N.E. David's Blog: Writing Life, page 4

The Best Laid Plans ...

12 December

When Harold Macmillan was asked what he feared most he is reputed to have answered ‘Events, dear boy, events’. Although whether he was referring to foreign policy or matters at home, nobody seems to be sure.
One thing is certain. As an author I am fascinated by the way in which random occurrences can have life-changing effects. Without them, no matter how interesting we manage to make our characters, they don’t develop and their stories become predictably prosaic. There are no surprises.
Sometimes, these events have huge consequences. What if Archduke Ferdinand’s car had changed route as intended? What if Lee Harvey Oswald had missed? The world might be a very different place and we might all be leading different lives.
On a lesser scale, what appear to be everyday occurrences impact on us personally and cause us to change as individuals. In BIRDS OF THE NILE, what if Michael Blake had not decided to go on his birding trip? He would not have met Lee Yong and Reda and he would not have lost his eyesight. In MÄLAREN, it’s a phone call and the arrival of two unwanted guests that upset the new-found harmony of Alan Harrison’s life. And in each case, the characters involved have to make life-changing decisions and are forced to act. So where is this going? you may ask. Well, in my life someone has tripped over a door-step and broken their arm and it’s caused me to amend all my plans.
But let’s end the drama there. I doubt that this is a life-changing moment – I can’t imagine that my existence is going to be radically altered as a result. (Actually, I can – and that’s exactly why I’m an author.) But it’s certainly having an effect. The person in question is the typist to whom I had entrusted converting my hand-written manuscript of MÄLAREN into an electronic copy. The idea was that while I was away in Chicago for Thanksgiving the job would be got onto a USB ready for me to sit down and work on pretty much as soon as I got back. Well that’s now gone out of the window. I had a phone call last week to say she’d had an accident and what did I want to do? And with her side-lined for the foreseeable future I had no choice but to recover the m/s and have a rethink.
Perhaps it’s Fate taking a hand. You may remember that when I’d completed the first draft of MÄLAREN back in October, I agonized over what I should do next. Should I set it aside and work on AS DAD LAY DYING as was my original plan? Or should I plough on with it, thinking it to be the most likely successor to BIRDS OF THE NILE? I decided the latter, hence farming out the typing in a bid to have the work back in time for my return. Now, I’m forced to do otherwise. What I should have done was allow DLW (my Dear Lady Wife) to do the typing as she so graciously volunteered in the first place. But she had her own work to do (a dissertation for her MA in History of Art – she passed with flying colours, by the way) and I didn’t want to burden her. I’m sure that now she’s free of her studies she will volunteer again – but there’s the jet-lag to overcome (she arrived back from Chicago on Tuesday and is still a bit bewildered) and Christmas to organize so it will be January before she can get going on it. So I’ve searched through the filing cabinet and found a printed copy of AS DAD LAY DYING and I’ll be making a start on it tomorrow. C’est la vie, I suppose.
Meanwhile, DLW tells me that Chicago has radically altered since I left and Christmas is now in full swing. The tree is up in Macy’s and street decorations have appeared through out the city centre. I know this because she showed me the photographs – all 92 of them. It seems that everything gets going as soon as Thanksgiving is out of the way. Had I stayed the few extra days that she did I could have seen it for myself. Instead of which I elected to come home to an empty fridge, a cold house and someone’s broken arm. Next time I might not be so hasty to get away.

