Kaaron Warren's Blog, page 12

Woman Train

My story “Woman Train” appears online at Cosmos Magazine as of today, along with an interview about the story, and about my name, and about squatting, bird-obsessed men.

Refreshing the Wells 10

Just to be clear, all this stuff I’m doing isn’t for the sake of writing/inspiration/refreshing anything at all. I’m reading/watching/listening because this is the stuff that fascinates me, that sucks me in and keeps me interested. Side benefit; stories form.

 

 

Today it’s “Plague’s Progress, A Social History of Man and Disease”. Written by Arno Karlen, my son and I are reading it for his assignment, and it is full of good stuff.

There’s the story of the crew of The Unicorn, in 1619 (and already I’m thinking, “Unicorns? Then?”). 61 of the 64 crewmembers died  “agonising deaths”. Recently, it’s been decided they died because they ate raw polar bear meat, which was considered a delicacy.

 

That’s a single paragraph in this book!

 

Here’s Leife Shallcross:

“I use music a lot. Not so much when I write, but as a way of generating ideas. The way the vocals and instruments shape the melody is always good for setting mood or creating character. A rhythm might evoke a gang of highwaymen on horseback, or a troupe of mechanical ballerinas.

“I also get a lot of inspiration when getting to know new music with lyrics, when half the time I have no idea what the lyrics are, but my brain is just making stuff up to go with the music. A mis-heard lyric is a great source of unlikely and evocative combinations of words!”

 

I asked Leife what her current mondegreen is!

 

She said, “Currently I’m playing with ‘rumour thief’ from a Florence & the Machine album. I have no idea what the actual lyric is!”

 

 

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Here’s Ian McHugh:

“Music! I listen to music a lot, and I find it has a really powerful effect on my mental state, like taking drugs through my ears. I use it as a pick-me-up, or to settle my mind, or help myself concentrate, or drive myself along when I’m running or cycling. Running to the top of Mount Ainslie, near my house, with fast loud music in the earbuds exacerbating my tinnitus puts me on top of the world.

“As a consequence, music is also a really great tool for getting myself in the right headspace to write. To borrow your metaphor, I guess I use music to keep topping up the well whiling I’m drawing from it. If I have a very clear idea of the mood I want to capture in a story or a scene, I’ll often put on music that fits the mood I’m reaching for, so I’m refilling myself with that mood at the same time as I’m pouring it out of me into the story. Over the years, I’ve built up a whole catalogue of ‘go to’ songs and pieces of music to suit particular story moments.

“For example, my favourite track when writing the big hero moment at the climax of a story is “Rez/Cowgirl” by Underworld. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FYs9t... I *never* get tired of that track.

“Sometimes the right music isn’t the most immediately obvious choice, and I have to go hunting to find what I’m looking for. Writing the final battle at the end of my story “Bitter Dreams”, where the townsfolk brutally slaughter a whole herd of demonically possessed cannibals, the music that eventually nailed the moment for me was “Any Other Name” by Thomas Newman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIjWaulrLjs Yes, that’s the music from American Beauty.

“Once the story or scene is happening for me, I’ll listen through a playlist of similar-feeling songs to the one I started on. But if I’m really having to work hard for a scene, I’ll just keep that same perfect song on repeat until I’m either sick of it or the scene is starting to come through how I want it.

“On reflection, I think my brain is more of a leaky bucket than an actual well, and so I have to constantly refill it with the thought/mood/feeling I want to hold in my head. And if I’m struggling to get started writing – if I’m finding it hard to concentrate, feeling flat or just can’t find the next line of the story to get moving again – then music will often give me a jump-start, or a quick fill-up.

“Today, I did the City 2 Sea, the Melbourne version of the City 2 Surf. It was a bit of a shambles, because the past two nights I’d gone out with the friends I’m staying with, rolled out of bed this morning on 4 hours sleep with a hangover and expected to be able to go hard for 14 km. Yeah, no. I has a lesson in how very much I’m not 25 anymore. Maybe better to say the City 2 Sea did me today. Anyway, this afternoon, after a few hours in an exhausted heap on the couch letting the cricket on TV melt my brain, I decided that dammit I was going to do some writing. Just a matter of picking the right music to fill up my leaky brainbucket, and off I went. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsDpznl8eIs Booyah! “

 

Speaking of music, today I’m going to play The Planets, by Holst. I need to brainstorm something in particular, and I’m hoping this music will help.

Refreshing the Wells 8

I was trying to track down the origin of a picture in a book I found at a fete on the weekend. The book is The Eye of War, and the picture was titled “The God of War looks at his handiwork – bomb damage to a Paris mansion.”

