An Old Lesson for a New Year

I like to think that, no matter how old I may get, each year lived has taught me a new lesson.  More and more, though, it seems like the lessons learned are really lessons relearned -- lessons learned once, then forgotten, then learned again.  And no doubt, the process will continue.  2010 was no exception.  By anyone's standards, this past year was a fantastic year for me.  A  new life stage, that of the empty-nester, brought a new, even more intense commitment to my work.  A happy coincidence brought a new publisher and the publication of a new novel to go with that renewed commitment.  Some dear friends have called me the busiest writer in town. I don't know if that's true or not, but if it is, well, then that's fine with me.  Being creative in all sorts of ways keeps me young. Long may that last! But with the work comes that lurking old need to control, to force the world to meet me on my own timetable.  To push.  And that's the old lesson I have had to relearn this past year.  As someone wiser than me put it: you can't push the river.  My wish for us all, then, in this coming year is to work hard, play hard, love what we are doing and who we are doing it with -- but while remembering that lesson which is so necessary to learn and yet so often forgotten.
Happy New Year to all my friends out there. With love, and the gift of a great aide de memoire from Mr Dylan and ChicagobikeTV, whoever he is, who took Dylan's lyrics and made them his own:

Happy/Merry

And so it is Christmas, nearly. I'm off in a couple of days on my hols; looking forward to having all my boys under one roof for a change, and to the annual Guiney family extravaganza.  As I look out my window at all the snow here in London, though, it looks more like our country New England home than our central London one.  Hopefully, my airplane will take off as scheduled and transport me from one winter wonderland to another.

While I'm away, I'm going to try (!)  to unplug myself as much as possible from the internet, so I might not be around here much for the next few weeks.  So I send my wishes to all now for a wonderful, fun and safe holiday season.  To all my British/English speaking friends, Happy Christmas!  And to all my American/English speaking friends, Merry Christmas! And to all not so Christmas-inclined, then Seasons Greeting!  And most of all, thank you so much for sticking with me and my blog through all our ramblings, our ups and downs, and successes and disappointments.  May next year for all of us be full of our dreams coming true.


Love,
Sue

Menage a Trois

Did that get your attention?

A while ago, I began a three way conversation with two other writers I admire greatly, Tania Hershman and Lauri Kubuitsile.  Actually, it was Tania's idea.  She began to ask us all sorts of questions about our writing lives, wondering aloud how we all differed from each other.  The result is a 3 parter which we are all simultaneously publishing on our blogs today. I urge you to read all three parts if you can. It was a fascinating discussion that I know you'll enjoy. Although the 1st section can be found on Tania's site here and the second on Lauri's here, you can really read any of the sections in any order.  Here's mine:

Lauri:
Hi Ladies,
Sue, one thing you’ve mentioned is something I think about often. It is on the list I pull out when I am trying to convince myself that I am a complete poser. I once had an argument with a now famous writer – “she who will remain unnamed”-  and she told me that any writer who writes for a particular contest or market is not a real writer. It was a way to cut me down to size as that is where most of my writing originates and she knows this. Yes, I do occasionally get an idea and write but more often especially nowadays I see a contest – I write a story for it. Currently I am slowly moving into romance writing -- a place I never thought I’d be but there was a gig and I tried my luck and now my book will be one of two that launch a new imprint. Mostly I want to write, there is only a slight itch to write. I hear writers in interviews all of the time saying I need to write. I’m not that writer. I write because I like it. I love stories and I wanted to be a bigger part of them. But my starting point is almost always external. For some this is considered bad form. It’s my way and I’m trying not to bash myself with it. You shouldn’t either. I don’t see why I must write some experimental introversion that will never find a publisher just so i can be considered to be a “real writer”. What is the point? Perhaps I am too practical for that.
    Your character (see earlier discussion about a character I wrote that got left out of my 1st novel - sg) intrigues me. I do sometimes start out thinking it’s a short story and realise the characters and the story just will not fit. They need more space. Maybe that’s the case with him. Or linked stories. Have you read Esther Stories by Peter Orner? He does an interesting batch of linked stories.