I've Been To The Windy City - But I Wasn't Blown Away

5 December

Apologies for my absence - I’ve been to Chicago for Thanksgiving. The Windy City. But as I indicated in my Blog, I wasn’t blown away. Nithered, yes, as night-time temperatures dropped to -5C, but blown away, no.
Which is all rather a shame as I have often gained inspiration for my writing from trips abroad. Both MÄLAREN (Sweden) and BIRDS OF THE NILE (Egypt) are obvious examples and the idea for FERIA came from one of our Spanish holidays. Bur so far my American experiences have failed to provide anything concrete. Having said that, I was intrigued by a painting in the Art Institute of Chicago which set me thinking if it did not actually inspire me. ‘Mrs Darrow’ by Manierre Dawson (c1911) is a cubist (?) representation of a woman (I can tell that much) who appears to be a well-to-do socialite. The warmth of the painting’s colours and her engaging smile (a bit crooked, but it is cubist) drew me in and I was fascinated to know who she was. I have searched the net but I’ve not come up with anything. Perhaps that’s just as well as it leaves room for my imagination to work on it – but I have enough on my plate for the time being without the distraction of writing about a New York socialite. One day, when I have time …
At least my break away gave me the opportunity to catch up on my reading – there were two eight hour plane journeys to fill if nothing else. I make a point of taking something that relates to the country I’m visiting so on this occasion I selected The Great Gatsby and The Last Tycoon (F.Scott Fitzgerald), Stoner (John Williams) and an old favourite, Revolutionary Road (Richard Yates). I take particular interest in American literature of this type and when I have a chance I will post a blog with my thoughts about them. On perusing the bookcase in my daughter’s flat I came across The Bean Trees, an (early?) novel by Barbara Kingsolver so l read that too. Add to that Seating Arrangements (Maggie Shipstead) and I’m just about read out. Goodread reviews will follow.
So what have I come back to? A pile of washing and ironing and an empty fridge by the look of it. My wife is staying on for another week so I’ve been left to fend for myself. Please don’t feel sorry for me though, I actually enjoy being on my own for a few days. Before you know it, Christmas with all its attendant demands will be upon us and the chance to get anything done at all will have eluded me, so I must take this opportunity and press on. Now let me see – where was I? Oh yes, trying to find a clean pair of socks …

After The Lord Mayor's Show

18 November

Monday afternoon and here’s an opportunity to post something before I zoom up and away across the Atlantic for a week in Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with my daughter. I’ve never been to Chicago and I’ve never experienced Thanksgiving. But as I keep telling myself, life is a continual voyage of discovery. Hopefully I will have lots to report on when I return – and in particular on our planned trip to the Art Institute there. I can’t wait – you know how much I love modern art.
Meanwhile, following the encouraging response from agent X (she’s keen to see what I write next) the inevitable rejections for MÄLAREN have started to come in. None of X’s pleasantries here, no ‘I really like your writing, send me something else’, just plain old ‘No thanks’. I console myself with the thought that there will always be some form of instant reaction (some may not even have bothered reading the submission but simply have too much work already) and that acceptance is more likely to come from a much more considered response. I live in hope.
And I’ve actually decided to hold off sending out any more advances. After X’s comment regarding the need for a more creative ‘pitch’, I think I’ll wait to see what others think before I commit myself to completing the exercise. I’ve sent out to about one third of the market so far – let’s see what they have to say before going any further. Then, if the general opinion is that I need to change it, I still have some more to go at. Perhaps, by the time I get back from the windy city (and it’s very windy at the moment according to the news this morning), I’ll have more to go on.
As for BIRDS OF THE NILE, better news. My entry for the McKitterick Prize has been accepted! It’s maybe not an award that readily springs to mind but it’s certainly prestigious enough to warrant serious attention. It’s offered by The Society of Authors for a full-length novel in English by a previously unpublished writer over the age of 40. I just qualify (by about 20 years) and as I will only ever be previously unpublished once, it seems to make sense to have a go. Whether this will prove justified or not, time will tell. The winner will be announced in June next year – long enough into the future to keep more hope alive. There should always be something to look forward to.
And as I mentioned a week or so ago, I’ve also been busy working on next year’s Lit Fest programme. So far I have a spot at York in March where I will be talking about making use of history in my work together with fellow York author Tom Harper and I will be at Doncaster at the end of May as part of an author’s day. I’ve also applied to Huddersfield, Hexham and Helmsley (but not to Hertford, Hereford or Hampshire) plus Scarborough, Lincoln and Darlington. I was aware of the festival at Kings Lynn but had thought it too distant (I’m focusing on Yorks, Lincs and Teesside) but then I had an email. It appears that the Chairman of Kings Lynn Lit Fest had got hold of my book, has read it and was thoroughly impressed – to the point where he’s asked me to take an active part in next year’s event. So in the middle of March, I’m off to Kings Lynn for the weekend!
But that’s next year. In the meantime, I’ve a trip pending to Chicago. Time to go and pack some bags ...

