where i’m from

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crayola, dock tower, George Ella Lyons, mama kat, new writing, poetry, where I'm from

This writing exercise is based on the original poem ‘Where I’m From’ by George Ella Lyons. It was prompted by Mama Kat and if you click on her name, you will be directed to her writer’s workshop where a template is available for you to try it out for yourself. If you write your own poem, be sure to add the link to your post in the comments section below.

Where I’m From

I am from rag dolls my mother made, from Crayola crayon sets, from ducks and chickens in the yard.

I am from the many homes I lived in, each with yellowing, multiplying spider plants hanging from sideboards (I hate those plants now).

I am from an oak tree in the park, daisies, ponds, the kumquat tree, proteus and veldt.

I am from family parties and drunkenness, from my brother, auntie and I sneaking down the stairs on Christmas Eve.

I am from the smoky living rooms and late nights at the weekend.

From the woods where the fairies live, and land of the Tokoloshe.

I am from my father who used to argue with a vicar friend about the absurdity of Christianity, and my mother who used to be a Sunday school teacher.

I’m from a fishing town, from fishermen and herring girls, from dock towers, lighthouses and forts, from fish and chips.

From the great, great grandfather who was marooned on a desert island, the grandparents who were evacuated as children in World War II, and the brother who fought in Kosovo.

I am from box of photographs that are slightly blackened from the fire the year my first daughter was born.

wordless wednesday ~ t.s. eliot

tuesday’s poem: sylvia plath ~ mad girl’s love song

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a level, english literature, mad girl's love song, poetry, sylvia plath, villanelle, writing

When I was sixteen my A level English Literature teacher introduced me to the poetry of Sylvia Plath. I was enthralled my her words and perhaps, as a teenager, more attracted to the angst than the structure or form. But by the end of the academic year I was searching for poetry of all forms, appreciating the rhythms and cadences as well as the content. Among her structured poems, her villanelle ‘Mad Girl’s Love Song’ is one of my favourite.

Mad Girl’s Love Song, by Sylvia Plath

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,
And arbitrary blackness gallops in:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed
And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

God topples from the sky, hell’s fires fade:
Exit seraphim and Satan’s men:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I fancied you’d return the way you said,
But I grow old and I forget your name.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

I should have loved a thunderbird instead;
At least when spring comes they roar back again.
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)”

tuesday’s poem: edward dowden ~ in september

"Spring scarce had greener fields to show than these
Of mid September; through the still warm noon
The rivulets ripple forth a gladder tune
Than ever in the summer; from the trees
Dusk-green, and murmuring inward melodies
No leaf drops yet; only our evenings swoon
In pallid skies more suddenly, and the moon
Finds motionless white mists out on the leas."
-  Edward Dowden, In September

identity as a writer (or lack thereof)

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A215, Creative Writing, feminism, new writing, novel, novel writing, of figs and bougainvillea, Open University, stay at home mothers, writer's identity, writing

What is the feature that identifies someone as a writer? Does keeping a journal each day mean you are a writer? Does writing a novel but not having it published make you a writer? In the wider community, are you judged as a writer once you are holding a book in your hands with your name across the spine?

As a mother who chose to halt her career as a business analyst in order to raise her three children, I am often asked ‘what do you do?’ When I answer that I am a stay-at-home Mother, I get ‘what job will you be going into once you’ve finished maternity leave?’ Erm. None. I’m a stay-at-home Mother. Then my favourite line of all … ‘I couldn’t not work, I wouldn’t want to be identified as just a mother.’

I want to say to these people, ‘I’m a writer, I’m writing a novel, I’ve written and completed a novel, I write poetry’, but, on the odd occasion that I have said this, the response is ‘have you been published … no? … oh’, and then the subject is changed to the weather. Or something equally banal. Also, being a full time Mother is a wonderful identity to have!

