David Roy's Blog, page 10
December 10, 2021
Speechless
For some reason I put the TV on this morning to see debate between a young man of twenty-one and a lady of, perhaps, seventy in which the former was telling the latter that they should keep working because it cost so much to look after the elderly. Where do they find these people? I suppose it makes good 'telly'.
I'm not retired - I work from home. It's a strange life but I wouldn't swap back. I still get up at 0730 and work until tea time but I can fit other things into my day. For now, I am barely writing because I have so much proofreading and editing to do but these new books of mine can wait.
I imagined myself writing in a garret in Italy overlooking a lake, drinking coffee and contemplating the world. It's not like that. But it is good. For all those years of wilderness writing, I never called myself a writer but now I can legitimately describe myself as such.
I'm not retired - I work from home. It's a strange life but I wouldn't swap back. I still get up at 0730 and work until tea time but I can fit other things into my day. For now, I am barely writing because I have so much proofreading and editing to do but these new books of mine can wait.
I imagined myself writing in a garret in Italy overlooking a lake, drinking coffee and contemplating the world. It's not like that. But it is good. For all those years of wilderness writing, I never called myself a writer but now I can legitimately describe myself as such.
December 9, 2021
Morning World
I had my booster jab yesterday and my arm is very sore as a result. I'd rather have that than coronavirus, though. That shouldn't be a contentious statement but somehow the opposition to vaccines is very vocal.
When I went to the Gulf in 1990/1991 (pull up a sandbag) I was given a range of vaccinations against yellow fever, anthrax, malaria and some others. Some people became ill as a result and this mix of vaccines has been implicated as a possible cause or contributary factor in Gulf War Syndrome.
I don't know the truth of the matter but it is worth noting that vaccinations are given with the best of intentions. I wrote about this in my first book, at the time called, 'Sun, Sand and the Sergeant-major' and renamed and rewritten since. It insulted so many people that I could never publish it now. If nothing else it got me started on the road to literary mediocrity. but is has been a long road and full of potholes.
When I went to the Gulf in 1990/1991 (pull up a sandbag) I was given a range of vaccinations against yellow fever, anthrax, malaria and some others. Some people became ill as a result and this mix of vaccines has been implicated as a possible cause or contributary factor in Gulf War Syndrome.
I don't know the truth of the matter but it is worth noting that vaccinations are given with the best of intentions. I wrote about this in my first book, at the time called, 'Sun, Sand and the Sergeant-major' and renamed and rewritten since. It insulted so many people that I could never publish it now. If nothing else it got me started on the road to literary mediocrity. but is has been a long road and full of potholes.
December 8, 2021
Sleep
I sleep badly. Often my mind is full of ideas for books and often it is just a jumble of thoughts. I wake at some point during the night and have great ideas for my Goodreads' blog which I have forgotten about by the morning. Today is an example of that.
The author, Christopher Booker once said that there are seven basic story types. All I can say is that he obviously didn't read Goebbels' War Diaries.
The author, Christopher Booker once said that there are seven basic story types. All I can say is that he obviously didn't read Goebbels' War Diaries.
December 6, 2021
Recommendations
If you like whodunnit/Scandi-noir thrillers then I would recommend The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse and My Name is Jensen by Heidi Amsinck.
Neither of these write for Hobart books by the way, unlike Robert Chandler and Judy Upton. The former has written Rosary Road which is part police procedural and part supernatural thriller. Judy Upton's Out Of The Frying Pan is a cosy crime caper.
Any of the books mentioned would make excellent presents this Christmas...hint, hint
Neither of these write for Hobart books by the way, unlike Robert Chandler and Judy Upton. The former has written Rosary Road which is part police procedural and part supernatural thriller. Judy Upton's Out Of The Frying Pan is a cosy crime caper.
Any of the books mentioned would make excellent presents this Christmas...hint, hint
December 5, 2021
Resilience
You need resilience to be a writer but before you get to that point you need a few other things.
Firstly, you need to have a story to tell. If you don't, whether it's fact or fiction, you might as well not start your book.
Secondly, you need to be able to write well. If your writing style hasn't progressed beyond Yr7 English, 'What I did in the summer holidays', then you are unlikely to write a good book.
