Writing Tip 9 - Write with Love in Your Heart

Each character (if real enough) was once a baby, a small child, an adolescent (maybe they still are). Regardless of what terrible (or good) things a character might do as an adult, fully-fledged character in a work of fiction, I believe he or she will work best if the writer deeply understands the things in their life that have brought them to a certain point. In order to deeply understand something, my feeling is that it is best to approach with love (which is an open, accepting attitude) rather than with cynicism and judgement (which tends to close off possibility). The writing can still be gritty, edgy, unapologetic, if that's what is wanted, but along with that will be the sense of complexity that suggests a real person.

So this is my tip for this week. For fully rounded characters, aim to be better than tolerant. Fall in love with your characters - every last one of them. Judge the action, not the person. (Some clichés have an element of truth, n'est pas?) Help the characters to grow and learn, or to try, and fail, to grow and learn.

Writing prompt:

Choose your least favourite character. Imagine them (with your own strong maternal or paternal feeling of love and protection) as a newborn baby, then as a small child of three or four.

Create a deep history for them, significant, life-changing events that shaped the 'person' that they became. Try to really get inside the character's thoughts, feelings, and motivations.

Now sit back and think about what, if anything, might change in how they are currently portrayed in your manuscript.

A Tribute to our Canine Friends - Poetry by Taylor Graham

I love to go exploring, but recently it's been confined to some well-trodden paths on the internet - Radio National podcasts, Blogs of my fellow writers, TED, health websites when I'm feeling hypochondriacally inclined, and poetsonline. Poetsonline is a great site for people who want to stretch their poetry muscle. You might want to check it out if you'd like some inspiration to write a poem or two.

It was on poetsonline that I first came across the poetry of Taylor Graham. I'm not sure what it is about this poetry that drew me in each time I read her response to one or another prompt that the poetsonline site puts up on a monthly basis, but drew me in it did! Not so surprising, as it turns out. Seems she is a prolific and well-loved established poet.  Anyway, in my ignorance of this last fact, I followed her link and emailed her to ask if she had any publications. At that time she had something coming up, she told me a little about it, it sounded fascinating, so at my request she put me on the list to let me know when her new volume would be launched. That particular birth happened towards the end of last year, and I placed my order.

The big day arrived about a month ago. It's still exciting getting mail in the post that isn't a bill or an advertisement, isn't it? I opened my package to find two volumes - What the Wind Says, and Walking the Puppy. Wonderful! I sat down to read it straight away. I wasn't disappointed.

Now here's one very interesting thing about Taylor Graham. This writer has devoted her life for the last forty years to training her German Shepherds to find lost people. I've tried photographing the back cover of What the Wind Says so that the longer story of this is conveyed, but what the poetry conveys is a deep love and understanding between her dogs - all individual personalities - and owner/trainer Taylor Graham. In the process the partnership has found and helped to resolve countless missing persons cases. It has inspired the poetry that seems to live and breathe within the pages of these books.

In Taylor's own words: (page 3, What the Wind Says):

Over the years my dogs have shown me so many things: footprint of a missing woman; my lost car keys; sunrise over rimrock; the spot in river where a drowned man was wedged under rocks; snake's-eye view of manzanita thicket; crevice in a collapsed building where crews might dig to find a trapped woman, alive; two boys playing hooky; sudden screamer-vistas not meant for tourists.

 Walking the Puppy is a slim volume which is written about a cheeky and strong-willed German Shepherd puppy called Loki. The dedication says:

for Loki,

the pup who wasn't like any dog

we've ever known before;

and who, not fitting our expectations,

created her own

The poems are delightful.

I hope you will seek out the Lummox Press website and purchase one, or both of these poetry books.

Patricia Johnson's website

Book Length Project Group participant and occasional contributor to this blog, Pat Johnson, has launched a web page with Co-writer (of their current project Black River Red Sky) and Editor Lisa Litjens. You can read some of Pat's writing on this blog. Check this one out. It's very moving.

You can visit Pat and Lisa's site by clicking on the link here. We're hoping to have Lisa speak at the next meeting of the Book Length Project Group.

Writing tip 8 - Aim High

I am referring to the quality of the writing here.

To write something of length that is coherent and interesting is such a difficult thing to do that my feeling is, as writers we should aim to create the best work that we can. This means finding examples of other authors' work that inspires us. It means to read extensively, to be open to learning, and to keep developing proficiency in the craft.

So that is my little tip for this week. Aim high. Never accept second best from yourself. Once you have the first draft, work it, leave it aside, come back to it, work it some more, leave it aside, come back to it, work it some more, and don't stop until you feel really good about it.

For your opus it could take years. Years. But that's ok.

I realise this seems to contradict my last tip, but it's about alternating modes of working. I think.

Writing Prompt

Find a book or piece of writing that represents the best of the kind of work that you want to create. Read (or reread) it and take notes on how the author does what they do. Look at areas of your own work that require more, and try to apply what you have learnt.

Nice Interview about Leonard Cohen

If you want to hear a really nice interview with Sylvie Simmons, Leonard Cohen's biographer, check out the RN website here and download the podcast. If you are an admirer of the work of this wonderful writer, it is well worth a listen.

Another Great Blog from the Western Australian Writing Scene...

Ian Reid has recently launched a blog which reaches out to the writing community - in his own words: "where I share with you my books, literary opinions, related activities and incidental musings".

These are literary opinions and incidental musings well-worth following, I'd say. Ian has had a distinguished literary and academic career, and retains an adjunct professorial position in Humanities at the University of Western Australia.

He is the author of a dozen books (fiction, poetry, non-fiction) and editor of several more. He's written numerous literary reviews, critical essays, media articles and his writings have been have been widely published and translated into various languages. 

You can read more about him at his blog-site here, but more importantly, engage in discussion around the kinds things that are of interest to those who are serious about writing .

Within the last three years Ian has had two novels published by UWAP: The End of Longing (2011) and That Untravelled World (2012).

Australian Women Writers Challenge

In the last year and a bit I read and commented on a number of books by Australian women writers but did not officially enter this challenge. Those that I read included:
Amanda Curtin - The Sinkings, Elemental
Liz Byrski - In the Company of Strangers
Deborah Burrows - A Stranger in my Street
Kathy Lette - The Boy Who Fell to Earth
Rachel Robertson - Reaching One Thousand
Maureen-Helen - Other People's Country
Trisha Kotai-Ewers - Listen to the Talk of Us
Julienne van Loon - Harmless
Hannah Kent - Burial Rites
Susan Johnson - The Broken Book
I also read Susan Swingler's House of Fiction on an Australian subject and published by Fremantle Press, so I think that almost qualifies.

For 2014 I am making a commitment to read 10 books by Australian women writers, and review at least six of these. The books I will be reading will include:

Marlish Glorie - Sea Dog Hotel, Natasha Lester - What is Left Over After, If I Should Lose You, Annabel Smith - Whiskey, Charlie, Foxtrot, Lynn Allen - Illusion, Deborah Robertson - Careless... and others.

The reading list does not mean I will be concentrating exclusively on women writers, as 2013 included a lot of great books by blokes too, and writers from countries other than Australia, of course, but the challenge ensures that the gender skew in books reviewed in this country is shifted more towards the centre.

Reading inspires and enriches the writing process, and is fun to do. I have included links to the text mentioned above. Well worth checking out, if you haven't done so already.