First Cut Is The Deepest ...

12 November

I’ve decided to post a little earlier than usual this week on account of a reaction I’ve received from an agent regarding MÄLAREN. Last week I was keen to tell you how I’d gone off my own work and how I’d become contemptuous of it. Well, this week it seems my writing is back in favour – but still no cigar.
I hadn’t expected such a swift response. My experience with agents leads me to believe it will be weeks (if not months) before I get any form of meaningful reply – which is why I’m sending off now in advance of my trip to Chicago. So you can imagine my surprise when I got an email on Saturday night(!) saying that X had read my submission and was giving me some feedback. She says I write quite well (bless her) but doesn’t think the idea behind the book is strong enough to convince a publisher. In other words, a rejection – and my first cut.
My reaction was twofold. Firstly, I was naturally delighted regarding the comment about the writing – although in some ways I wish she hadn’t responded so quickly. X is an agent I would really like to work with, having met her at a recent Festival of Writing. Had she not come back to me so soon I would have been able to cling to the idea that her response was still to come when all else had failed. Ah, well ...
But secondly, her comment about the need for a stronger ‘conceit’ intrigued me. This is something I have only recently come across. It appears that these days we not only need to write well, to plot well and to have structure to our work but we also have to have a clever and/or original idea. The implication is that in order to succeed we must somehow shock, surprise or amaze our audience (the audience being the agents, editors and other gatekeepers to the publishing world). I’m not sure I like this any more than I like being obliged to write a sensationalist first sentence/paragraph/page etc. to attract the reader.
We’ve talked about this in our writing group and we’ve come to the conclusion that some of what we would now accept as ‘classics’ in the world of literature would simply not be published these days for this very reason. They are well (and in some cases, brilliantly) written, have great plots and great structure – but they don’t say anything new. I have recently read ‘Stoner’ by John Williams, a book much lauded by the media and others (eg. Ian McEwan) for its lucid prose. But although it ticks all the conventional boxes, it tells us nothing we didn’t already know. Would a publisher want it today?
This brings me to an important point. As those who’ve read my blogs about art will know, I am scathing about conceptual art and the idea that the skill behind the painting/sculpture doesn’t matter any more and it’s ‘the concept’ that counts. Are we headed the same way in literature, I ask myself? Are we going to see the well-written book side-lined simply because it doesn’t say something new and/or shocking? If so, I begin to see how artists have been forced into producing ‘conceptual art’ in order to survive and I find myself having some sympathy for them.
The solution, for the time being at least, seems to be for me to tart up the pitch for the book rather than the book itself. I’ve spent seven months writing it and ‘it is what it is’ as they say. Has anyone got any thoughts as to how I could dress it up a bit? How about some monkeys and a typewriter? Answers on a postcard ...