Sue:
Hi again. Lauri, this is so great and helpful.  Not “a real writer”? Unbelievable.  I may torture myself with all these questions, but ultimately it must be true that  a writer is someone who writes, ESPECIALLY someone who gets paid for it.  If the blogosphere has done anything, it’s brought together people who want to support each other rather than just compete with each other.  And yes, the idea of linked stories has always intrigued me.  It has been my original thought about what sort of structure I’d like to investigate for my next novel.  After “Olive  Kittredge” became such a hit I thought I better not pursue that , since it would look too “derivative”. But maybe I’ll think about it again.  If anything, I could then easily answer the question that publishers always ask, ie “What book is this like?”

Tania: Ok, next question: What did holding your first book do to you/for you?

Sue:
Of course my answer is complicated. My first book was my poetry play, “Dreams of May,” and the publication purposefully coincided with the production of the play. This was 2006. Now, I remember that the books were later than I had hoped (of course), and they didn’t arrive until opening night.  I had to have them at the theatre to sell otherwise the entire concept would fall apart.  Needless to say, I was a bit of a basket case, so my main feeling upon receiving the box of books was utter relief and then, “okay, come on, let’s go.” There was no time for excitement. The arrival of my box of novels was a different story. That was also late (!) and I was afraid they wouldn’t be there in time for the launch, but they did arrive, and I remember I almost kissed the courier. As it happened, my parents were in town, and so we sat in the sitting room together, looked at the box silently, then finally opened it. When I held “Tangled Roots” in my hands for the first time, I was numb. I couldn’t believe it. I think I cried a bit — I know my mother definitely did!

Although having my poetry play published was a huge event for me, I am ashamed to say that holding my novel in my  hands was the first time I really felt like I was “really” a writer. It was a dream I’ve had since I was 8 years old. It completely changed me and my identity. Why I didn’t feel that affirmation with my poetry, I don’t know. I did feel it when I saw my first poem printed in a magazine, but the feeling didn’t last.

I now, of course, have had the experience of receiving the box full of my second novel, "A Clash of Innocents." I am happy to report that the excitement was just the same this second time around.  I certainly would hate to think that you ever become blasé about such things. Each new book is like a new baby - exciting and thrilling and petrifying in its own way.

Lauri:
My first book was The Fatal Payout, actually it was my second book but my first work of fiction. Perhaps this will sound arrogant but I knew eventually I would have some success, mostly because I am phenomenally bullheaded once I set out on a course. When I first saw my novella I felt like I’d jumped my first hurdle. I was now published. It was lovely and I took a few moments to take it in and then I set off for hurdle number two.

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Now do go read the other sections if you haven't yet. There's so much we can learn from each other's differences.  I know this was a terrific learning experience for me.  Thanks so much to Tania and Lauri for letting me be a part of this.

The Student Life

It was a strange couple of days.  I came back from my beloved Anam Cara Writing Retreat where for over a week I was blissfully unaware of anything except my work, the work of my friends, and the incredible cold.  Here are a few photos I took of the surrounding landscape of the Beara Peninsula, which is where the retreat is located, on the southwestern most point of Ireland.

I then came back to London and the student demonstrations.  I have found this to be an especially tricky issue for me, one which I can't completely unravel from my own past.  I grew up in the US in the 70's when student demonstrations were the primary force for change in my deeply troubled country.  It was the efforts of the students that helped bring about civil rights and a first attempt at racial equality, and it was the student demonstrations which helped force the end of the Vietnam War.  I deeply believe in a citizen's right to demonstrate, and I also believe that it is, in some ways, part of the learning experience of the university student to find a cause and find his/her way of standing up for it.  And so I am instinctively drawn to the side of the students.  But I don't believe in violent action.  I don't believe that violence ever moves an argument forward. I can never support a violent demonstration.  Then there is the added difficulty of my understanding that the universities are going bankrupt.  There's no use ensuring access for all to a university education if there are no longer any universities worth going to.  The reality is that it costs a great deal of money to keep universities open and to provide them with facilities in keeping with the needs of our changing world.  As someone who went to private university in America and is now sending a child to a private university in America, I can't help but find myself thinking that Brits don't know what expensive is. But there is the problem of the recent campaign's broken promises and the breaking of a social contract -- things that don't apply to the American paradigm. But I don't really want to get into this argument now.  What I want to discuss is that in the midst of all this, I found myself at the End of Year Party for the Asian Department of SOAS (the fantastic School of Oriental and African Studies).  I was there to talk about "A Clash of Innocents" and show some of the photographs by the kids of Anjali House.
       The event was originally going to be held in one of the larger assembly rooms.  But that room was still under a student occupation, so it was moved to a much smaller conference room.  At first I was concerned -- would I somehow have to cross a barricade, would I be doing something that might go against my belief in a student's right to protest?  But of course not.  Despite the deep sense of solidarity among the students and professors at the event, and their disappointed worried comments, everyone was there doing what they as students were there to do in the first place, namely meet and talk with people of similar interests and celebrate the efforts they are making in pursuing their education. Despite a week of extreme turmoil, the students were all still there being, well, students, and it gave me hope.  Education is both a right and a privilege.  It is something worth fighting for, but also worth working and sacrificing for.  Many of these students will now have to work harder than they had originally thought in order to get the education they deserve.  But as we all know, the harder we work for something the more we appreciate it. It's a difficult and tricky situation. I think Nick Clegg's face says it all:

thanks to Baroque in Hackney for this photo.

To Snowflake or Not To Snowflake

A while back I promised to write a blog about this one particular methodology for writing a novel called "The Snowflake Method." After my last post about different writing processes, I thought this would be a good time for such a post.  You can read the details of the Snowflake Method here and I suggest you do, not because it is necessarily THE way to write a novel -- as I've discussed, I don't believe there is any one right way -- but because whether we choose to adopt this system or not, it gives us an idea of elements that all of us who are writing longer works of fiction should keep in mind.
Here's a brief summary of the system.  There are 10 steps to follow even before you start writing:
     1. Write a one sentence summary of the novel in as few words as possible
     2. Expand the sentence into a paragraph describing the plot, set-up and ending. Think in terms of "three disasters plus an ending" described in five sentences.
     3. Write a one page overview of each major character's back story. Use as much detail as you can, whether you'll eventually use these details or not.
     4. Expand each of the five sentences of step 2 into a paragraph.
     5. Build on step 3 by writing a one page character synopsis which tells the story from the point of view of each character.
     6. Expand each paragraph of step 4 into a full page.
     7. Expand further on step 3 for each character, perhaps even revising what you wrote in steps 1-6. Show how each character changes over the course of the novel.
     8. Make a spreadsheet detailing each scene that will be a part of the plot.
     9. Write a narrative of the story incorporating all the scenes from your spreadsheet.
    10. Write your first draft.
Okay now, simmer down, simmer down.  Overwhelming, right?  Well it certainly overwhelmed me when I sat down to begin work on "A Clash of Innocents."  But writing my first novel, "Tangled Roots," was such a rambling nine-year affair that I thought I better try to be more systematic about it this time.  Did I adhere strictly to all the steps?  Absolutely not.  Did I keep the lessons each step was teaching me in mind when choosing which to follow and how to follow them? Absolutely yes. And the result was a two-year organized experience leading to a coherent, character-driven, well-plotted novel (if I do say so myself). Now as I've discussed before, some writers would die under the choke of such a structured system.  But I have come to realize that I work best with a flexible structure around me, and my modified version of a snowflake worked well for me.

     So fast forward to today.  I have just spent 10 days beginning work on Novel 3.  I reread my notes about the Snowflake Method and I looked back on what I did before.  And what have I decided? Namely that I have already incorporated the snowflake lessons into my own writing process and so I can proceed with my own system.  It won't be a many-pointed snowflake. It might be more of a three-sided cloud type thing. But before I start my first draft,  I am writing page-long character synopses.  I am imagining  two or three disasters and an ending.  I am making a chart (!) of episodes and where they will go within the outline of the book. I am planning structure.  But hey -- that's just me.
     I do suggest you take a look at the website created by Randy Ingermanson, "the Snowflake Guy."  Whether you decide to use it or not, it will definitely provide lots of food for thought.
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thanks to the Euclid Library for the snowflake photo and the gisdk blog for the cloud.

No One Way.....

