Background in the Background

There's one way I know to switch off a persons brain and it's for me to start yabbering on rapturously about the background to my story. Yeah, look it's fascinating to me but only elicits an alarmed or bored look in others. One day if I have written a massive best seller, people may be riveted with these details. Until then, I shall only produce a little of these reams of info when and if necessary, into my story. If you have read the Appendix to Lord of the Rings (Hail Elf-friend!), you may may disagree, but sometimes your obsession is other peoples cause for sleep.

Resist Flashing Your Stuff

When is a good time to show others your work? This was a difficult one for me.
I spend a lot of time on my work, in my own head space. I wish I had a magic mirror on the wall to consult with- "Oh Magic Mirror, does my 'but' look big in this sentence?"
In reality (which I visit from time to time) it's just me and the dogs. The dogs are great company but tend to wag no matter what I say, well crafted or not.
When he is home then, my patient husband is the usual sounding board and he works hard on not sounding bored, bless him. I do appreciate it. When we signed our wedding certificates, there was nothing in it about him having to read loads of dodgy writing with his partner hovering anxiously nearby. Or, having me spend considerable time mulling over the physical attributes of male characters. So, I know I am lucky that he'll help me out.
There are times though, when you would like to show another writer your work and I was given an opportunity recently. Three other writer friends were getting together for a lunch and invited me along. Everyone was asked to bring something they're working on. I hesitated. I am up to Chapter 10 on my first novel, but it's just a rough so far. I don't really do any editing yet, just a quick tidy of the last chapter before I begin the next. Theres tonnes of re-writing to do when I finish the whole lot. In the end I decided to bring chapter one and ask everyone to just read it through and see if they liked the story so far.
What I discovered was that this is simply not possible! A writer reads anothers work from a writerly point of view and the editing pen whips out- whoosh! So, two hours of time was spent on six pages and I came home very stressed with three different sets of editing notes in various Biro colours. My desire to have the approval from people in the industry backfired completely and I came away without getting what I wanted. No-one read the whole chapter!
This was not the fault of the people at all. I should have been clearer with what I wanted and asked them to withhold editing thoughts or ,if they thought they couldn't manage that, thank them and leave it. When I do finally get around to editing I will take those notes into account and some of it will better my writing, but at the end of the day, showing a first draft to writers is like throwing sardines to cats and saying "No Kitty!" Yeah, sure!
All I can say of my own experience is, try to be confident in yourself and write it all out, then rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. After that, saying clearly what you need, ask some kind person to have a squiz at your work.

Highland Cliche`

I spent a lovely weekend in the Southern Highlands; a place where someone has dipped their hand in a pot of Britain and smeared it thickly over the landscape.

Perhaps it is the rolling green hills, ripped free of Eucalypt, dotted with black Angus cattle awaiting their journey to McDonald's. Perhaps it is the chill in the air and the winds whipping non-native Autumnal leaves into your face as you stroll along in your polo neck and jodhpurs.

In any case, I bloody loved it. Very inspiring for writing, eating cheese and drinking wine.

At a second hand bookstore I found a great read in a book entitled 'Son of-It was a Dark and Stormy Night.' Basically an American University English Dept runs an annual competition where writers come up with a very cliche`d/bad beginning to a fictitious story. What is the point? Well, they are funny, the winners get their name in a book and the reader gets reminded of the sort of things not to put in your own work. If you ever see a copy of this book or it's prequel, have a squiz for a laugh. May I share one:

Wilkins, the tall muscular fisherman, shielded himself with his pantyhose by tugging it up and over his head and holding it there while the arrows shot by the Eskimo sailors bounced mercifully off him and didn't hurt him either because apparently they could not pierce the fine knit fabric, especially the "control top".

A thing of beauty is it not?

Chocolate Holidaze

Thank goodness daylight savings is now over and I can (fairly) effortlessly rise at 5am to write. How else to continue writing in the school holidays? 5am till 10am after which my children are definitely up (the teen one just) and about and I can happily focus on them.
Not to regret the past but when I think of holidays gone, when I felt I had no time to myself- what I weak sap I was! Then again the last holidays were the summer ones and the cicada's begin to drill into your head at a much earlier hour. This cool weather helps keep the kids in bed, under their doonas so that I, puffy-eyed and clutching a cuppa, can have fun on the keyboard- everyone is happy!
Happy Easter to all by the way!
For me, Easter is a time when I try to replace Spring images with Autumn and harvest ones. We hang Easter eggs on a vase full of bare branches ( a nod at my German heritage where they hang the eggs from pussy-willow branches bursting with velvety catkins) I put out wooden eggs and chickens and we have an Easter egg hunt of course. It's done outside so we don't accidentally kill one of the dogs (would definitely put a downer on the festivities) by leaving a few accidentally for them to find. I'm sure we've left the snails a few giving them something other than my seedlings to eat for a few days.
Its a relaxing break where the house smells of toasting/burning hot-cross buns and we go see a family movie together. At night we toast marshmallows over coals in the chiminea under the stars (getting too cold for mozzies- hooray!) and all rub at our chocolate congested bellies. AND I certainly contemplate how lucky we are to enjoy all this. Here's cheers bunny ears!

