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My Fictional Life BlogArchives 2007 Elsa Neal
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Awarded to me by Selma!
My latest articles: My latest reviews: The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie His Dark Materials (2&3) by Philip Pullman My favourite blogs:
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Friday 7 December 2007 I was tagged by my good mate Karen, author of one of the funniest blogs on the Internet, and here (finally!) are my answers. (See, not worth holding your breath after all.) 1. How long have you been blogging? And although I wouldn't call them mentors as
such, I'm paying attention to what Seth
Godin and Sonia
Simone have to say at the moment.
Now... I'm tagging - Ms Karen - Selma - Ele - and Groovy Old Lady with a Reading Meme:
Comments (2) groovyoldlady
- And it continues... Posted 10 December 2007 Elle - LOL Groovy! Okay, it's black on white now to avoid further confusion. Consider yourself the guinea pig... (or hamster rather). Posted 11 December 2007 Selma - I'm going to do this right now. Sorry for tackling it so late. I am so glad you are doing well with your writing and editing. You deserve it, you really know your stuff! Posted 17 December 2007 Tuesday 20
November 2007 Any method of writing is valid if it produces something worth reading. I am a writer who outlines meticulously. But I do know that all of the different methods can work really well for the type of writer that they suit. Call it what you will - pantsing and plotting / freewriting and crafted writing, plus the third option (a bit of both / start with the beginning and end in mind / freewrite until you get stuck then plot your way out of it) - all these methods work somewhere for someone. Once you've figured out how you need to write to suit your personality, you've got it made. Stephen King has said some nasty things in the past about writers who outline before they write. He's softened his tone, though, in the last twenty years. But I'm going to poke back, anyway, with the comment that many of Stephen King's books could have done with some plotting - Dreamcatcher and the Dark Tower series come to mind. These books could have been really clever with a bit of hindsight. Mr King is in too much of a hurry to publish. But then, aren't we all? I hope he gets a chance to reconsider his anti-plotting stance. I know it's not for him, but there are really good writers who plot. Everyone is different, and different is good. Seriously - this is really semantics. What
Stephen King does in 3 months pounding out a first draft, I tend to
do for a similar time period in my head. I like it in my head.
Stephen likes it down in black and white. Does that really make him
better than me? (Okay, don't answer that :-P ) I prefer to weave layer upon layer of plot threads and tighten them all in the first and subsequent drafts. But I would never tell another writer that this is the only way to write. I would certainly not tell them they are a dullard and their writing is weak without even having read their work. It's a silly presumption to make. So, do I have to have every word lined up before I start writing? No, of course not. So much still surprises me, no matter how tightly I've plotted. I certainly don't need to know every word, and I've easily changed endings and let the characters run with new plot threads. It's a balance between knowing where you're going and knowing when to let go and let the story happen. Over-plotting can box your characters in,
making them behave like puppets with no life of their own. You do
need to know when to let go, but that's the easy part: your
characters tell you. What I'm reading: Going Postal by Terry Pratchett What I'm listening to: the voices in my head Comments (2) Selma
- I agree with you wholeheartedly. I
don't really like to argue with someone as experienced (and famous)
as Stephen King
but on this point I think he's wrong. Posted 26 November 2007 Elle - Thank you so much! Posted 27 November 2007 Monday 5 November 2007 So, a great many writers, mainly in the US, but also in several other countries, are a week into the month-long keyboard-pounding session that is NaNoWriMo (The National Novel Writing Month). I have several reasons against NaNo (although I do recognise its value to many writers, and I am cheering several of my friends on as they dig in). My main reason is that November is the most
stunning month here in Melbourne. October is generally still a bit
chilly. Our clocks only go forward on the last Sunday of October
making November the start of the gorgeous long, light evenings.