Thirdly, you need the discipline to write the book. If you write five hundred words a day, you'll have your book completed in less than six months. If you write less than that and only occasionally add to your story it might never get finished and you will probably lose the thread of the story.
If you can manage all that, then you need resilience because your new pride and joy will be one of tens of thousands looking for a publisher. It's not easy.
Firstly, you need to have a story to tell. If you don't, whether it's fact or fiction, you might as well not start your book.
Secondly, you need to be able to write well. If your writing style hasn't progressed beyond Yr7 English, 'What I did in the summer holidays', then you are unlikely to write a good book.
Thirdly, you need the discipline to write the book. If you write five hundred words a day, you'll have your book completed in less than six months. If you write less than that and only occasionally add to your story it might never get finished and you will probably lose the thread of the story.
If you can manage all that, then you need resilience because your new pride and joy will be one of tens of thousands looking for a publisher. It's not easy.
Formula
Books generally have a formula - tried, trusted and often over-used. The notable exception would be Catch 22 which has a very unusual structure. Alistair Maclean definitely had a formula in his books. His secret agent would, at some point, realise he'd been barking up the wrong metaphorical tree and spend some time castigating himself before re-setting and getting to the root of the matter.
The same happens in TV: the good guy tied to a chair, the underground carpark shoot out, the rooftop chase, the mystery in the basement, the person left for dead who actually returns to save the day... All of these I can cope with even if they do elicit a groan of weary recognition from me.
What I hate is the trend in British TV police dramas for unremitting anger from the protagonists. The world weary DCI shouts at the inspector who is dragging his feet, who in turn shout at the sergeant with the troubled past (gambling debts, bereavement, divorce - take your pick) and so on down the line.
The thing is, life just isn't like that. There is humour, compassion, stillness in most situations. I try to incorporate that into my writing but perhaps I need to use the formula instead.
'More anger please.'
The same happens in TV: the good guy tied to a chair, the underground carpark shoot out, the rooftop chase, the mystery in the basement, the person left for dead who actually returns to save the day... All of these I can cope with even if they do elicit a groan of weary recognition from me.
What I hate is the trend in British TV police dramas for unremitting anger from the protagonists. The world weary DCI shouts at the inspector who is dragging his feet, who in turn shout at the sergeant with the troubled past (gambling debts, bereavement, divorce - take your pick) and so on down the line.
The thing is, life just isn't like that. There is humour, compassion, stillness in most situations. I try to incorporate that into my writing but perhaps I need to use the formula instead.
'More anger please.'
December 4, 2021
Cold
Today, I have a cold. Not man flu, just a cold. However, despite slight discomfort, I will write my usual blog. I can't let my adoring fans down.
Another book which made a great impression on me as a young fellow, was Catch 22. It seemed like a quite wonderful piece of writing. Years later, I read it again and it left me cold. It's still a brilliant piece of work but as an adult its appeal had gone.
I recently bumped into a colleague from the last school I worked at. She said that reading this blog she'd expected to see some mention of the school. I will mention it now because I don't think I did previously. It was a school for children who had, for one reason or another, lost their way. Everything I had ever learned as a teacher, suddenly became redundant and I proved to be an absolutely hopeless teacher for these young people.
Luckily, Hobart Books came along and saved me... but not before my reputation had been reduced to tatters.
Another book which made a great impression on me as a young fellow, was Catch 22. It seemed like a quite wonderful piece of writing. Years later, I read it again and it left me cold. It's still a brilliant piece of work but as an adult its appeal had gone.
I recently bumped into a colleague from the last school I worked at. She said that reading this blog she'd expected to see some mention of the school. I will mention it now because I don't think I did previously. It was a school for children who had, for one reason or another, lost their way. Everything I had ever learned as a teacher, suddenly became redundant and I proved to be an absolutely hopeless teacher for these young people.
Luckily, Hobart Books came along and saved me... but not before my reputation had been reduced to tatters.
December 3, 2021
Books
I read very little in the way of children's literature when growing up. Instead, I read about cars, motorbikes, aeroplanes, soldiers et cetera. I soon took to reading Jack Higgins, Len Deighton, Ed McBain, Alistair Maclean, Frederick Forsyth, Lesley Thomas, each one gifted and entertaining but in different ways.