I haven’t found the picture online yet, but my search led me to this remarkable collection of war photos from the French Ministry of Defense.

 

Here’s Gillian Polack:

“I talk to strangers. You caught me in the act, yesterday. (Kaaron: I collected Gillian for our day of fetes and found her chatting to a woman on the steps in front of her apartment) We’d covered wearing hair rollers in semi-public, where it’s OK to smoke, how smokers network in the public service, how children of today don’t understand the pressure to take up smoking when we were their age (we reminisced about the Winfield ad!), what makes a good meeting place and a whole heap more things.”

 

I’d love to hear more examples of ‘refreshing the wells’. Comment here, or email me, and I’ll post your example in the following days.

Refreshing the Wells 7

 

Here’s Tade Thompson:

 

“I have a ritual for refreshing.

1. Visit to the National Portrait Gallery in London (or sometimes the British Museum, it varies). Visual imagery unclogs the pipes for me.

2. Immediately after the visit I get a massive sheet of paper (A1 or A2) and spill either Indian Ink or thinned acrylic paint in Pollockesque splashes which may transmogrify into doodles or sentences.

3. The next stage is to leaf through the complete works of Shakespeare and read random passages out loud. Sometimes I just copy out the Shakespeare and I’ll start writing my own stuff immediately after.

It never fails.”

 

Living in Canberra, I’m lucky to have access to the Art Gallery, the Portrait Gallery, the War Memorial and the National Library. I was at the Library yesterday, for the closure of the Year of Reading, which including a wonderful speech by our Governer General, Quentin Bryce. She described reading to her grandchildren; her sitting in large armchair, the children spilling all over her.  The whole audience sighed with delight!

I took the chance while there to visit the Manuscript Room, and gain access to some papers from 1827. Wow. I didn’t have time to (attempt to) read all the letters and ‘orders for boots’ , so will go back tomorrow. But to be able to see the handwriting of a person I’m researching is so inspiring. It brings that person to life.

Refreshing the Wells 6

Last night I watched the documentary ‘Into the Abyss’, by Werner Herzog, exploring the lives of two murderers on death row. You can watch it here, for a little while at least.

There was much about it that was disturbing, but one thing struck me more than anything else. A relative of one of the victims attended the execution of one of the men. She says, “He looks at us, and he says, ‘I forgive you.’ “

She touches her chest. Her voice drops to a whisper. “He forgave US.”

I thought, “You are filled with horror.” I’ve used those words before, but this woman sat there, truly filled with horror.

Here’s Dawn Meredith:

“I find walking our two border collies replenishes me, as does coffees with my pals and gardening. It has everything really – invigorating digging (if you want) or the excitement of planting out something new and watching it grow. The gentleness of the daily nurture seeps into my head, soothing the savage beast within. The rhythms of walking seems to help unlock things in my head and relaxes my body too. I often meet people or see things which spark off ideas or just reinforce my part in this lovely community. I believe getting back to nature, being in the natural environment in some way, is vital for us as humans and something we can easily overlook while we’re tearing around getting things done. I started a blog for daily thoughts a couple of weeks ago. would be interested in what you think of it. I wanted to express things which didn’t seem to fit my writing blog, which has lots of kid traffic too. http://notetoselfdailythoughts.blogspot.com.au/

On my most recent walk I particularly noticed sounds – the dog collars jingling, the old girl’s back claws scraping on the concrete path as she got tired, a chainsaw, kids getting ready for school, shouting to each other to get in the car etc., even the sound of my own breathing as the path became steep on ‘heartbreak corner’, the train brakes whistling gently as they’re released and the train moves out of the station, dogs barking messages to each other as i walked up their street. I guess it’s easy to focus upon the sights and feelings when you’re writing a scene, but sometimes a single sound can convey so much more.”

Refreshing the Wells 5

Today I’m refreshing the wells by flicking through a truly apalling magazine.

 

Called “The Wide World. The True Adventure Magazine for Men” and published in 1958, the cover had three men in grass skirts, wearing scary masks. This story is called “Sacrifice to the Forest God”.  It’s about a man’s trek into the heart of French West Africa, and how he finds the ‘dreaded Guelamai’ tribe.

There’s another story, about the Foreign Legion, with a picture of naked ‘savages, shrieking their blood-curdling battle-cries”

 

Apart from these, the stories do seem rather exciting, but it’s hard to get over the nature of the story-telling.

 

It’s a bizarre insight into what seems to be another world.

