Lynne Stringer's Blog, page 20

CS Lewis

I was in my twenties before I discovered CS Lewis’ phenomenal Narnia books through the Christian bookstore where I was working. It was a joy to discover a story so beautifully worked and woven and with so much in its pages for anyone who wanted to dig a little. Certainly the Christian parallels are considerable, but the tale of brave children setting out to free Narnia from the evils that keep coming against it and learning so much along the way contained copious amounts of comment and application for everyone.

Of course, the Narnia series was not the only thing Lewis wrote. He seemed to have an opinion on just about everything and his opinions were weighted and worth listening to. Many of his quotes have appeared on my Facebook page, such as: ‘You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream’, ‘Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art … It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.’ or ‘I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.’

There’s no doubt his Christian faith made up the lion’s share of who he was, and unlike many prominent Christians today, what he said gave Christianity the nobility it deserves. He made his comments without apology and stands, in my mind, as one of the great theologians of all time.

Baroness Orczy

I think my first encounter with the character of the Scarlet Pimpernel was via Leslie Howard’s portrayal of him in the movie of the same name. I quickly followed that up with Anthony Andrews’ interpretation of him. At the time, the bookstore I was working in stocked the book, as it was being used in schools, and I quickly purchased it. It immediately consumed me. It is one of those books where, in spite of the fact that most is told from Lady Blakeney’s point of view, the book is all about Sir Percy and the reader knows it from the moment he appears. He is fascinating, especially when he is playing stupid, and is larger than life and constantly entertaining.

At times I felt that the climax of Orczy’s plots relied a little too heavily on Sir Percy’s at times almost superhuman abilities, but there’s no doubt they were entertaining and that Percy’s love of his beautiful French wife was a delight and an inspiration. If you haven’t read The Scarlet Pimpernel, I can recommend it. Sir Percy Blakeney is another one of those characters who became a force to be reckoned with.

Lucy Maud Montgomery

The next writer who has influenced me? A certain woman who created a memorable, red-haired heroine.

I can remember being introduced to Anne of Green Gables when I was about ten. At the time, it was the longest book I’d ever tried to read, and I think it took a couple of goes before I got through it. However, once I had, I became obsessed with Anne, particularly with her relationship with Gilbert Blythe. In my first case of these-characters-must-get-together-or-I’ll-hate-this-series-forever, I did what has sadly become a habit – I peeked ahead to check out whether or not a later book went the way I wanted it to.

I continued to enjoy the Anne series, even when the narrative voice eventually drifted away from her to her children. I did find Rainbow Valley a bit slow, but its successor, Rilla of Ingleside, following the adventures of Anne’s youngest daughter, holds the honour of being the first book that ever made me cry. It was also my first experience with a WHY DID THE AUTHOR HAVE TO DO THAT???? moment, but there’s no doubt what happened felt like an organic part of the story, so I accepted it.

I have read some of Montgomery’s other work, but didn’t find them as engaging. Maybe it was the wonderfully chaotic nature of Anne Shirley that made the books a success. She is so easy to like, even when she is flying off the handle and spurning Gilbert’s advances. She’s definitely one of those characters who will be remembered forever and I thank LM Montgomery for bringing her to life.

Walter Farley and his famous black stallion

Now for the second author who inspired me – Walter Farley.

I can’t remember now whether I read The Black Stallion first or saw the movie first. I think it was the book first. Being a long-time horse lover, I was drawn in by the story of the beautiful, wild, black stallion, to such an extent that black remains my favourite colour for horses. The story was so beautifully crafted, so amazing and so engaging. It’s one of those books I wish I could go back and read again for the first time just to experience it all over again. Imagine my delight when I discovered there were more books in the series!

But back then, finding these books could be a real trick. I couldn’t get my hands on all the books in the series before my interest in them waned (which took a while, I can tell you!) I still have twelve of them on my bookshelf. Perhaps I will seek out the others in the series now that they should be easier to find. Thank you, internet!

