Stuart Aken's Blog, page 305

Writing: 3000 Words in Two Sessions

The first session, before breakfast in bed with Valerie, took me to a little over 1800 words and again moved the story on apace. After the usual morning jobs, we saw the weather forecast for tomorrow and decided our walk would be more pleasant today. And, pleasant it was, though we trod the ground we have covered on many previous weekends.
After lunch, inside, as it was too windy to sit in the garden today, I set to on a second writing session and turned out another 1200 plus words. So, today, the epic fantasy has taken me through a desert, along a track in a rain forest, and into the streets of a city lying on the shores of a lake beneath a smoking volcano. I've been in the company of slave traders, questionable high priests and heroic warriors. Such is the daily life of the writer of fantasy; and it's great fun.
Of course, England (the football team, that is) were playing Switzerland in a qualifying match. The draw was a better result than they deserved, to be honest and I'm pleased I sat through only the second half.
Dr Who entertained us with further adventures and left us cliff hanging until the series resumes in Autumn. Neat trick from the producers, that.
Now, since I've uploaded, edited and 'fixed' the photographs I took in the garden and on our walk, dealt with a multitude of emails and spent enough hours pounding keys and staring at a screen, I think it's time for the rest of that bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon I opened last night, don't you?

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Bildungsroman

Image via Wikipedia
Bildungsroman: noun - novel dealing with the subject's formative years or spiritual education, also known as coming-of-age stories.
'Among the many bildungsromans extant, I found Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man possibly the most overrated. J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye , though flawed, succeeds in being a lot less boring, but The Kite Runner by Khaled Husseini is one of the best modern examples I've read.'

Writing: 2900 Words; Better.

This morning, the computer was playing up; Excel was slow and the custom dictionary in Word pretended not to exist. I wrote on nevertheless and managed 2900 words of blistering prose, taking three separate story threads further through the tale. After breakfast, I restarted the machine and all settled back to normal, apart from Media Player, which had somehow lost all my music from the playlist. I created a new one and imported all the albums into that; it now works again as well. Bloody computers!
A quick trip to Tesco's for fresh groceries and then lunch under a clear blue sky in the garden.
Kate took a friend off to the coast in the car to 'study' on the beach.
This afternoon I scheduled more posts for the blog to take me to next Thursday. Read some of one of my writing magazines with a great feature about the late great John Sullivan.
After tea, pinched Kate's bike to carry Valerie's bowls bag to the local bowling green, where she had a match, and then cycled back. I'd forgotten how much effort it takes to cycle against the wind and up even a slight incline!
This evening, I've completed 8 character profiles, which leaves another 8 to do. But now I'm going to spend the remains of the day with Valerie, sitting on the sofa and watching comedy on the idiots' lantern, whilst imbibing some Cabernet Sauvignon from the case I got from Naked Wines on my birthday.

The picture shows a villa in Crete.

And I've just noticed I've reached 300 followers on the blog tonight. If you'd care to join them, please do. As a member of Facebook, you just click on the Networked Blogs link, and if you don't belong to FB, just click on the 'Follow' link instead. I'd love to have you along for the ride.

Writing: 2900 Words; Better.

Up and found my computer had decided to only partly load the start up programs. Excel, which I use for my timeline, took forever to load. Word came up and didn't recognise my custom dictionary, which meant that every character and place in the epic fantasy sat on the page with a squiggly red line beneath it. I wrote on ignoring it all and got down 2900 words in three separate threads. Whilst I was having breakfast with Valerie, I restarted the system and all came back to life as normal, except that my Windows Media Player, which I use for the background music during my writing, had lost all the music from the playlist. It was still there in the various albums, so I created a new playlist and dragged all the albums into it. Seems to be fine again now. Weird.
Lunch again in the garden following a trip to Tesco's for light groceries, since Kate had the car to take herself and a friend to the coast to 'study' on the beach.
Discovered I had no 'spare' blog posts prepared, so did enough of those to last until next Thursday.
Took Valerie to her bowls match, which was in the town tonight. Kate still had the car so I pinched her bike to carry the bowls bag and then rode back home. I'd forgotten what an effort it can be to cycle against the wind and up even the shallowest incline.
This evening, I've completed 8 of the new character profiles, so just another half dozen or so to go. Oh, no, 2 more, since I need a couple more to interact with another main character.
Time now for a relaxing end to the day with a glass, or two, of Cabernet Sauvignon from the case of reds I got from Naked Wines for my birthday.
 The picture is of a villa on Crete.