Catching Up - Part Five

7 November

2pm Thursday afternoon and it’s time to bring my writing diary up to date.
Last week I set off with the intention of revising the opening chapters of MÄLAREN. (Please note how I now have the correct spelling ie. with the two dots over the first A. There’s probably a name for this and if anybody wants to tell me what it is in Swedish I’d be glad to hear it. In German, I think it’s an umlaut.) I spent a few of my morning sessions so doing and by Monday I was in a position to begin making submissions to agents. I got as far as sending off to number six and then had second thoughts. Had I really polished my work up to the highest standard I could reasonably achieve? Was it really good enough?
The answer, on re-reading it carefully, was no – and then the rot set in. The problem was that by then I’d probably read it three or four times, it was no longer new to me and the words had all become familiar. And we all know what familiarity breeds. So yes, I grew contemptuous of my own work and decided I hadn’t actually done the best I could do and that I needed to look through it again. It’s not bad, mind - it’s just that it could be better and I owe it to myself to try again. I think I was in too much of a hurry first time round – better to take a bit more care for the sake of a few more days. The likelihood is I won’t get all the submissions done before I go to Chicago anyway, so why the big rush? So here I am, part way through Chapter Three for the second time with another half-day’s work to do.
Meanwhile, I’ve made serious progress with my Goodreads entry and that’s now pretty much up to date. Please feel free to visit it. Leave messages. And /or reviews. Let me know what you think of it – I’m open to suggestions. If there’s anything missing that I should be doing please tell me. Soon, I’ll be trying to build up my reviews for BIRDS OF THE NILE on both Amazon and Goodreads but for the moment I’m focused on the 99p ebook promotion. When that finishes in a week or so’s time, I can move on to something else.
While I’m waiting, I’ve been talking to my publisher about entering BIRDS OF THE NILE for prize competitions. Their response has been extremely encouraging and so far we’ve agreed to put in for two – The McKitterick and The Desmond Elliott Prizes. To get short-listed (or even long-listed) for one of these would be a major coup – never mind actually winning. These are prizes for debut novels and there’s only ever going to be one opportunity to do that so carpe diem, as they say. I’ll let you know how things work out.
My next priority, along with the matter of reviews, will be tackling next year’s Lit Fest programme. More about this next time.

Catching Up - Part Four

31October

Another week gone by and I’m obliged to look in my diary to see what I’ve been up to. Ostensibly not a lot, only one evening out and that was at a University of York lecture regarding the links between ancient Egypt and Yorkshire. A strange topic you might think, but as I count myself as part of that link (albeit in a very tenuous way) I thought it worth while attending. And having discovered the possibility of a cultural exchange between York and Luxor is on the cards, I guess you could say my trip was worthwhile irrespective of the lecture itself.
Meanwhile, it’s what’s been happening at home that’s of more immediate interest. Last week I said that Part One of MALAREN was back from typing along with some encouraging comments. I’ve now had the chance to read it and judge for myself. I have to confess I was reluctant to get going on it. I dread that moment when I’m confronted with the product of my own making – will it be good enough? Or am I going to be disappointed? It’s at these moments that I refer myself to my own seminar, ‘A Defence Against The Dark Arts’, and remind myself that what I think ultimately doesn’t matter and that it’s down to the market to be the final arbiter. My responsibility is to produce the best work I can and offer that for consideration. I’ve taken a sow’s ear before and with help I’ve turned it, if not into a silk purse then at least into something readable. Now I must do the same again. And so, armed with a good dose of my own philosophy, I made a start.
And much to my surprise and relief, it isn’t that bad. Chapter One is actually quite good I think, and Chapter Two isn’t far behind. Chapters Three and Four need a bit of revision (and in one instance, rewriting) but with time, effort and a following wind I think I could make something out of it. So with that in mind, I’ve devised a plan. We go to Chicago on 21 November to visit our daughter for Thanksgiving. By then, my objective is to have Chapters One and Two polished (I may even recast them as Chapters One, Two and Three) and sent out to agents. When I get back and while I’m waiting for the inevitable slew of rejections, I can crack on with the rest. Yesterday I wrote a synopsis (one side of A4) and today I revised half of the original Chapter One. Tomorrow I will be revising the second half which will be the new Chapter Two. By Monday (ish), I’ll be in a position to start compiling a list of potential agents. What all this tells me is that MALAREN is the next work in progress and the most natural successor to BIRDS OF THE NILE, an issue which has been bothering me for a while.
As for BIRDS OF THE NILE itself, I have news – but I’m going to delay passing that on for the moment. My priority there is to help with the campaign to promote the EBOOK PRICE REDUCTION (did you get that?) that starts today. So I’m getting ready to tweet and I’ve been tinkering up my Goodreads page in readiness. Some of you may have already noticed ...