It’s amazing how a particular book can stay with us long after we have read it. I can still remember the feelings The Black Stallion raised in me. In fact, this book inspired me to take up a pen myself. I’d already tried writing a picture book a few years before (it was also about horses: Goldie the Pony) but this time I was trying to write a full-length novel. I don’t remember what it was called, but I know it featured a horse. I don’t think I got very far, but it made no difference. Something had been set in motion by that novel. It was inspiration.

A writer who has influenced me

A friend recently mentioned that writing about authors who have influenced me was a good idea. I had a think about the ones that have and decided that the first to do so was this lady:

Enid Blyton

Can anyone out there relate? How many times did you read the Famous Five series? I can remember trying to collect them all, only managing to find number 18 (I think that was the last one I got) just as I started to grow out of them. They gave me so much reading pleasure for years. I don’t think I can underestimate the amount of influence she had on me.

Liking her work also led to my first encounter with the vitriol some authors receive. My grade five teacher considered Enid Blyton to be the worst writer in history and she regularly criticised her in class. She was a lady who knew how to speak hurtful words, so her hatred was difficult to miss.

It led to an unpleasant incident in the classroom. She declared that we all needed to do reviews on a book we had borrowed from the school library. She cast her baleful eye on each student, one at a time, demanding to know what book they had borrowed recently. If a child said they hadn’t borrowed a book, she narrowed her eyes and said, “I’ll call the library in a minute and check.”

I was terrified, because I had just started on the Secret Seven series, and I knew that meant I would experience her wrath. I knew lying would be no good, so when she came to me, I said in a small voice, “Secret Seven –”

Fortunately, she turned and addressed the class. “Oh, I don’t want any of you reading Enid Blyton books. None of hers. Definitely not. Borrow another one, Lynne.” She went on to the next student and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I asked my father what it was about Enid Blyton that made my teacher hate her. He said that some people just had a problem with her. They apparently thought that if you read her books you’d never read anyone else’s. That certainly hasn’t been true with me. In fact, this statement is so ridiculous I wonder if something else was involved. Was it jealousy? Possibly. Was it just that people felt she was a bad writer? Maybe. Whatever the case, there is no doubt that Enid Blyton is, in a large way, responsible for my own writing career. If it hadn’t been for the way she had entertained me when I was a child, I might not have started writing my own stories.

Literature cannot be imposed; it must be discovered

This is a quote from author Amy Joy. I’ve been pondering what she meant by it. I’m not 100% sure if I’m right, but I’ve found a meaning that applies to me.

I’ve always found I’m more reluctant to do anything (read a book, see a movie) if someone continually harangues me about doing it. I think some people can relate. After all, often our worst book memories are from those we were forced to read in school. They usually weren’t to our taste but were considered the ‘right’ ones for use in school. Let’s face it, they also usually weren’t exactly what I’d call lighthearted books either – Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, 1984. Hardly relaxing reading!

Does imposing a book on someone with insistence that they read it do any good at all? Certainly, some people seemed to have been turned off reading entirely because they were forced to do it as a part of the school curriculum. But if we don’t tell our friends about the books we love will they ever read and discover that joy for themselves?

Perhaps the difference is in how we talk to them about our favourite books. If we just say, ‘You need to read this! Here it is!’ I don’t think that’s going to work, but if we don’t tell them to read it and just talk about how enjoyable we found it ourselves and how much was in it that we related to, perhaps our enthusiasm will be contagious. Then our friend can be credited with discovering it themselves, rather than reading it because we hounded them into it.

How well read are you? Does it matter?

Recently on Facebook there was a link going around that listed 100 classic books. You could go in and tick which ones you’d read and see how high you scored.

I scored 23, and it could be said I cheated a little, as I ticked both Hamlet and The Complete Works of Shakespeare (which I have on my shelf) and also both The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Chronicles of Narnia. That’s a bit of doubling up.

I felt ashamed as I saw the numbers my friends got. Aren’t I, as an author, supposed to be well read?