I chose to end my busy globe-trotting career so that I could stay at home to raise my children. I am proud that I did that, and, no, it wasn’t the easier option: being a mother is hard work. I am also a writer. I practice my art daily. Yet to be identified as a writer, people want to hold my book in their hands. I wrote my first novel nine years ago. It was a plot-driven YA story that lacked strength of character, yet it taught me an awful lot. Since then I have started (and abandoned) many novels, written poetry, kept journals, completed the A215 creative writing course with the Open University and have recently been writing short stories alongside writing my novel ‘Of Figs and Bougainvillea’.

In the online world, this is my identity. Here I can communicate with fellow writers, both published and unpublished. It seems that online whether you have been published or not doesn’t matter. What matters is the art itself and support is given from all kinds of writers, from those just starting out, to those with years of experience behind them. There is no snobbery, no ‘holier than thou’ attitude: those who have been published are still in the same position of writing their next book. I am fortunate to have a few ‘real life’ friends who are also writers and I’m sure that those feel the lack of identity amongst their peers sometimes too.

So over to you… do you identify yourself as a writer? Do your friends and family identify you as a writer, or do you feel that the online world is the only place you can be your true self? Please leave your comments below.

wordless wednesday

writers’ platform building campaign

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#writecampaign, amloki, Creative Writing, new writing, novel writing, rachael harrie, writers' platform-building campaign, writing, writing challenges

Today I am signing up to the Writers’ Platform Building Campaign, run by Rachael Harrie, a YA horror writer . This is her third campaign, and she describes it on her blog as “a way to link those of us in the writing community together with the aim of helping to build our online platforms. The Campaigners are all bloggers in a similar position, who genuinely want to pay it forward, make connections and friends within the writing community, and help build each others’ online platforms while at the same time building theirs.”

I first heard of the campaign the other day when I saw fellow twitter writers using the #writecampaign hashtag. I asked @damyantig (see her website at http://www.amloki.com/ ) what it’s all about and she was kind enough to send me the link to Rachael’s blog. What appeals to me is the opportunity to meet other writers and to make connections with bloggers who have a similar outlook in their writing life. Don’t get me wrong, I love twitter, I would never have found the Writers’ Platform Building Campaign without it, and I love meeting new friends through facebook, but this feels more intimate, more tangible and when I read what is involved in being a campaigner, I knew I had to sign up. So why don’t you click here and read all about it? The list of campaigners closes on August 31st – maybe I’ll see you there!

how to write a scene

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Creative Writing, how to write a scene, motivational reaction units, mru's, narrative arc, new writing, novel writing, of figs and bougainvillea, scene, scene arc, three act structure, writing

Every story we write or read has a narrative arc, usually consisting of a three act structure:

• Act I   – the beginning (set up),
• Act II  - the middle (confrontation),
• Act III – the end (resolution). 

Each act also has a narrative arc, meaning that Act I (the beginning) consists of a beginning, middle and end, as does Act II and Act III. The building blocks that carry us through these narratives are scenes, and yes, even scenes have narrative arcs – those that don’t are not often a complete scene.

The two levels of scene structure can be identified as large scale and small scale.

The large scale structure identifies two types of scene that are co-dependent:

1. The action scene that consists of sub-components goal, conflict and disaster,
2. The reaction scene/sequel that consists of sub-components reaction, dilemma and decision.

For example, in a scene in ‘Finding Nemo’, Marlin makes a decision to go over the ridge to continue his and Dory’s quest to find Nemo:

>

Action scene…

• goal – to get to the other side of the ridge,
• conflict – they encounter stinging jellyfish,
• disaster – Marlin makes it to the other side but Dory doesn’t. (See the cliffhanger here to move the story forward?)

Reaction scene…

• reaction – Marlin at first celebrates getting to the other side but then panics when he can’t see Dory.
• dilemma – there are more jelly fish – should he rescue Dory and risk his own life?
• decision – he decides to rescue Dory. (And see here how it pushes us to the next action scene, where the goal will be for Marlin to rescue Dory?)

The novel I am currently writing, Of Figs and Bougainvillea, is written in this way; the framework keeps the story moving and enables me to look at a scene that is not working and see if I have missed out one of the crucial building blocks.