Catching Up - Part Three

24 October

Well, Monday’s been and gone and rather than contribute something here I chose to resurrect GETTING TO KNOW and feature my fellow York Author, Helen Cadbury, with whom I spent a pleasant day on Saturday at The Ryedale Book Festival. See my Blog for the details. This after spending the whole day in Louth on Friday at Wolds Words, including a morning signing books in Wrights of Louth, the bookshop with the (famous) upside-down shop sign. I’m told that when they took the sign down a few years ago to paint it, there were articles in the local paper and a visit from the local council along the lines of You are going to put that back as it was, aren’t you (note the lack of question mark). A local landmark, indeed. Anyway, two days out and about with a total of eleven books sold can’t be bad.
Meanwhile, my daily read continues and I can now report that I’ve finished The Universe versus Alex Woods and I’m well into Stoner. When I’ve completed it, I’ll give a summary of all three novels I’ve read during my enforced break from writing and we’ll have an exercise in ‘contrast and compare’. But it will be just the three books as the initial section of MALAREN is back from typing and I must now press on with revising the first three chapters in preparation for sending out to agents (still no reply from Zoe King of The Blair Partnership, by the way).
And with it comes the first piece of feedback regarding my new work in progress. DLW (my Dear Lady Wife) doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to literary critique and I was rather hoping that she might keep her comments to herself until such time as I’d had the chance to polish everything up. But no, and with delivery of the USB containing Part One came a wry smile and words to the effect that I seem to have ‘captured the despair of a man whose life is spiralling out of control following the death of his beloved wife’. Although I’m sure it will want tidying up, this is very pleasing as it will help to draw the reader in, create empathy with the character of ALAN and make some of the things he does later in the book much more understandable. I am greatly encouraged and look forward to starting work on it next week. You will be kept informed as to progress of course.
The promotional campaign for BIRDS OF THE NILE continues although at a reduced pace. The Lit Fest season seems to have come to an end (I’ve not been invited to Humbermouth and the Newcastle Book Fair isn’t running this year) so I’ve resorted to planning for the spring. Huddersfield, Hexham,York and Scarborough are all within my sights and I have made pitches for each of them. York is looking good but the jury is out on the others.
I have a couple of writing groups coming up and through a personal contact DLW has landed me a talk at a local WI meeting. Last night I was at The Sandbar in Horsforth at Leeds Trinity Open Mic and tonight I go to Give Back Works at The National Railway Museum. I was originally booked to speak but this has been postponed in favour of the full-time membership. I shall attend nonetheless.
Next week looks quiet though. Time to review Part One of MALAREN and get the red pen out ...

Catching Up - Part Two

17 October

It’s 2pm and having completed my ‘must do’ tasks for the day, I have a free hour or so in which to update my Writing Life diary.
Ever since I abandoned the summerhouse on Monday, I’ve been getting used to my new routine. There are no more early mornings with pen and paper in my retreat at the bottom of the garden – and I have to say I miss it. There will now be an unnatural and unwanted lull while I wait for Chapters 1-3 of MALALREN to be typed up by my Dear Lady Wife (God bless her) before I can get to grips with the rework. This, of course, will be the next step in my campaign to attract an agent for my new book. I’ve already made a start in that respect, having sent an email to Zoe King of The Blair Partnership as my first choice. We met at the York Writers Conference in September when she kindly volunteered to take a copy of BIRDS OF THE NILE to read. Anyone who is prepared to do that clearly gets preference. I await her reply.
Meanwhile, I’ve taken to filling my writing time with reading, not something (I’m ashamed to admit) I’m normally able to manage. I seem to have accumulated a pile of books on my bedside table which I’ve told myself I should read as soon as I have the time. Now I theoretically have the time, so my excuse is gone. Just out of interest, here they are in no particular order.
The New Middle East by Paul Danahar : A (weighty) reference book about the politics of The Arab Spring which I began in readiness for my Wakefield Lit Fest event (Egypt in Crisis). Pages 1-125 seemed to provide me with all I needed to know and I haven’t yet progressed beyond there.
To Catch A Rabbit by Helen Cadbury : Helen is a fellow member of York Authors and I bought my copy at her book launch in June. I read it over the course of last weekend and as I am working with her at Ryedale Book Festival on Saturday, we will be no doubt be discussing it then. Watch this space ...
The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence : My current read. I first met Gavin on the York leg of his nationwide (hardback) book launch tour where he seemed to enjoy good support. I came across him for the second time at Wakefield (by which time the paperback was out) where there were more good comments. On the strength of these I bought the book for my wife who has thoroughly enjoyed reading it and recommended that I do so. And as I always do what DLW tells me ...
Stoner by John Williams : I first heard of this via an interview given by Ian McEwan and thought This sounds like my kind of book. Time will tell.
And finally, Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates : A perennial favourite, this haunts my bedside table. Having read it once a few years ago, it has remained in situ ever since so that I can dip into it from time to time to remind myself of what great prose reads like.
Then, after my morning read, I revert to promoting BIRDS OF THE NILE. The manic period leading up to and following the Big Book Launch seems to have quietened down and things are returning to something like normal. The face-to-face campaign continues and so far I have personally sold 149 copies. Having taken delivery of 285 to begin and given 17 away as complimentary and lent out 14 on sale or return, I am left with a further 105 in stock. At the current rate, these should last until Christmas. My stock sheet (I keep an inventory) looks like the scorecard for a Geoff Boycott century ie. all in ones spaced out over a long period of time. Having said that, I seem to have managed a boundary at Ilkley last Thursday.
More opportunities for sales over the next couple of days as I am at Wolds Words (Louth, A Defence Against The Dark Arts) tomorrow and at Ryedale Book Festival (Malton, Does Travel Broaden The Literary Mind?) on Saturday. That being the case, I may not pass this way again before Monday. I’ll hopefully talk to you then ...

