The Rules of Writing - Some advice for writers.

The best writing is sleight of hand. Hannah’s story succeeded in part because she used accepted novel-writing techniques to hide a challenge to socially accepted norms. And she did so using a stiletto so thin that few readers will notice their moral high ground has been compromised. And that’s good storytelling.

There are lots of rules when it comes to writing English, and even more rules when it comes to communications. Breaking rules is fine, except when it confuses your audience to the point where they have no idea what you’re trying to convey. Or worse,when they are tossed out of that magical unspoken contract between writers and readers: the contract that says, 'let me tell you a story' and it takes them out of their world for an hour or  day into another world. Storytelling uses a formula that’s worked for at least 4,000 years (in written works, probably 40,000 in oral storytelling).  Before a reader can fall in love with your characters, they need to make emotional investment in them; they need to fall in love (or hate) with them in order to care about their story. To do that, within the first few paragraphs, preferable the first lines, the reader must empathise with the character.(s) Once you have seduced the reader, they will follow your character page after page, even when he or she takes them to bizarre places or makes morally repugnant decisions. In spec fic we call this first stage familiarisation but it’s really entrapment. We as writers have seduced the reader with commonplace realities, camouflaging our intention within the conventional rules of writing. Then we pounce, and drag the reader into the rabbit hole, masking the journey into the unknown with acceptable and comprehensible rules of writing.

Storytellers are tricksters, seducers, who use conventional rules of English to play the game we all love to play.  But of course we doubt ourselves!  Every day, with every word, we wonder if we have communicated what we intend—and then we decide to intend something different and re-write 120,000 words in the first person rather than third person (that was me, by the way, on my ninth novel).

Once you school yourself to do so, you realise rules give you more license to be creative because they create clear benchmarks and boundaries rather than having your creativity pulled in myriad directions.

 

Rules are also good for Spring cleaning. By that I mean, if you get stuck writing a passage (or even the next word). Stop. Go back to the beginning and clean up what you have. Read it aloud. Check the spelling. And 90% of the time something will strike you as not being quite right, or a gaping plot hole appears. Now you have a problem and you have to fix it. And guess what? Suddenly you’re writing again!

 

cheers

Works of art - understood dismissed

‘A review’…….

 

My grandmother had a favourite saying, “Oh would to God that we could see ourselves as others see us”.   She did not think of applying that sentiment to herself.   She was a vicar’s wife and as such, she presided over the women of the parish and considered herself to have an important position in the parish, holding such posts as president of the Mothers’ Union and Women’s Institute and duties such as church organist.   She constantly reminded people that, “You must remember my position you know”. 

 

The parish was a small, hard-working mining community on the Cannock Chase governed by the hooters of three pits calling the menfolk to work in shifts.  The women looked after the home and ensured that the tin bath was ready in the kitchen when the men returned.  The terraced hovels called home lacked facilities and home entertainments but they were spick and span.   It was the church that provided the community’s entertainment, and social life was spent organising it and savouring it thus securing the importance of the vicar’s wife.

 

Beneath that outwardly ‘perfect world’ no one would have realised that the Vicar’s wife was mentally abused and down trodden to an extent that would eventually lead to her demise.  Her pride, naïve innocence, duty and dedication to church doctrine were the causes of her failure to appreciate her own desperate situation.   She was the embodiment of the ‘Suffering Servant’  in the Old Testament book of Isaiah.  She had little appreciation of the real world outside the church.  The only language she understood was that of the bible.  She had no knowledge of Anglo Saxon words or expletives.  She had no such conversation or understanding of such language and never read a book other than the bible and that would be to an audience or congregation.   She never even had a malicious or rebellious thought.  Such an occurrence would have been beaten out of her.

 

As such she had no feelings.   Numb; she would not have understood what happened beneath the perfect world outside the church or the vicarage and that was not entirely uncommon.   So when the seventeen year old church warden’s daughter and garden fete beauty queen, the apple of the Vicar’s eye, became pregnant there was shock, horror, indignation and condemnation in the village community, much to the amusement of the Vicar’s son.    A Sunday School teacher, she had been held up to him as a paragon of virtue.   Shortly after that the Vicar left the parish, to the immense relief of the Church Warden.

