Stephen Edden's Blog

Welcoming a Reader to the Party

I'd been asked to do some editing, and so I was speaking to a writer yesterday, trying to explain to him why he needed to restructure his book because the characters (and info about them)were coming at the reader at too frantic a pace. 'But it's all clear to me,' he said. 'Why isn't it clear to you?'(or something along those lines). 'You're too close to it,' I began. Then I had my moment of epiphany and explained that when an author writes a novel, it's as if he is at a party with about thirty or so friends, whom he already knows intimately. A stranger (a reader) walks into the room and if the author throws too many names and too much info at the reader, he's bamboozled and forgets who everyone is. So the writer has to introduce the reader to people at the party (the characters) at a measured pace so that it sinks in. He seemed to get the message. I'll probably use that analogy again, at some point.

Short and Tweet

Have agreed with publisher to pull together an anthology of c.1000 original short stories of max 140 characters. If anyone knows of writers wanting their moment of fame, encourage them to tweet submissions to @StephenEdden (rather than via email or comment). No payment, but all winning entries will be credited in the book. Have a go yourself. If there's not a novel in everyone, there surely must be at least one tweet in each of us! (If you aren't already on Twitter, it takes seconds to set up an account. Tweet me and I can follow you. It's good to break the duck and have your first follower: makes the world a less lonely place!)
Stories can be intriguing, humorous, quirky, etc. Surprising what can been done in 140 characters. A great exercise in brevity!

The Piper's Tune

Yet another publisher has gone bust on me. I was left high and dry a few months after Beautiful Books published "The Wordsmith's Tale" and now a second publisher went belly up just as "The Piper's Tune" was about to be published. Hope it's nothing I've said or done!
Anyway, my new novel is available as an e-book on amazon.co.uk so I hope some people out there will feel moved to order it and spread the word.
Here's the link to paste and copy:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Pipers-Tu...

"The Piper's Tune" is a standalone book, shorter and tighter than "The Wordsmith's Tale",based on a six-month period in 1135, involving some of the characters from my previous book. It's basically a love story with some offbeat family history and the usual wordplay thrown in.

Hope some of you like it. If you do, please, as I say, spread the word. These are tricky times for writers! We need all the help we can get from our readers.

Proof Positive and Proof Negative

I'm currently proof reading for a publisher while I wait for my next novel to appear. It's my first foray into it and although, in many ways, it's more straightforward than writing your own book, it's not without major issues. For a start, you're having to juggle a number of balls - thinking about consistency on, say, upper or lower case or chronology - which are harder when it's not your own creation. Secondly, there's the matter of correcting things. Fine, when you encounter howlers such as "could of" for "could have", but harder when you're trying to suggest a better flow and it's a matter of person taste. Sometimes you agree to differ, both firmly of the belief that the other person's wrong. In such cases, the author gets his/her way. The really great thing, though, is that if you screw up, it's the author who gets all the flack! That has to be a point in favour of proof reading.

Breeze Blocks and Writer's Block

Just back from a week's walk along the Fife coast from the Forth Bridge to St Andrews. Never more than a few yards from the sea. Inspiring stuff. I went with good intentions to write in the evenings, but didn't manage a word. I can only ever write in my usual workplace. I have a good friend who used to head up a London advertising agency famed for its wackiness and creativity. At first, they encouraged anarchy - no job titles, no set desks, pool tables for when they were clearing their heads etc etc. The staff found their creativity drying up and quickly voted to impose more order. So maybe we need staid stability and predictability to act as the foundation for our best ideas. Just as a stunning edifice needs boring old breeze blocks to sit on. So I'm sitting at the same old desk, about to pick up the thread of my latest book. No breathtaking scenery or inspirational birdsong to take my mind off the process of creating.

Wilder Thoughts

I've sung the praises of www.wordsmith.org in a previous blog. Another wonderful aspect of it is the "Thought for the Day". Unlike the pompous drivel (that goes by the same name) on BBC Radio 4 each morning, these offer genuine insights. Today's quotation struck a real chord - largely because I agree with the sentiment and Thornton Wilder put it better than I could have done! - and so I thought I'd pass it on.
"If you write to impress it will always be bad, but if you write to express it will be good." -Thornton Wilder, writer (1897-1975)
It's an exaggeration, of course. Maybe he should have said "usually" for "always" and "is more likely to be" for "will be", but it's a point well made.

Sizing Up Novels

I've just finished (and enjoyed) Julian Barnes's 'The Sense of an Ending'. I was pleased that JB has 'earned to right' to publish a novel only 150 pages long. No publisher is likely to turn down a JB typescript, where ordinary mortals would probably have it sent back with a note saying: "Make it 90,000 words and we'll consider your novel". This is a tragedy. Some of my favourite novels are short and sweet. The length of a book should be dictated by the story, not the publisher. Many books would be improved by being halved in size and I, for one, wouldn't feel shortchanged having to pay the same price for a 100 page as a 500 page novel. It's all down to the quality and how the novel moved me) rather than the quantity of paper consumed in publication.

A Review of Reviews

I read that, once he was established as a novelist, George Orwell shied away from doing any book reviews. I understand why. It's hard to be completely frank when criticising another writer. You know that they've put their heart and soul into a work and liking or disliking something is so personal. Any criticism looks like professional jealousy. Too much praise looks unconvincing - you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. The exception might perhaps be when an established writer is giving a helping hand by endorsing a new kid on the block, who might not otherwise gain the exposure they deserve. Without the enthusiastic support of such generous writers - in my case, it was Alan Sillitoe and Kevin Crossley-Holland - it's hard to make the breakthrough.

Pro Fusion

Saw "Against Time" at Nottingham Royal Concert hall yesterday. A mesmerising fusion of Street Dance and Ballet, involving English National Ballet & Flawless. It got me thinking that fusion of different cultures seems so often to be a wonderful thing, whether dance, music, food, marriage, football teams. To sit on a London Underground tube and hear the buzz of different accents, look at all those differing facial types, styles of clothing is, well, to be transported . . . but maybe the most wonderful example of fusion is the English Language, which stands as a living monument to how beautiful something that welcomes and absorbs new influences can become.

On Being Arrested

The word "arresting" has a number of meanings, including, on the one hand, "engaging or riveting" and, on the other, "putting the kibosh on progress". I've spent the last five minutes looking out of my window, watching a family of newly-fledged Great Tits being taught to feed by a very patient parent. I've been utterly absorbed by the scene. It's an enriching experience (teaching me things, honing my powers of observation) but it's also a distraction, a marvellous excuse not to craft my next novel. But wait: if a writer doesn't take time out to observe the world, to see it with fresh eyes, he or she will have nothing new to say. So when does a distraction become a rich learning experience? As with everything in life, it's about balance, but it's also about focussing your leisure time on the new and the interesting, so that resting time is "arresting" time in the positive, rather than the negative sense of that word.