Notes From an Exhibition - Patrick Gale
Harper Perennial
This was a wonderful book, beautifully written, thought provoking and touching about an artist with bi-polar disorder and the caring husband that loved and nurtured her throughout her life. It also showed her four children and how her illness impacted on their lives. It is written haphazzardly in chapters as if the reader is traveling through the exhibition looking at the paintings of the protagonist. Each picture has notes which reveals the story within that particular chapter. It's a very original read. It also depicts Cornwall beautifully. I'm always put off when these books appear in Richard and Judy's Book Club, however, I'd advise anyone to put those snobbish thoughts behind them and pick up this book. I loved it.
Monday, May 19, 2008
The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
Orion Fiction
Although I didn't enjoy this book I do appreciate that it was well written. The tempo was miserable throughout and made the reader feel uncomfortable right the way through until the end. There were however, twists and turns that surprised the reader.
It was narrated by a third person who was writing the autobiography of the protagonist Miss Vida Winters. It was difficult to work out the fantasy from the reality at first, but it did all become apparent in the end. The ending was neatly tied up, but begged a few questions such as "what time period was the piece set in?" There were parallels between the narrator and the protagonist and an empathy for them was created through the narrative. Essentially I felt it was a tale of lonliness and generations of tragedy (as per Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte).
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Keys to Good Short Stories
Nothing is wasted - don't throw anything away
short stories from 800 - 7000 words
the "magic in your mind" is the ingredient that will add quality to your work
the idea must excite you - your theme
believable characters
first or third person? first person is easier
dialogue is essential
a good opening
conflict
suspense
stick to the main story line
let the story speak for itself - no long explanations
a satisfactory ending (not necessarily a happy one)
What to Watch Out For
Incorrect grammar and punctuation
Cliches
Sentimentality
Clumsy phrases
Use of adjectives - sometimes deaden rather than enhance
Nothing is wasted - don't throw anything away
short stories from 800 - 7000 words
the "magic in your mind" is the ingredient that will add quality to your work
the idea must excite you - your theme
believable characters
first or third person? first person is easier
dialogue is essential
a good opening
conflict
suspense
stick to the main story line
let the story speak for itself - no long explanations
a satisfactory ending (not necessarily a happy one)
What to Watch Out For
Incorrect grammar and punctuation
Cliches
Sentimentality
Clumsy phrases
Use of adjectives - sometimes deaden rather than enhance
Tips on Creative Writing
1. Find a hook to grasp the attention of your reader, listener, viewer
2. A short story is more compact than a novel so you will need to be more eco- nomical with description.
3. There is no need to reveal the ending - let the reader anticipate
focus on one event
4. A short story requires conflict whether it's just in the character's mind or not. There needs to be a build up of dranatic tension
5. The plot is like the skeleton - it's a series of events that happen
Ways to reveal character traits:-
* through dialogue
* by putting them into a situation - how do they respond to that situation
* Names/nicknames tell the reader about the character
* how they reveal their emotions tells the reader about the character
* their possessions, their job, etc.
1. Find a hook to grasp the attention of your reader, listener, viewer
2. A short story is more compact than a novel so you will need to be more eco- nomical with description.
3. There is no need to reveal the ending - let the reader anticipate
focus on one event
4. A short story requires conflict whether it's just in the character's mind or not. There needs to be a build up of dranatic tension
5. The plot is like the skeleton - it's a series of events that happen
Ways to reveal character traits:-
* through dialogue
* by putting them into a situation - how do they respond to that situation
* Names/nicknames tell the reader about the character
* how they reveal their emotions tells the reader about the character
* their possessions, their job, etc.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
Penguin Classics 1996
This classic piece of modernist literature parallels a single day in the lives of two people, Clarissa Dalloway from the socially elite, and Septimus Warren Smith, a shell shocked veteran from Word War 1. It was written in 1924 and originally called The Hours, about which a film was made showing the lives of Virginia Woolf and the character of Clarissa Dalloway.
Virginia Woolf used the "stream of consciousness" which was a term first used in literature by a review of a novel by Dorothy Richardson, by May Sinclair in 1918. It is a style that was used by Katherine Mansfield too where the character examines the experience and emotions of their inner lives. Woolf was able to move back and forth in time in her narrative in order to build the characters.