 

‘Beneath the Perfect World’ is a book that my parents would not have been able to digest and would have totally disapproved of for no other reason than the explicit sexual detail.  That alone would have obliterated any understanding of the plot or the tensions and intensions of the players.  In their eyes it would not have been conceivable that Christian souls could have schemed and plotted the way they did.  That a cartel within the church could conspire to commit murder or any heinous crime would not have been possible; but can it be denied that it has never happened within the closed community of the church?   Such things would be denied; swept under the carpet; concealed and refuted.  The ‘evil that men do lives after them’; things unacceptable to ‘church going society’ have been uncomfortably exposed.  Attitudes have changed.  Modern literature pervades society in many forms including communication and the media.   To understand this is to understand the book.   It was designed to shock and yet it is nothing new.   As a historian and psychologist the author of ‘Beneath the Perfect World’ will have understood this.  Moreover her detailed knowledge of the location of the story together with her detailed knowledge of the technicalities of cycling provides the glue which binds a compelling story together.  Such a combination has provided a classic novel.

 

In my view the book is a creative work of art as good as classic nude paintings or pieces of sculpture which have always been the subject of intellectual debate and analysis.   Without the graphic detail, the book would be like the statue of David without his penis.   What would be the more shocking?   What does it say about society?  Who is to decide what is to be concealed?  Who would be offended; 1^st century Greek or Romans, Medieval Society or Modern society?  Is it barbaric?

 

Works of Art stimulate debate amongst intellectual appreciation societies some of which is understood and some dismissed by those who do not understand.   What-ever is the case the understanding observer can judge and ask themselves, ‘Could I have been so creative, understanding, constructive or imaginative?’  Or did it breach the boundaries of my tolerance.

 

That, for the reader, is the subject of his debate………

The dread - when your parents read your novel

On the phone to Dad last night. He's been reading my book and yes, he's waded through the swearing, the drugs and the sex. Mum, he tells me can't bring herself to read it. I breathe a sigh of relief, then hear her in the background saying, "You can't expect to read a novel these days without that kind of stuff in it." So is Dad assuming she's more prudish than she?

I've been in contact with a lot of writers who say they've had to bite the bullet when writing the salacious scenes. Can what Mum and Dad think really have such an impact on someone's creativity. I suppose it's all there when I was writing Alan's character. The omnipresence of his mother and domineering ex-partner impede his personal development. Catherine, on the other hand, was fortunate enough to be brought up by a liberal minded father who never got in the way of her doing anything. That's why she's so baffled when her mother tries to control her.

There's always sides to yourself you'd never wish to show your parents. Does this mean you have to tone down your novel?

Do we need another hero?

With the resurgence of vampire fiction, not that it was out for long, emphasis is being placed on incorporating mythical elements in fiction. These elements are even used in marketing and journalism to attract attention. Whilst 'Beneath the Perfect World' was going under the scrutiny of science fiction writer Sonny Whitelaw, I was criticised for not making my protagonist, Alan Bell, heroic enough. My editor didn't even like him because he is fallible and occasionally shows weakness. Whilst writing, I was at odds with writing a character who was real yet heroic at the same time. A hero in the traditional or Homeric sense is one who acts in the interest of good, resisting temptation whilst fighting off demons. Alan had created his own demons and overcome them, making him a tragic hero with a fatal flaw. To stay true to the rubric of heroism, I would have had to kill him off. That would have disappointed the readers who did like him. Why like him if he's flawed? Despite his short-comings, he has a compassionate and sensitive side which ultimately forces him to do what he feels is right. Despite pressures and being surrounded by people who wreak havoc on his life, he still stands up for himself and manages to pull through despite taking some hard knocks. Modern heroes are faced with dilemmas that force them to choose between right and wrong. Alan has already gone down the wrong path. 'Beneath the Perfect World' therefore begs the question, can a reformed character be a hero?

Advice to Lucy on getting a book to publication standard.