December starts getting too hot here. So November is it if you want
to spend any time enjoying the outdoors in any way. And lastly, I detest the insinuation that all that is required to write a novel is one single month's work and 50 000 words. I know they say, "Go forth and edit" following the November run, but how many excited first timers listen to that? 50 000 words is not a novel. It's half a novel. And a month's worth of freewriting is not going to produce any depth. A lucky shot or two, maybe. But depth and layering comes with months and years of thinking, planning, redrafting, and character development. Just compare Robin Hobb's rush-job Soldier Son trilogy to her painstakingly crafted Farseer trilogy. Even the best can't rush it.
What I'm reading: The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda What I'm listening to: Oscar Peterson Comments (2) Selma - Even though I'm participating in NaNo myself I have found it difficult to write anything that I found worthwhile because of the pressure to keep up the word count. It's true that some writers can work like that and can come up with some good work but I'm just not satisfied with what I've written and it's nowhere near being an entire novel. However, two advantages of NaNo that spring to mind are that I now have a rough draft to work with and the sense of community I have encountered while participating is awesome. So it's not all bad! Posted 26 November 2007 Elle - Thanks for visiting Selma! You're close to getting that 50K - just under five days to go, I'm sure you will make it. Posted 27 November 2007 Wednesday 8 August 2007 Saphie writes: "I just read the Top ten mistakes used in grammar and I would like to say thank you for writing in such simple terms. I'm seventeen and I still got confused on the difference between Lie and Lay, and 'Past' and 'passed' on when to use in a sentence and in what format. It really helped me. I've asked countless people to explain and none of them really explained it well. I just wanted to comment to thank you for having that on the net for me to find and finally understand the differences between the words." Thanks for your lovely comment Saphie. If you haven't yet read it, you can get a free copy of my grammar report here.
What I'm reading: Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett What I'm listening to: whatever's on Triple J Tuesday 12 June
2007 I've just returned from a short holiday - just a week, but long enough that I didn't want to start any fiction writing before going away. I often find the interruption to my momentum quite jarring, and I've usually taken twice the length of the holiday to get back into my rhythm. But now that I'm back, I'm looking at the planning of my second children's book - this is the sequel to the book I've just finished, and the middle book in the trilogy. Oh dear, you're thinking, what is it with fantasy and trilogies? Funny how it works out sometimes - this story was certainly never planned as a trilogy, but it became one (or three rather) very neatly. So I've been looking over the notes that I scrawled down in the middle of book one, when the story suddenly developed curves and twists and sub-plot after sub-plot. Both book 2 and book 3 are thought through already, but it's the little details that come out in the initial planning sessions before starting, and then during the writing stages. Starting is very exciting, but also very scary. The other issue that is adding challenges to the start of this book is that this one takes a different protagonist to the first book, and a different viewpoint character. So it's not really like picking up where the first left off - this is going to be interesting to see if I can get this new voice and perspective to "sound" authentically different to the first.
What I'm reading: The Sea by John Banville What I'm listening to: Trance Online Thursday 3 May 2007 I have finished writing the first draft of my children's book at 37 000 words. I'm very pleased with it, but it goes in the fridge now for a few weeks before I take it out and read it... and let my critiquing skills loose on myself for a change!
What I'm reading: Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb What I'm listening to: Oscar Peterson Thursday 19 April 2007 Kurt Vonnegut died last week, at the good age of 84 - despite his comments about wanting to sue cigarette manufacturers because he was taking too long to die from smoking. (Incidentally, Mr Vonnegut died due to injuries sustained from a fall a few weeks earlier - not from smoking.) I put together a Squidoo lens with some blurbs and quotes from Kurt Vonnegut's books.
What I'm reading: Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie by Salman Rushdie What I'm listening to: Brad Mehldau
Comments (2) diploma owner - Kurt Vonnegut was a great man and a great writer. I understand that his death is just a common thing (I mean, all of us die someday), but it's pity to loose one of the best writers world-wide. Posted 14 December 2007 Lucy
- A friend of mine likes his books very much... it impressed me that the
day he died, she was talking about his books all day long... she told
me that she wants to read Cat's cradle once again, we discussed some
episodes from it... in the evening we knew that he died. Strange...
