the one that was meant to be told comes out. I had this experience myself with my first novel. It was initially set in Berkeley, CA in 1969, but ended up being set in Italy in the 1940s.I read a couple more articles about the upcoming publication of Go Set A Watchman, and the questions that were raised surrounded the issue of whether Ms. Lee is actually involved in the process. Harper Lee is now 88 and lives in an Assisted Living facility in Monroeville, Alabama. She is both deaf and blind, and until recently her affairs had been largely looked after by her sister Alice who died last year at 104. Obviously the family must have used a lawyer too. But now that Alice is no longer there to monitor Harper Lee's affairs, the question has been asked as to who exactly has control over the situation, or been negotiating the deal with HarperCollins, and ultimately who will benefit from the publication of a book that is destined to be a big seller?I suspect that we, as the general public will never know all the answers, and certainly not at the moment, and will have to be satisfied with speculation. So I am going to look at it from the perspective of both a reader and a writer, and hope that Ms. Lee herself will have at least some benefit from the publication, and that her fans are given an opportunity to see a little more of her journey of becoming the talented author that wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. I'm not expecting Go Set A Watchman to be as polished, as indeed it's being published without the benefit of the level of editing usually given a published work, so that it is true to Harper Lee's original manuscript.This is probably a unique situation actually, as most 'lost' manuscripts tend to turn up after the writer has died. However convoluted the unanswered questions behind the scenes may be, I feel grateful that we are being treated to more of Harper Lee's writing, and I hope she gets the accolades she will doubtless deserve once the book reaches publication. What's your opinion of the upcoming sequel? Are you excited? Do you have concerns about it? Would you rather To Kill A Mockingbird remain Ms. Lee's only novel?Come join the discussion, and please share this post on your favorite social media. 

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Margaret #Atwood #Writing New Beginnings

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, but one resolution I do have is that I want to make time for new writing. And by that, I don't mean editing or revising, but new fiction. To that end, I came across this quote by Margaret Atwood from a Paris Review Interview in 1990.

“Every novel is—at the beginning—the same opening of a door onto a completely unknown space.”       ~ Margaret Atwood 1990, Paris Review

I thought it was a very fitting start for the New Year. A new beginning.

As we know, beginning something is easy. How a new gym membership pans out after that crucial six week mark is the telling point and when things can become a little more difficult.

 In saying I'm making a commitment to new fiction,  I may need to reduce my blogging time, or at least reduce how much time I spend on each blog. But nothing's written in stone. It's all still a new beginning right?But what will I write? I can't be specific, but I have been enjoying re-learning how to write short stories over the past couple of months. It is quite a change from the previous years I've spent on novel writing. But I'm still querying agents with my second novel, Under The Bed. And I'm revising my first novel, Radio Echo so...who know's...the year is young. Let's see how quickly I can write!

In the same interview with Margaret Atwood, the interview asks "Do writers perceive differently than others? Is there anything unique about the writer’s eye?" An interesting question I thought. This is part of her response:-

 The unique thing about writers is that they write. Therefore they are pickier about words, at least on paper. But everyone “writes” in a way; that is, each person has a “story”—a personal narrative—which is constantly being replayed, revised, taken apart, and put together again. The significant points in this narrative change as a person ages—what may have been tragedy at twenty is seen as comedy or nostalgia at forty. All children “write.” (And paint, and sing.) I suppose the real question is why do so many people give it up. Intimidation, I suppose. Fear of not being good. Lack of time.

To me that was an important point, because I often ask myself why is this important to me, why do I feel the need to keep creating new worlds to populate? I think it's important to me not to quit as much as anything else. But I also need to have something to say, to have a comment on the world in the work. It's not that I wouldn't consider writing, for example a light romance. I certainly have great admiration for those who do so and do it well. But for me, if I'm going to spend three + years on a 100,000 word novel, it has to say something. Whether I succeed or not is another matter, but I need to at least try.  There has to be a purpose behind the work, not just storytelling for story telling's sake.

The year is new, and January is a good month for lofty goals. What are yours?

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Can We Compare Steinbeck's East of Eden to Breaking Bad?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdMjKq8xk-E&app=desktop

Trailer of Steinbeck's East Of Eden

“I remember my childhood names for grasses and secret flowers. I remember where a toad may live and what time the birds awaken in the summer -- and what trees and seasons smelled like -- how people looked and walked and smelled even. The memory of odors is very rich.” John Steinbeck from East of Eden

Steinbeck is well known for his work Grapes of Wrath, but East of Eden is an incredibly powerful work, which many of you may know more from the film with James Dean that the novel itself. The clip of the movie above, is great because it is of such an era where both the music and the fonts across the screen portray the the film in a very time specific dramatic way. The trailer itself is relying on our senses to make us believe something is a particular way.