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The small scale structure identifies two parts to a scene’s sub-component, called Motivational Reaction Units (MRU’s):

1. Motivation. This is objective and external. It describes what all of us can see of the scene sub-component. For example, in goal (above), what the ridge looks like to all of us, how far it is, why it is the best option.
2. Reaction. The is subjective and internal. It describes the character’s point of view. Continuing the example above, what Marlin feels about crossing the ridge, his reaction to the motivation, in this case, that it it looks clear and easy to cross.

~~~

This isn’t to say that a story needs to be outlined at scene level. These large scale structure and small scale structure guidelines may come in useful when trying to salvage a scene or chapter that isn’t quite working for either yourself, your beta or an editor. On the other hand, if you are a meticulous planner, you may well want to work within this framework.

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What do you think about scene structure? Have you used it? Would you use it? Would you find it too restrictive or do you think it would free those ideas that you have for a novel?  Do you use a different framework?

using yWriter – novel writing software

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Creative Writing, novel writing software, scrivener, simon haynes, snowflake method, spacejock, writing, writing a novel, yWriter

I have never used novel writing software before but began thinking about it when I found that my notes, in spite of meticulous organisation, were difficult to locate when I needed, for example, information about a particular character. As my ideas grew, so did my notes and information on one character would be scattered throughout numerous journals.

Enter yWriter. I had heard of Scrivener but I don’t own a Mac and I didn’t want to use the current beta version for wndows. Trawling the internet, I found yWriter, a novel writing software programme by Simon Haynes, an experienced programmer and published author. Not only did it sound appealing, but it was free to download. Yes, free! So I downloaded the software and checked it out. It was just what I was looking for.

yWriter is a database in which you collate information about your characters, locations, chapters, scenes….(view screenshot here). Once you have entered the basics, you start writing your novel into it. Using the snowflake method, I entered my novel outline into the project notes tab. I am using the three act structure, so I used act 1, act 2 and act 3 as my chapter headings, then added my scenes to each chapter. Each scene can be assigned as an action/reaction scene, assigned a point of view (selected from the character drop down list) and you can drag and drop your characters and locations in to each scene – fantastic for complicate story lines!

I had assumed that I would use yWriter solely for writing my drafts, but its outlining functionality has been extremely helpful. I can print off reports on characters, scenes, chapters, location, which characters are in which scene and much more. Also, if you have any difficulties using yWriter, there is a well utilised forum where you can post your questions and suggestions. I do not know Simon Haynes or have any affiliation with Spacejock Software, I just wanted to let share how great it is! Try it for yourself and if you find it useful, maybe donate a few £/$’s as I did.

Starting with the Snowflake Method

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beginning a novel, novel structure, novel writing, of figs and bougainvillea, pantser, randy ingermanson, snowflake method

Okay. So I have had the idea of a novel in my head for some years now. I have done the research and started the story so many times I can’t remember. But it is wasn’t working. Something wasn’t right. On numerous occasions I have decided against writing the damn thing but the story has always been there loitering in my head. Something had to be done. And that something was The Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson.

I had looked at this a few times and decided it was too basic. I didn’t need structure or organisation, I was a pantser: the novel would write itself because that’s how I wrote my first novel. But then my first novel is unpublished, and for good reason too – it is plot driven and the characters are flat. So, on the verge of giving up my novel altogether, I decided to give The Snowflake method a go.

I won’t explain how the method works, click on this link and read it from the creator, Randy Ingermanson. Writing my ideas down around a structural theme has worked. I have written my draft story synopsis, examined my characters, begun setting out my scenes, and suddenly everything I have had swirling around my brain the last few years is concrete. I know where to start and where I am going. Writing my first novel, I loved the thrill of discovery, when characters did things I wasn’t expecting, but I don’t think this method will destroy that. In fact, if anything, it may add more depth to the story as any discoveries about my characters will be at a deeper level. So why have I failed so far? Perhaps it’s because I spent too long thinking about the story that I couldn’t move forward. Perhaps it’s because I would edit every scene once I had finished it. My new philosophy is to write and not edit until the novel is finished and when I get stuck, to work on another scene rather than sit for days wondering how to change things. How about you? Are you a pantser or do you need structure?