Perhaps if you really understand someone, you are mentally connected
somehow... Monday 2 April 2007 This is the second part of my musings following Jaime of Fiction Scribe's interview with me. After thinking about what inspires me to
write, I've realised that my characters are my muses. They call to me when I'm in the writing rhythm and they fall silent when I go too long without visiting them. When I allow myself to simply capture what the characters are saying and doing, I feel a resonance like a violin bow being drawn across the strings. It's what I mean when I say the characters sing to me. The plot is the harmony that holds it all together.
What I'm reading: The Mad Ship : Liveship Traders Trilogy Book 2 by Robin Hobb What I'm listening to: Sting Friday 16 March
2007 I've been the subject of two interviews recently. Jaime of Fiction Scribe interviewed me about writing crime thrillers, and I enjoyed the thought process that her questions provoked. So I thought I'd rework my answers and post my thoughts here too. I'll do this in two stages due to the length - next week I'll post about "The Muse". I'll also do the same for the other interview and post that later next week. Thoughts on writing I wanted to be an author from the age of about eight or so - as soon as I realised that real people were responsible for the stories I loved. I was a storyteller from a very early age, entertaining friends at sleepovers with tales of princes and princesses, and making up plays that we would rehearse and put on for our parents. My first novel began as a comedy, but the humour didn't come easily. At the same time I was planning a mystery series because I loved mystery books, and my novel suddenly developed a subplot involving the ashes of a dead teenager. I completed two drafts of this novel and then moved abroad for two years without doing any writing at all. When I picked up that novel again I hated it. I scrapped the whole thing, but reworked the characters and one of the plot threads and decided I was writing a thriller, since I happened to be "into" crime fiction and thrillers at the time. My tastes seem to change every few years - I'm now devouring all the fantasy and science fiction I can get my hands on. I don't like the realism and the increasingly technical detection methods of crime fiction anymore, which is why I've moved on to fantasy where I can exercise my imagination with fewer restraints. I used to be a fan of the good, old fashioned whodunit, where clues were considered and suspects checked off the list and the crime was neatly solved. Nowadays I love reading about detailed forensic investigation, but I would hate to write it. I find writing about police procedure and investigation boring, which is why I chose to have the police team hopelessly understaffed in my book. I wanted the implications of the crime to drive the plot, not the solving of it. Advice for other writers Try to write everyday to keep the momentum going, because when that breaks it can be difficult to get back into it. Even if you trick yourself by saying you only need to write one sentence, or bribe yourself with rewards, keep yourself in the flow of the work. Advice for crime fiction writers Try to get any sort of job in one of the crime fighting fields. Publishers love that connection, and it's very difficult to stay ahead of advances in technology, law, science, etc if you're not somewhere in the loop. At the very least you need a good friend whose brains you can pick regularly.
What I'm reading: Frankenstein 2: City of Night by Dean Koontz What I'm listening to: Brad Mehldau Monday 5 March
2007 I've reached the climax of my latest book, which means the closing stages are not far off. And true to form, I'm slowing down and battling that fear of finishing alongside every other difficulty I usually face while writing.
What I'm reading: The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman What I'm listening to: Alannis Morissette Thursday 25 January
2007 I woke up the other night with what I think is finally the perfect opening for the first chapter of my "old" novel. I've lost count of the number of times I've rewritten this chapter, but it must be at least six or seven now. For many writers, beginning to write at the beginning of the book makes a lot of sense. Developments arise in the same sequence that they will for the eventual reader, making it easy to judge where more information is needed. But some writers like to jump around and write whatever part of the book inspires them at any given moment. This can be a natural and free way of writing, and is worth exploring. It's also the easiest way to miss something and confuse your readers.
What I'm reading: The Starthorn Tree by Kate Forsyth What I'm listening to: Evanescence
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