Hi Lucy,

 

I got lucky because one of my beta readers raved about my book to the Editor in Chief at Oceanbooks. Remember that if you want your book to be a commercial success, you have to listen to what commercially successful writers say about your writing. That doesn't mean you have to adapt your style to suit their preference. They should respect that you have your own way of writing.

 

Being true to your own voice is essential. It's what makes you unique as a writer. When I first started writing I wanted to be Ian McEwan and tried experimenting with elaborate metaphors, which made my writing contrived. Say what you want to say and don't try to be like anyone else. You'll find you naturally use figurative language so if a metaphor or simile pops into your head, write it.

 

Once you've written what is as good as you think you can make it, send it off to be critiqued by someone who is an accomplished and published author. In your case your tutor at NZWC. He or she will make sure it includes all the elements of good narrative and revise in the light of their feedback.

 

So, your book is complete? Or you think it is. The next step is to pass it around for peer review. By all means let your friends have a read, but really, you need someone who will give an honest and fair appraisal. Send it to writers groups. These people, however, are not editors, so don't allow them to change anything. Listen to their suggestions but only act on them if several readers are saying the same thing, or you agree. Remember, however, that to have passed the Advanced Writing Course, your book needs to be publication standard so you are now an accomplished writer.

 

The next step is to get a professional editor to work on your book. After I had my book accepted at Oceanbooks, thinking it was as good as it could be, the editor went to town on it, but really going through the minutiae of ensuring that the best words were written in the best order. By and large, I took my editor's advice but you have to be the judge of whether the editor is allowing you to be true to your own voice. My editor had a penchant for using the word 'ruefully' and knowing my characters better than she did, I knew the word didn't fit. Not to say that the initial word didn't warrant an alternative. She also slushed up some of the romantic scenes and personally I thought she turned the characters into Blake and Chrystal from Dynasty. The editor can insist you make the changes they suggest and refuse to publish if you don't, but be prepared to discuss it with them. 

 

Sequel needed?

Just got the first proof copy of 'Beneath the Perfect World' back from The Copy Press. I'm really pleased. So the book is good to go!! It's been one hell of a journey and a lot of hard graft, so it's very satisfying to finally hold a printed copy in my hand. You get to this stage and you learn there's more to producing a novel than just writing. Since completing the book in April, my days have been taken up with phone calls to editors, graphic designers and PR consultants. After a two year relationship with the characters in the book, to the point that I dreamt about them, it was sad to say farewell to them. I was pleased when my editor told me another scene needed adding, and I needed to write a little bit more into one of the chapters, because I could reconnect with my characters again. I can see the appeal of writing a sequel, especially if you grow fond of the people you write about.

Meaty Issues

The first review of the novel talks about meaty issues, so I thought I'd elaborate on some of them. There's a lot going on in the novel aside from an age-gap relationship that gets the protagonist into trouble. I've presented a protagonist who has been brought up in a dysfunctional family yet can't break away from the emotional ties that keep him in an unhappy environment. The book exposes the power of the guilt trips and how parents especially can control their children by battering their self-esteem. Alan Bell's subsequent relationships with women follow the same pattern. Throughout his relationship with ex-partner Diane Bishop, he has been continually forced to question his self-worth. His reluctance to pursue a legal battle to see his five year old son owes more to having to face her than the possibility of losing. Her constant belittling of him means that any encounter with her will make him feel so inadequate, he won't take her to court. She has emasculated him and therefore prevented him forging other relationships with women. Catherine, however, plays on his low self-esteem to get him to sleep with her. When it comes to men, however, Alan is far less easy to manipulate, firmly standing his ground when he sees women being treated badly.

Prelaunch News

This is a very exciting time in the run up to the book's launch in October. Once the cover is completed and the manuscript has it's final check, the release date will be confirmed.

At the moment I am busy with the press releases which will go out as soon as the book is available to buy in either as an e-book or print version. I'm really happy with the cover concept The Copy Press have come up with. Many thanks to Mike Horsfield for the black and white photo of Fleet Moss. Had a nice compliment from Dave at The Copy Press who said he found the story engaging when he was reading it to get ideas for the cover. Thanks to Tracy Rowley for the proof read. Glad you 'loved it!'

Feel free to have a browse through the website to find out more about the book and why I wrote it.