Just noticed I've hit 300 followers on the blog today. If you care to join them, it's a simple matter of clicking on the 'Networked Blogs' if you belong to Facebook , or click on the 'Follow' button if you don't.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Gabion

Image via Wikipedia
Gabion: noun - cylinder of wicker or metal bands, filled with earth or stones for use in engineering or fortification.
'After Antonio had avenged himself on Roberto, he stuffed the body into the gabion, packed it round with mud and rocks, and heaved it into the wall they were making to defend the hill fort.'

Writing: 2600 Words Again.

Image by stuartaken via FlickrAn early rise and 2600 words flowing from the fingertips before breakfast. The new location makes for some good variations in the narrative and tests the characters. Room for growth here. It was handy that the day started very warm and continued in this way, since I was writing an episode set in a desert.
Later, I spent some time pretending to be a carpenter, altering the way the headboard is fixed to the bed in an effort to make the bed-making a little easier. So long as no one looks too closely (and why would they?) it'll pass muster and looks fine from the normal viewing positions. More importantly, it does the job.
Had lunch in the garden under a sun shining between fluffy clouds and heating the ground to almost sub-tropical temperatures. I'll have more of this, please. I even took my afternoon rest on a sun lounger in the garden. Fortunately, we're relatively private here, so no sniggers at my exposed form from the neighbours. Those blue swimming shorts are the height of fashion, I'll have you know!
This evening I discovered I had allowed the blog posts to get right up to date, with nothing scheduled for tomorrow. So, I had to get more words done for the Daily Word Spot. Managed to prepare enough to take me through to next Wednesday. There's another 2 author interviews awaiting preparation for posting as well, so I'll be busy tomorrow. When am I going to find time to get this new anthology published? It's no good; I'll have to take early retirement so I have time to do the writing. Chance would be a fine thing.

The picture shows the back garden.

Author Interview with Boyd Lemon:

Hello Boyd. Please tell us something about you, as a writer.
Stuart, I practiced law for more than 40 years with a fair degree of success, rising to national prominence in the legal community in my field, which was legal ethics and lawyer malpractice.  I wrote numerous articles for legal journals and a book titled "Evaluating a Malpractice Case Against a Lawyer."  But until I was 65 I had never written any fiction or narrative non-fiction.  I was inspired to write a short story about a baby turned little girl that I had taken care of for a friend of mine, a writer and an artist.  With her encouragement and the little girl as my inspiration, I wrote a short story that was fiction but inspired by my relationship with the little girl.  That story became the title of a collection of my short stories published in April 2011, "Unexpected Love and Other Stories."  I then met another writer who became my mentor and introduced me to Natalie Goldberg, the internationally known writer and writing teacher ("Writing Down the Bones").  After attending two of Natalie's workshops, she invited me to participate in her series of four intensive weeklong workshops during 2009.  I continued to write short stories and ultimately finished about 18 of them.  By that time, I was hooked on writing. 
I know you write memoir; perhaps you'd give us some insight into your memoir, 'Digging Deep: A Writer Uncovers His Marriages', in a few sentences.
After writing all those short stories, I yearned to write something longer.  Originally, I began writing Digging Deep at the suggestion of my mentor, who told me, "There's gold there [in my three failed marriages]."   At the same time my mentor was teaching me how to draw, something I thought I could never do.  I was always the worst drawer in the class in elementary school.  A self-portrait I drew in pencil ended up as the cover image of my Digging Deep.
How did you come to write this particular book?
I finished the first draft of Digging Deep in about six months and asked my mentor to read it.  After sitting at my computer and reading it straight through, she told me I should throw it away and start over, that it just didn't work.  She said I had to understand my role in the destruction of my marriages and that had to be in the memoir.  I had simply written about a series of incidents concerning the issues that arose in each of my marriages.  My mentor was right; that wasn't enough; it was boring.  So I set about intense introspection and psychotherapy.  The writing and introspection was excruciatingly painful emotionally, so I thought I had hit gold.  Surprisingly, though, in the end it was healing, and I achieved a peace that I had not known in my life.  Along the way, I decided to include in the memoir in the present tense some of the writing process that led me to healing, which is interwoven with the crucial incidents in my marriages in the past tense.  I believe that, as this book turned out, it will help others deal with issues in their own relationships in these times when modern couples and individuals are trying to define a new order in relationships, as well as face their own past, as I did in the memoir.
Where can people buy your book?
It is available in print on my website, http://www.BoydLemon-writer.com; http://www.Amazon.com; http://www.BarnsandNoble.com and in the Kindle edition on http://www.Kindle.com. Soon, it will be available on other internet sites, as well.  And, buyers can order it from their local bookstores.
What qualities does a writer need to be successful?
A powerful desire, almost compulsion, to write; perseverance in writing and in promoting the writing; discipline; luck; and some reasonable skill in the use of the language in which he/she writes.  Notice that I didn't say, imagination or creative ability.  Those qualities help, but I truly believe that anybody who possesses the other characteristics can be a successful writer.
What's your working method?
I am retired, so I have the luxury of time.  I write every morning from about 7:00 (after coffee) until about 1:00 or so, interrupted by meditation, breakfast and personal hygiene.
What's the single biggest mistake made by beginner writers?
Not finishing whatever they are working on because they don't exercise the discipline to write regularly, as a matter of habit and practice.  You must set up some type of schedule (however loose it may be), and follow it, no matter what, even if you're sick, depressed, homeless, in pain, or whatever.
To what extent are grammar and spelling important in writing?
Very important.  If you can't write grammatically and spell correctly, you better have the money to pay a good editor and proofreader; grammar and spelling separate the amateur from the professional.  (That is a dangerous thing to say; I hope mine is correct here.)
How much do you revise your MS before sending it off?
My first draft is usually trash, because I write whatever comes into my head.  So, I do a lot of revising.  On the other hand, I could go on forever and never finish a piece, so if I have difficulty in deciding whether something is finished, I place an arbitrary limit on how many drafts I permit myself, usually 10.  Most of the time, however, before I get to 10, I intuitively know when it is the best I can do.
As a writer, to what extent do you think genre is useful in the publishing world?  I don't like the use of genre.  I feel that good writing is good writing, and a good story is a good story, no matter what arbitrary category you put it in.  The only use I see is to define your audience.  For example, I probably would not read a YA novel or a children's book (except to my grandchildren), but even there I am limiting myself by excluding what could be some fine writing.
Many authors see marketing as a bind. What's your opinion on this, and how do you deal with it?
I look upon it as another challenge in the writing process.  It doesn't matter whether I like to do it or not.  It has to be done, if I want people to read my writing, and I do.
What sort of displacement activities keep you from writing?
None.  I write as much as I want to.
What support, if any, do you receive from family and friends, or a writing group?
Personally, I don't get a lot of support from family or friends, but I have found the support of writing groups essential--people who understand what you're going through and can help in times of despair, and, as you know, there are many times of despair in the writing life.
Do you think presentation of the MS is as important as agents and publishers suggest?
Only if you want people to read what you write.
How long does it take you to write a book?
Well, I have only written three books so far.  The first one took six months; the second one (Digging Deep) took three years; the short story collection took four years, but off and on as I was writing the memoir.  So, I don't know.  It depends on the book.  I'm working on a third book, and I think it will take me about a year, but I could be wrong.  We'll see.
Who or what inspires you?
Myself, deep within somewhere.
If there's a single aspect of writing you find really frustrating, what is it?
Proofreading, but there is an enormous reward when you're done, because then the piece or book is finished.
Is there a particular feature of writing that you really enjoy?
The first two drafts.  The first, because it comes from deep down and I say what comes into my head, the second because it is a great and complex challenge to make all the pieces fit together.
Do you believe writing is a natural gift or an acquired skill?
Both, but more acquired than natural.
What are you writing now?
A memoir about my non-retirement, and, a new short story or essay here and there.  And sometimes, just writing practice--stuff that will never see the light of day.
Do you have a website or blog readers can visit?
My website I referred to above, http://www.BoydLemon-Writer.com, and two blogs, http://www.DivorceRecoveryResources.com and http://www.BoomerTravelBlog.com.  I also write a weekly column for an online magazine, called Amigos 805.
Given unlimited resources, where would you do your writing?
I don't have unlimited resources, but if I did, I wouldn't change where I write now, which varies--at home at my desk; in my garden when weather permits; in my favorite coffee shops and on the train when I am on a long train trip.  I wrote half of my first book on AMTRAK train trips between Seattle and Los Angeles; and I wrote some of my memoir on train trips between Boston and Jacksonville, Florida.  Sometimes, I write on a long plane trip, if I don't have the middle seat.

