Chris Lee Jones's Blog: On Writing and Not Writing

Review of 'We' by Yevgeny Zamyatin

I discovered this book through some articles in the BSFA Vector journal. I was surprised that I had never heard of it, because I have read '1984' and 'Brave New World' (both of which were influenced by 'We') and I enjoy a bit of SF dystopia. This was first published in 1924, after the manuscript had been smuggled out of Russia. I found the writing style hard going, with metaphors piled upon metaphors, but it's certainly worthy of at least three stars for its originality and bravery, given the place and time it was written. The central tenet of totalitarian regimes - that freedom and happiness are mutually exclusive - is well explored. The 'operation' that is forced upon every citizen is quite chilling, and the book is ultimately a celebration of human imagination and a warning against those who might seek to oppress it. In summary, not as readable as the masterpieces it inspired, but recommended for serious SF enthusiasts.

Review of Shirley Jackson's 'We Have Always Lived in the Catle'

Shirley Jackson is slowly becoming one of my favorite authors. I loved 'The Haunting of Hill House' and have read quite a few of her short stories, and bought 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' despite the slightly uninteresting blurb. This is widely regarded as her masterpiece and is the last novel she wrote. I thought it was brilliant; a clever, memorable and honestly faultless piece of dark fiction. Very manipulative too; instilling reader sympathy with the two sisters despite their sinister past is quite an achievement. Merricat is a fascinating narrator: funny, sadistic, strange, unreliable, she is oddly likeable. Uncle Julian is interesting, as is the house itself. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys subtle horror, witchcraft, and an all-pervading sense that something is very 'off'.

Write what you don't know

One of the most common pieces of advice for new writers is to "write what you know". I think this was originally intended to encourage authors to put some of their own experience into their stories, to add authenticity. This makes sense, and I have done it myself from time to time. However, the advice seems to have recently evolved into something much more restrictive, i.e. "write only what you know".
I would encourage new writers out there to do the opposite and "write what you don't know", because it's a lot more fun!
Writing, just like reading, should be a form of escapism. I am a schoolteacher by profession, and would balk at the prospect of coming home after a tiring day and writing a story about the demands of teaching.
Through writing, I aim to come out of myself, explore the utterly different and unexpected. I don't want to write about characters like me (no offense to myself!) so I generally have protagonists in my story that are a different gender, race, sexuality, or even species!
I think this works, because when I write what I don't know, less of me leaks out from between the lines, and that's probably a good thing!

Such a weird hobby

Writing is a weird hobby, and one that I feel reluctant to admit to. I wonder why that is? I have other hobbies, for instance playing guitar and reading, that I can freely admit to and can talk about in a relaxed manner, so why does writing feel like such a covert activity to me? I have been pondering this a lot recently, and have come up with a few ideas.
Firstly, I don't think many people perceive writing to be a hobby. It is usually assumed that the reason you write is that you want to be the next J.K.Rowling or Stephen King (I wish!) and make a great living out of it. In this sense, admitting to a writing hobby is almost an admission of failure; weighing all the hours I've spent doing it against the financial gain from it suggests that I have been 'wasting time'. I have spent about four hours a week for the last ten years or so writing so that's a lot of wasted time!
Secondly, if I were to open up about my hobby, then the inevitable question of 'What are you working on at the moment?' would come up. And I would have very little to say, because I never like to give more than a few vague sentences about my works in progress.
Am I embarrassed about my writing hobby? Perhaps. Will I keep writing? Of course I will - for the pure distraction and enjoyment of it, and for the quiet satisfaction that I have created something out of nothing.
Now, I must go and work on that thing I have been working on...