 

 

Here’s Jo Anderton:

“Words are awesome things, I think we can agree on that. But you know, sometimes I feel like I’m just surrounded by them. TV, radio, internet, phone, people on buses, signs inside buses, signs on the back of buses, billboards, street signs, meetings, skyping, loud neighbours, words words words! You know what I’ve found really refreshing? To wash them all away. Go somewhere without words or — and I’ve only just learned this — somewhere where you can’t understand them.

 

The middle of nowhere is a brilliant place. It’s even better if you get there on horseback. A small Japanese town or a silent Sri Lankan ruin is pretty damned good too.

 

It’s like a rinse for the brain, cleansing away all the words that have been piling up on the old grey matter, cluttering it, burying it. Stagnating it. That way, the new words can grow.

 

I just wish I did it more often. Maybe I should.”

 

Refreshing the Wells 4

It isn’t always about finding ideas for stories. Sometimes it’s about adding depth to a story you are working on. Looking for the layers that will make it breathe.

 

Here’s Nicole Murphy:

 

“I love the weird little things that I spot out on my walks from time to time. Like today on the path was a half-foot length of thick rope, tied with knots at both ends. I’m guessing it’s a dog toy but… why is it lying on the path? Did the owner throw and the dog not fetch? Why? Or maybe it was tossed over the fence nearby, a distraught person getting rid of the last reminder of a beloved pet lost…

When you look, and allow yourself to think, there’s inspiration everywhere.”

 

That dog rope may mean your main character is a dog lover. Or hater. Did they have dogs as a child? Are they living somewhere they can’t have a dog now? This stuff doesn’t have to be plot-changing, and maybe won’t end up in the final draft, but it can give you a better understanding of the character and of the direction your story might take.

 

Place is the same. Finding small details to bring a setting alive. Today I refreshed the wells by going to a bunch of fetes. To be honest, I’ll go to a fete even when the well is full and I’ve got 400 litres stored in the shed. But still: Gillian Polack and I went to four fetes, each one with a different mood, a different sense. Peopled by different volunteers. Each fete smelled different, sold different items. One was an established church. One was a school for vulnerable and disadvantaged children. One was a long-established primary school. And one was a retirement villages. Noting the differences was interesting, and may help inform a future story.

Refreshing the Wells 3

I’m refreshing the wells today by dipping into The Oxford Dictionary of Allusions. Topics include Conformity, Seducers and Male Lovers, Wholesomeness and the one that has taken my attention, Immobility. Those who have been immobilised are Daphne, Gulliver, Joshua and the Tin Man.

As I’m working on a story which carries some characters who are almost immobilised this is interesting indeed.

I am particularly disturbed by the story of Daphne, who was turned into a tree to protect her from Apollo’s unwanted pursuit thus punishing the victim most clearly. I have a Daphne bush in my backyard which flowers briefly but with great intensity.

 

I want more more more examples of refreshing the wells! Comment here or email me, and I’ll post the next day.

 

From Cat Sheely:

 

“I’ve recently been on a 3 week trip to outback Australia – Echuca, Ouyen, Burra in Vic and SA and then Broken Hill and Cobar in NSW. The people, landscape and the old pubs we stayed at, the old miners stories and so on have really inspired several ideas.

Like Alan, I walk daily and again, little things like a strange bird call, people grouped on the beach and so on seem to inspire ideas.

This morning it’s raining and dreary but the colours of the trees and shrubs really stand out making me think of hyper-reality and perception. So I started a new story.”

Refreshing the Wells 2

I’m refreshing the wells today by losing myself in “Free Settler or Felon”. It gathers many of the available written sources about early white settlers in Australia and provides no commentary, so we have wonderful lists of people’s endeavours, errors, marriages, other.

I’m fascinated by the pages, which show two separate Lesters having ‘unclaimed mail’ at the Post Office.

 

Yesterday, Alan Baxter wrote:

“I find one of the best well-refreshing things for me is to walk the dog. Get outside, get into nature, watch people who might be around. It’s very invigorating.”

When I asked him for specifics, he said, “Yesterday at the headland where we often walk, in the car park, was a battered old campervan. There was a guy about 50, who looked like a 70s rock band survivor, and two late teen kids. My best guess was that he was the estranged father, and the kids were taking a holiday with him for some together time.

Kids were well-dressed, clearly more moneyed than the dad, the girl a bit gothy, the boy a bit skater-punk. They had this extremely familiar yet slightly uncomfortable air about them, like they all realised the value of the time they had together, but weren’t entirely sure how to make the best of it.

Absolutely fascinating dynamic going on.

Of course, I could be totally wrong. The older guy might have abducted them and was about to install them as avatars in his suicide cult and drive to the outback for a sacrificial ritual. Anything’s possible.”

 

I’d love to hear from others, too. If you post in the comments, I’ll post your source of refreshment the next day.