A New Chapter

How long is chapter?
Most of my time of late has been spent working on a novel. I have my plot, my setting, my characters etc.
I wrote out the first drafts of Chapters 1 and 2. I patted myself tentatively on the back. Now for the rest. Suddenly I was a bit nervous. Originally iI had written out chapter summaries for the whole book. About 18 chapters. That looked pretty good! However after writing the first two chapters out things had got rather rearranged. Stuff had been plucked from farther afield and other things also added. Hence I felt less sure of where I was going: I'd packed a bag confidently for a journey only to find someone had gone through it removing things and swapping my pajamas for a rubber chicken.
It really threw me. I decided to do a more extensive summary of the rest of the book and tapped away for a few days. I finished the task. I should have been pleased but instead I was devastated. My entire story was only 6 chapters long! After the shock wore off and I ate some soul strengthening chocolate , I went back to look at my work again. I realised that I was trying to fit too much into a chapter. There was enough stuff there for at least 10 chapters and an afterward. The whole exercise got me thinking about chapter length. How long is a chapter anyway? We've all read those half page ones, right up to those ones you can only get half way through at one sitting- you know you look a few pages ahead to give yourself a target before your eyes fall out and Flick, Flick, Flick you turn 20 pages to find the eventual chapter end and promptly give up for the day stuffing the book mark in in disgust.
But was there rules? Were people just making up their own? I Googled away doing research and there was lots of good advice and no real rules. In general it is suggested that a good place to end one chapter is:
A cliffhanger
Worry- the main character is worrying about something.
A change in time or place or character
A surprise
A threat
The beginning of a major moment
An emotional moment
A major statement/powerful dialogue

That was all good food for thought. At the moment my story is Swiss cheesed with some chapters and a lot of chapter breaks. I'm getting the cheese knife out right now to do some deft chopping.
And then looking at all my food comments, I'd best have some brekky!

Basket of Goodies

For me , going for a walk is as good as going shopping with a basket on my arm, to the story tidbit shop.
This morning by the end of my walk I had these in my mental bag: Looking up at the sky I saw a moth fly over my head, a bird higher up fly over it and above them all a plane. They all crisscrossed on different levels in that second I looked up- an amazing treat!
Walking past houses I smell lovely shampoos, deodorants (male and female), coffee. I smell cigarettes and car exhaust. I stop and talk to a neighbour for a moment, trying to discreetly hold a bag of warm squashy dog-poo (yes, gross!) by my side. A toddler in pajamas greets me from his front lawn( "He-woh.") Dogs call from behind gates and fences- " Good morning!" " Go away, you're trespassing!" "Can I come for a walk too?!" The golden autumn sunlight gives even the shabbiest tree a glowing aura. I notice an abundance of purple and blue flowers in bloom. March = Purple? I see students swarming from every street to catch the bus and catch up on gossip.
I get home after only 15 or 20 minutes, my legs are stretched, my mind is stretched and it's all systems ready to be planted in a seat and set about some writing.

Nuts and Snorkels

Every time it starts to rain or simply drops ten degrees and get cloudy, a wave of excitement puts cosmic sand in my cossie bottoms and I have to sit down and write. I just lurve Autumn. It's my favourite season- no surprise there as most nut's ripen in Autumn! But it's just so good for bum-glue to seat value. That and I'm just loving writing anyway. Love the world I'm writing about, my characters etc to bits. It's a pleasure spending time with them, uncovering them.
The only bad bit is, it's rather antisocial. This has some odd effects on me. For instance I find myself getting dressed up to pick up the kids from school. Hey that is my social life! Also, if I do actually meet up with a real walking breathing human, I practically gobble them up with excitement. Very scary for alarmed individual. One person I saw recently who is normally very funny, was a bit tired on the time I saw them. And frighteningly I remember thinking 'Oh for goodness sake, wake up a bit, this is my human contact time here and your putting on a poor show.' I know. Very rude. But my subconscious hasn't the nicest manners at times.
It's a pleasure to spend so long in a great fantasy world, but I like to keep at least a snorkel in reality. I'll try and work on a less manic snorkel.