Jack Higgins writes pulp thrillers with rough diamond characters and plenty of action. Len Deighton's novels are slower paced and more nuanced. His spy novels are superb but it was his wartime stories which really grabbed me; Goodbye Mickey Mouse and Bomber. Reading these I was astonished at how he took a complex situation, which he had not experienced personally and wrote about it with precision and conviction.
Ed McBain's police procedurals, set in the fictional US city of Isola, are character-led, and the characters in question are so good that you could happily read about them in the absence of an actual plot.
Tomorrow, I will continue with this rich seam of recollections.
Jack Higgins writes pulp thrillers with rough diamond characters and plenty of action. Len Deighton's novels are slower paced and more nuanced. His spy novels are superb but it was his wartime stories which really grabbed me; Goodbye Mickey Mouse and Bomber. Reading these I was astonished at how he took a complex situation, which he had not experienced personally and wrote about it with precision and conviction.
Ed McBain's police procedurals, set in the fictional US city of Isola, are character-led, and the characters in question are so good that you could happily read about them in the absence of an actual plot.
Tomorrow, I will continue with this rich seam of recollections.
December 2, 2021
Other writers
I like thrillers mainly but in the past I have read books of many different genres. Spy novels, I never quite understood; the plots were beyond my tiny brain. I also tried reading some of the modern classics from the likes of John Steinbeck but they weren't really for me.
I read Lord of the Rings twice. On a third attempt I got half-way through and gave up. Why read the same book three times? I read Conrad's Lord Jim and forced myself to finish it. Not my cup of tea, it did contain one line which stuck with me. Describing the manner in which one of the character's spoke, Conrad wrote that he had learned English by reading a dictionary compiled by a lunatic. Brilliant.
Spike Milligan's war memoirs I have read over and over again. In describing a long NAAFI queue in Italy he says that the people at the front of the queue were from WW1. Again, a brilliant line but one of many in his case.
Nietzsche's Also Sprach Zarathustra is the only book that I have given up on. I think he might have been the person described by Conrad...
The Collected Works of Edgar Allen Poe were a disappointment. I am on hiatus with that one - four years to date.
Tomorrow, if I remember, I will talk more about the books I do like.
I read Lord of the Rings twice. On a third attempt I got half-way through and gave up. Why read the same book three times? I read Conrad's Lord Jim and forced myself to finish it. Not my cup of tea, it did contain one line which stuck with me. Describing the manner in which one of the character's spoke, Conrad wrote that he had learned English by reading a dictionary compiled by a lunatic. Brilliant.
Spike Milligan's war memoirs I have read over and over again. In describing a long NAAFI queue in Italy he says that the people at the front of the queue were from WW1. Again, a brilliant line but one of many in his case.
Nietzsche's Also Sprach Zarathustra is the only book that I have given up on. I think he might have been the person described by Conrad...
The Collected Works of Edgar Allen Poe were a disappointment. I am on hiatus with that one - four years to date.
Tomorrow, if I remember, I will talk more about the books I do like.
December 1, 2021
Christmas
The meaning of Christmas is surely lost for most people. Sadly, that includes me. It would be nice if it remained the season of goodwill even for those who don't believe in the religious aspect of it but goodwill isn't generally an all-encompassing blanket of compassion. Rather it takes the form of isolated and often unexpected acts of kindness.
This is the first Christmas where I've had something to sell and waiting until December is leaving it a little late in that context. All the same, it pains me to see the commercial preparations begin in October or earlier.
However, it IS December now and I would politely request that you have a look at the goods on offer from Hobart Books.
https://www.hobartbooks.com/
Make someone smile with a book this Christmas...
Right, that's enough of that.
This is the first Christmas where I've had something to sell and waiting until December is leaving it a little late in that context. All the same, it pains me to see the commercial preparations begin in October or earlier.
However, it IS December now and I would politely request that you have a look at the goods on offer from Hobart Books.
https://www.hobartbooks.com/
Make someone smile with a book this Christmas...
Right, that's enough of that.