She criticises a society in which women were repressed and the handling of mental illness, of which she was a sufferer. She had many bouts of mental illness following the death of her parents, and in 1941 she filled her pockets with heavy stones, walked into the river and drowned.
The book moves unnanounced between the two main characters.
Virginia Woolf set up "The Bloomsbury Group", a community of modernist writers and artists, following her job as a book critic for the Times Literary Supplement.
Penguin Classics 1996
This classic piece of modernist literature parallels a single day in the lives of two people, Clarissa Dalloway from the socially elite, and Septimus Warren Smith, a shell shocked veteran from Word War 1. It was written in 1924 and originally called The Hours, about which a film was made showing the lives of Virginia Woolf and the character of Clarissa Dalloway.
Virginia Woolf used the "stream of consciousness" which was a term first used in literature by a review of a novel by Dorothy Richardson, by May Sinclair in 1918. It is a style that was used by Katherine Mansfield too where the character examines the experience and emotions of their inner lives. Woolf was able to move back and forth in time in her narrative in order to build the characters.
She criticises a society in which women were repressed and the handling of mental illness, of which she was a sufferer. She had many bouts of mental illness following the death of her parents, and in 1941 she filled her pockets with heavy stones, walked into the river and drowned.
The book moves unnanounced between the two main characters.
Virginia Woolf set up "The Bloomsbury Group", a community of modernist writers and artists, following her job as a book critic for the Times Literary Supplement.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Mr Pip - Lloyd Jones
(John Murray Publishers 2007)
I loved this book, the story of which was set on a tropical island in the South Pacific during a civil war.
It is written through the eyes of Matilda, a child, who hasn't been to school for some time due to the conflict on the island. The only white inhabitant is Mr Watts, whom is nicknamed Popeye. Mr Watts decides that the children need schooling but only has Great Expectations with which to teach them. From this they learn so much about life. He encourages the childrens' uneducated parents to come into the class to teach the children what they know about life and encourages the children to find their own voice (p107). He teaches the children that no matter what happens, nobody can remove their imagination.
Matilda witnesses the murder of her mother and there is a wonderful description of her fear being "preternaturally calm" which is "what deep, deep fear does for you", P173.
The children seem mesmerised by Great Expectations and when the book disappears they try to reassemble it using their memory and imagination. There are echoes of the story of Great Expectation that run through the lives of the inhabitants on the Island, for example, Matilda's father has gone to work in Australia, so she imagines that he was rescued by a Jaggers type character.
It is colourful and evocative and the story is shown rather than told through the use of descriptive language and the characters of Matilda's mother and Mr Watts, two very important characters in the life of Matilda.
(John Murray Publishers 2007)
I loved this book, the story of which was set on a tropical island in the South Pacific during a civil war.
It is written through the eyes of Matilda, a child, who hasn't been to school for some time due to the conflict on the island. The only white inhabitant is Mr Watts, whom is nicknamed Popeye. Mr Watts decides that the children need schooling but only has Great Expectations with which to teach them. From this they learn so much about life. He encourages the childrens' uneducated parents to come into the class to teach the children what they know about life and encourages the children to find their own voice (p107). He teaches the children that no matter what happens, nobody can remove their imagination.
Matilda witnesses the murder of her mother and there is a wonderful description of her fear being "preternaturally calm" which is "what deep, deep fear does for you", P173.
The children seem mesmerised by Great Expectations and when the book disappears they try to reassemble it using their memory and imagination. There are echoes of the story of Great Expectation that run through the lives of the inhabitants on the Island, for example, Matilda's father has gone to work in Australia, so she imagines that he was rescued by a Jaggers type character.
It is colourful and evocative and the story is shown rather than told through the use of descriptive language and the characters of Matilda's mother and Mr Watts, two very important characters in the life of Matilda.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Theory of LOCK
Does the plot connect with the readers?