Boyd Lemon
http://www.BoydLemon-Writer.com
http://www.DivorceRecoveryResources.com
http://www.boomertravelblog.com
My new books just published (Excerpts on my website,  http://www.BoydLemon-Writer.com ): · Digging Deep: A Writer Uncovers His Marriages;  · Unexpected Love and Other Stories

Writing: 2600 Words This Afternoon

Half day at the office and home in time for lunch before Valerie zooms off to her bowls match (which, by the way, her team won). 2600 new words and another new aspect to the story. How I enjoy this creative process, when the words just pour out onto the page. But that doesn't mean the editing, which for me is a second stage thing to be done entirely separately, is a chore. The way I write involves me in composing action scenes, dialogue and anything that moves the story on. I neglect most of the descriptive stuff during this phase. I know what the scene looks like; it's there in my head. But, when I'm editing, I need to let the reader in on the way the places look, smell, feel, sound etc. And I need to let the reader share the emotions of the characters. So, I add this at the first editing stage and this makes that into another creative phase. Once all the words are down, I read the whole thing, trying to do this as a reader instead of as a writer. Then comes the nit-picking, the destruction of the darlings so beloved of the writer but deemed unnecessary by many readers. So it's a knife job; cutting out the dead wood and tightening the story, reducing the word count without damaging the narrative or causing confusion through lack of detail.
Now, after a light meal, I'm on my way to my writing group to talk about books and writing; it's a great life and I love it.

The picture shows the palace at Knossos, Crete.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Bête noire

Image via Wikipedia
Bête noire:  noun phrase – French; literally means 'black beast'; bane of a person's life; someone or something insufferable, an object causing aversion.
'Rather appropriately, the hound in 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' could be described as the 'bête noire' of the piece.'
'Along with many authors of renown, Hemingway found his bête noire was excessive drinking.'

1 June 1946 – TV licences were first introduced into the UK. For those who don't know, the British Broadcasting Corporation isn't allowed to use advertising to raise revenue (long may it remain so) and has to rely on the income accrued by issuing a licence for viewers and listeners to its services. This has long been a bone of contention for those who believe in the supremacy of the free market. But, for those of us who prefer not to have our entertainment, education and information constantly interrupted by banal pleas for our money, the licence system allows the BBC to provide a broadcasting service second to none, which remains respected the World over.

A Minor Milestone Passed

Silly, but fun: Last night, at midnight, I reached the anniversary of serious blogging on this site. And my stats counter shows there have been 25,013 page views over that first year. Whilst pleased I've reached so many people and, hopefully, entertained, informed and maybe even inspired some of them, I'm aiming to double for the coming year. So, if you find things here that interest, inform, irritate, illuminate or inspire, please tell your friends. I welcome comments especially, as these provide feedback, the very lifeblood of the writer.
Meanwhile, my thanks to all those who have visited during the past 12 months. I hope to continue giving you what you want to read and see. Please let me know if there are other features you'd like here. I'll do my best to fulfil any reasonable and relevant requests.