Friday night in Anam Cara saw Vanessa Gebbie, Tania Hershman and I reading from our work to a small though enthusiastic crowd. The roads were incredibly icy on the peninsula so we were chuffed that anyone risked coming out at all.  Hearty souls, these Irish, with an abiding love of story-telling which allows them to brave the worst conditions just for the chance to talk about writing.  Gotta' love 'em!
     As wonderful as the readings were, the conversation was just as fascinating.  We all discussed our processes- how we start, how we finish, whether we research and if so, when, what time of day we work and for how long. If one lesson was learned at all, it was that there is no single "correct" way to write.  We own have our own methods and we all stumble upon them over years of trial and error.  For example, when I sit down to write a novel, as I'm doing now, I begin by thinking about what issues or themes I want to tackle, where the tackling will happen and who will do it.  I make some lists of possibilities and then I start to research.  I read books and articles about my themes, immersing myself in the "reality" of my subjects, not so much for specific facts but for ideas of facts, hints of a framework, an occasional statistic that might come in handy during some conversation or other.  I likened myself to a 2-year-old.  By setting up real boundaries, I feel safe and free enough to explore and create.  I need a framework of the plausible in order to start to understand my characters and imagine a storyline.  The more I read and think, the more real my fiction begins to feel to me.  And the more real it feels, the more acutely will I feel the need to create this "realized fiction" through writing.
   But my colleagues have their own, very different processes.  Rather than put words into their mouths, I'll be asking them to discuss here sometime the specifics of their approaches.  But I will say that one only does research after the entire first draft is completed, just to see if what she made up was correct.  The other rarely does research at all but  has her characters inhabit a world just off to the side of our perceived reality.
   Then there is the question of time -- how much time do we spend actually writing?  We all seem to have our own internal clocks.  One of us sits down to write and finds herself stopping after 20 minutes, and then does it again and again.  I start to write  and then look at the clock to find, inevitably, it's an hour-and-a half later.  I'll take a tea break and then do it again. Sit to write, look up to find another hour-and-a-half has passed. Boom, literally like clockwork.  And then I'm spent for the day.
    Fascinating stuff, I think.  But if anything could be learned from this discussion it is that there is no one correct way of doing it, no one proper way to write a story or a novel or anything.  And that, I think, is incredibly liberating.  It is like bestowing a certificate of permission.  We all  have permission to write in whatever way works best for us and our work.  But if there is one overriding commonality it is that in order to write, you have to stop talking about it, sit down in whatever seat is best for you, and do it. Make a start.  Only by starting can you ever hope to get to the middle and then, miraculously, to the end.
    So, how do you write?  What is your process?  If enough people are interested, maybe I'll compile a list of all our different approaches.

Tim's Tiny Acorns

I'm up here in the frigid Northwest (that's Ireland's Beara Peninsula to you) at my beloved Anam Cara Writers Retreat.  I knew I wanted to post a blog today, but rather than discuss what I had in mind -- I'll do that another time -- I want to alert you to a wonderful project which Tim Atkinson has put together called Tiny Acorns. Dotterel Press has launched this charity anthology in order to raise money for this year's Children in Need appeal. 

All the items were inspired by a free on-line Creative Writing e-course run earlier this year by Tim. The course itself came into being after one of the students - having signed up for an evening class in writing - was disappointed to find that her lessons has been cancelled due to lack of interest. 

In contrast, the ten-week replacement on-line course attracted a huge national following. Well over 100 people formally registered and were allocated to one of several on-line peer support tutorial groups. Many hundreds more followed the lessons informally week-by-week, downloading them direct from Tim Atkinson's website Bringing up Charlie. Others are still finding the lessons useful, and Tim is constantly receiving requests to repeat the course.

Inspired by some of the exercises, the budding authors wrote and submitted pieces for an end-of-course charity anthology. The best were then selected for publication. And on Friday November 19th Tiny Acorns was launched to coincide with the BBC's annual Children in Need charity telethon. 

The genres covered in the book range from flash-fiction to more traditional short-stories, as well as life-writing, humour, poetry and autobiography. There's something  for everyone. And if people are inspired by what they read, they can have a go for themselves as the entire creative writing course has been reprinted in the book's appendix. 

Tiny Acorns was published on Friday November 19th by Dotterel Press (ISBN 978-0-9562869-1-8) and is available direct for just £8.99 from the Dotterel Press Online store. Do press on the button at the bottom of that page, get a wonderful collection and help the children while you're at it.
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And now a brief plug for one of my favourite writers...me :-)  You can listen to me read two short excerpts from A Clash of Innocents on today's Homegrown Podcast here.  You may find it easiest to click on the direct download button. My bits are sandwiched in between some great indie music. My name may be mispronounced (as it always is -- you say Guy-knee, by the way) but my oh my -- it's so worth it! :-0