You need to transport them through your story by the use of the theory of LOCK
L - Lead character
O - Objective (driving force, one dominant objective)
C - Confrontation (there needs to be some sort of confrontation to make the story
interesting. It could be a confrontation within one character even
K - Knockout (the fight to win or lose or overcome the problem)
There needs to be some sort of conflict and some sort of resolution
You need to transport them through your story by the use of the theory of LOCK
L - Lead character
O - Objective (driving force, one dominant objective)
C - Confrontation (there needs to be some sort of confrontation to make the story
interesting. It could be a confrontation within one character even
K - Knockout (the fight to win or lose or overcome the problem)
There needs to be some sort of conflict and some sort of resolution
Great Quotes
"fiction is just truth with lies" (Writing from Research - coursebook)
"childhood's senior citizen" (Writing from Research - coursebook)
(The Child that Books Built)
"Research liberates your fiction"
"childhood's senior citizen" (Writing from Research - coursebook)
(The Child that Books Built)
"Research liberates your fiction"
NOTES ON WHAT I HAVE LEARNED ....
1. That details can play such a great part in creating images, for example, naming a flower, saying the vase of bright red tuplips, rather than the vase of flowers is much more effective as a way of placing an image in the reader's mind.
2. That research is necessary because nobody can be an expert on absolutely everything. It is not necessary to research extensively for a fictional piece, but just throwing in 3 facts can add authenticity to your work.
3. To redraft and keep redrafting your work. It improves over time. Once your piece is written and you have checked for spelling and grammatical errors, put it aside for a few days before re-reading it with a fresh eye. Try to read it as a reader and not as the author in order to understand how it will be received.
4. Keep a journal or notebook in order to jot down observations in your daily life. They can often come in use at a later date. Jot down conversations, sounds, emotions and even random ideas. When you are stuck at a later date you can refer to these.
5. If you've had problems writing a piece, write down those problems, ie, moving on the plot, time, setting, place, etc, so that you know how you overcame them when you meet the same problem another time.
6. Learn to read as a writer, rather than understanding the characters, begin to dismantle the piece in order to find out how an author constructed it. How did he build the character? How did he evoke passion?
7. Show don't tell.......show that the girl was thin rather than tell your reader. You can do this by talking about her oversized clothes hanging off her frame, etc. Let the reader draw their own conclusions and build up a mental picture of the girl and her character. Show that she is angry with dialogue, or by description of her bulging eyes, red face, etc.
8. Write detailed and honest self evaluations so that you can learn from them.
9. Try different writing styles in order to find your own voice. This can be fun. It is often easier to stay within your own comfort zone and on a topic that you feel comfortable with, but experiment.
10. Accurate citation and bibliography is imperative to avoid plagiarism, etc.
11. Read on a wide range of subjects and by a wide range of authors. This will impact on your writing.
2. That research is necessary because nobody can be an expert on absolutely everything. It is not necessary to research extensively for a fictional piece, but just throwing in 3 facts can add authenticity to your work.
3. To redraft and keep redrafting your work. It improves over time. Once your piece is written and you have checked for spelling and grammatical errors, put it aside for a few days before re-reading it with a fresh eye. Try to read it as a reader and not as the author in order to understand how it will be received.
4. Keep a journal or notebook in order to jot down observations in your daily life. They can often come in use at a later date. Jot down conversations, sounds, emotions and even random ideas. When you are stuck at a later date you can refer to these.
5. If you've had problems writing a piece, write down those problems, ie, moving on the plot, time, setting, place, etc, so that you know how you overcame them when you meet the same problem another time.
6. Learn to read as a writer, rather than understanding the characters, begin to dismantle the piece in order to find out how an author constructed it. How did he build the character? How did he evoke passion?
7. Show don't tell.......show that the girl was thin rather than tell your reader. You can do this by talking about her oversized clothes hanging off her frame, etc. Let the reader draw their own conclusions and build up a mental picture of the girl and her character. Show that she is angry with dialogue, or by description of her bulging eyes, red face, etc.
8. Write detailed and honest self evaluations so that you can learn from them.
9. Try different writing styles in order to find your own voice. This can be fun. It is often easier to stay within your own comfort zone and on a topic that you feel comfortable with, but experiment.
10. Accurate citation and bibliography is imperative to avoid plagiarism, etc.
11. Read on a wide range of subjects and by a wide range of authors. This will impact on your writing.
Friday, January 4, 2008
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