Catching up

As I said yesterday, we've a bit if catching up to do with my 'Writing Life' blog so here's the first instalment.

14 October

A sad day, yesterday. The weather didn’t help – and may have even caused the problem. I have decided that the summerhouse is no longer a practical proposition for working in and I have retreated indoors and to the comfort of the study. It’s not that I can’t bear the cold (sometimes I actually enjoy it) but now that I’ve finished the first draft of MALAREN, the purpose of being down there seems to have evaporated. And with yesterday being rather dreich as the Scots would say, it seemed like the natural time to pack things up and move out.
Which all gave rise to a general feeling of melancholy. I am reminded of some of the words to Danny Boy - The summer’s gone and all the roses falling. My summer has definitely gone and I am rather regretful. I had a vision of what the summer would be like – mornings in the summerhouse, writing, afternoons working outdoors in the sunshine. I succeeded in accomplishing the first but not, I fear, the second, and spent the time working indoors instead. I remember using the barbecue once or twice early on in the season, but hardly at all recently. As for my intention of building a path (that was supposed to be my outdoor project for the year) I’m afraid it went by the wayside. So I’m feeling a little glum ...
Anyway, all things must change and it’s an opportunity to start something new. The question is what? Firstly I’m going to draw a line under Writing Life (March to October) and archive it off. That means I can start the next phase afresh – Part Two, if you like. Then I need to set some objectives for this next phase, however long it may be. I am minded that I have a trip to Chicago coming up in November and I would like to be doing something positive in the period beforehand. When I come back, I will probably want to settle down to a writing project for the winter. As yet, I’m not sure what that will be. My plan for 2013 suggests I should focus on getting AS DAD LAY DYING polished up but I have a feeling that MALAREN is a better prospect. It’s much more of a natural follow on to BIRDS OF THE NILE and probably more marketable. I am also still without an agent and I really ought to have one. So what if –
1. I continue with my promotional programme for BIRDS OF THE NILE
2. I polish up Chapters 1-3 of both AS DAD LAY DYING and MALAREN
3. I try and snare an agent for either
This would then dictate my project for the winter ie. bringing whichever of the two is best done next up to a publishable standard so that by sometime in the spring/summer of 2014, I have another book ready. Well at least it’s a plan ...

And In The Beginning ...

Hello and welcome to my Goodreads blog.
I have a website (www.nedavid.com) where I already run a feature called Writing Life. In it, I try to record what I'm up to on a regular basis in an attempt to let you know what a writer actually does. My intention is to repeat that here - with the occasional addition if I think it's of interest.
I've just started a new sequence with effect from 14 October so over the course of the next few days I'll get things going with a couple of posts to bring us up to date.
In the story so far, I've just finished the first draft of a new novel ...