Trailing the Senses

Some of you may be familiar with the TV show Breaking Bad that finished it's final season earlier in 2014. It was anything but a light show. It focused on Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston), a science teacher who starts cooking crack cocaine initially to pay for his medical bills. But his family's life deteriorates as Walt becomes more and more involved in the violent life of hardcore drug manufacture. Hardly light fare, or full of fields of green, childhood memories.So back to our title:  Can we compare John Steinbeck's East of Eden to Breaking Bad? They are both about families, and failures within those families; fathers failing their sons. But that's not what drew me to look at the two together. What brought me to the comparison of the two films were the two trailers I've put in this post, and how we as the audience are manipulated by what we see and hear. Through our senses we draw conclusions.Here's another video where the accompanying music completely changes the conclusions we draw about what we see. This trailer is a spoof of Breaking Bad as the serious, violent show it actually is.Try Breaking Bad as a sitcomhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtZpo89mmJo&app=desktopI was stunned by how my perceptions could be manipulated by what I heard - the accompanying laugh track, and happy comedy music intro soundtrack.

The Senses Made Me Do it

 As the audience you are drawn in by what writers, and film makers, want you to hear and see. Just as Steinbeck drew on the senses he remembered from his childhood, in this spoof trailer of Breaking Bad, we are seduced by our associations and memories induced by our senses to look at something in a completely new way.My conclusion is that the works may both have their similarities in terms of family dynamics being integral to the plot, but aside from the trailers, I think that's where there comparison ends. I touch more on using the senses in writing in my post Savouring Taste Treats: Using the Senses in WritingWhat is the strongest sense for you? What memories are the most easily sparked and by which sense?

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Do You Want A Little Free Library in Your Neighbourhood?

Have you seen the Little Free Libraries that keep springing up everywhere?

If not then you’re in for a real treat. Although I'd seen a couple, I'd no idea they were so widespread until I read an article by Margaret Aldrich in The Atlantic .

What Are They?

A Little Free library is essentially a small bookcase that someone has built and filled with books. People can borrow books from them or take a book to keep, and replace it with one they put inside. And it’s all based on the honour system.Tod Bol built the first Little Free Library in the Mississippi River town of Hudson, Wisconsin, in 2009, as a tribute to his mother—a dedicated reader and former schoolteacher. When he saw the people of his community gathering around it like a neighborhood water cooler, exchanging conversation as well as books, he knew he wanted to take his simple idea farther.

“We have a natural sense of wanting to be connected, but there are so many things that push us apart,” Bol says. “I think Little Free Libraries open the door to conversations we want to have with each other." He goes on , "We have a natural sense of wanting to be connected, but there are so many things that push us apart,” Bol says. “I think Little Free Libraries open the door to conversations we want to have with each other.”

Since Tod Bul had this brilliant brain wave, the idea has spread all over the US, and now into other countries.As of January 2014, there are over 15,000 Little Libraries worldwide, and counting. An estimated 1,650,000 books were donated and borrowed from 2010-2013

Why do they Have Such Appeal?

Everyone loves things for free don’t they? But people also like things that make them feel like they are part of a community, something they can easily participate in. In fact what books are in the Little Free Library is going to tell you a lot about your neighbours. I think the other appeal is that it is so low tech in a world that is seething with gadgets, reinventing the book and the way we read it at every turn.Many people may remember being taken to a library when they were little and that just might not happen so easily now.

What is Their Real Potential?

The other potential, and this has already happened, is that the Little free Library becomes a low budget way for the “real thing” to reach areas in the world, including the US, that simply don’t have the money to build, stock or staff a traditional library. The organization’s Books Around the Block program, for example, aims to bring LFLs to places where kids and adults don’t have easy access to books. In North Minneapolis, an area more often in the news for shootings than community engagement, the Books Around the Block initiative set up 40 of the little libraries. Two hundred more sprung up shortly thereafter.

How Can You get a Little Free Library in Your Neighbourhood?

If you’ve not found one in your neighbourhood then do one of two things. Check on line to see if theres a local map showing where they are.OR, better still…..Build one !!! and put it outside your front door. I have considered it myself, but have not yet done it.But I know the first time I came across one - and I’d not heard of the movement at the time - I thought  -Wow, this is so cool that someone took the time to build this little case, and fill it with books. I also thought it really said something about the neighbourhood. That it was somewhere people cared about and somewhere  people trusted others enough to not worry they would be immediately ”stolen” from. Isn’t that the essence of what we want in a liveable society? Sounds good to me.

What do you think are the pro's and con's of the idea of a Little Free Library?

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