Perhaps it was just the particular books that this list presented that made my score so low. After all, there was no science fiction at all! But even then, I must admit I try and avoid a lot of those books that everyone lists as ‘classics’ and ‘great’ books. I’ve tried a number of classic authors and haven’t been that impressed. The Three Musketeers didn’t do much for me and I found Dickens is a trifle wordy after reading David Copperfield. And I will never read Thomas Hardy again after enduring Tess of the D’ubervilles, although that was more for its subject matter than the style of writing.

Does my feelings for many classic authors mean anything? Maybe not. Maybe it means I’m simply modern, although other classic authors, like Jane Austen and the Brontes, I have enjoyed. Maybe it’s style-related. Maybe it means I’ll never write a classic. I do tend to like the more ‘bread and butter’ type of books than those compared with fine wines.

Maybe it means nothing at all. We’re all different, with different likes and dislikes, and when it comes to the subjective nature of books and how they’re written I don’t think we can pin down a definitive right or wrong, no matter how much we would like to.

A Blog Tour

I am posting a day early owing to my participation in a blog tour. Thank you, Jeanette O’Hagan, for nominating me! You can see Jeanette’s post here: http://jeanetteohagan.com/my-writing-...

1) What am I working on?

I’m currently putting the final touches on The Reign. It’s the last book in the Verindon trilogy and is scheduled for release in May this year.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I’d like to think every author brings something original to the table when they write. While my trilogy does have some familiar themes: forbidden love, teen angst, etc, it takes these familiar elements to different places. It also has a world of my own creation. I enjoyed that part immensely. World building is fun!

3) Why do I write what I do?

I write because I get ideas and they refuse to stay in my head. I have to write to get them out. It’s a compulsion more than anything else.

4) How does your writing process work?

I often find that my stories flow fairly quickly, and although the details can change as I write, I usually know the direction I’m heading before I start. I don’t usually use an outline. I find that I tend to deviate from them so much that it is a waste of time. However, I do have a basic outline in my head.

Next week it’s Kayleen West and Peter Sewell’s turn to carry on the tour! Here’s a little bit about them:

Peter Sewell

In 2011, after a series of traumatic events, Peter left his job, gave away all he owned, and began an adventure around the world. You can read about his adventures here: www.petesworldtour.wordpress.com He currently lives in Germany.

Kayleen West

Kayleen’s childhood dream was to write and illustrate for children. But first she ventured into a career of an exhibiting fine artist, where her work won many awards and now hangs in private and corporate collections, in the Australian Embassy in Ireland, and in Australian government collections.

Kayleen returned to her original passion in 2009. She is now the author/illustrator of the picture books Without Me? and Adoptive Father, and has illustrated the soon-to-be-released Better than a Superhero, written by Belinda Francis. Kayleen is working on two more picture books for publication in 2014. She also writes content and illustrates for editorials.

You can see more of Kayleen’s work at: http://kayleenwest.com.au

A book, a true book, is a writer’s confessional

So wrote Nelson Algren in Entrapment and Other Writings, and I think it’s true.

Authors are encouraged to write what they know. When I began writing, I assumed this meant if you have worked in a bookshop then you should set your novel in one, as you can write about it with authority. I believe this is true also, but I think when we authors write about ‘what we know’, we write about more than just familiar locations.

Our beliefs, for instance, will make their way onto our pages whether we like it or not. How could they not? If we believe something is right and something is wrong, it is natural to write in a way that reflects that. Also, life experiences often end up in books. The pain we went through, the loss we felt, the isolation …

I’ve noticed myself writing about all these things. My lead characters, especially the females, reflect different facets of my character because I’m writing about what I know. I suppose I am, in a way, confessing in my writing. I’m confessing my faults and insecurities, and perhaps seeking a way to overcome them.

Reading is sometimes an ingenious way of avoiding thought

This was said by Austin Phelps, an American Congregational minister, and I think it is a wise saying.

While there’s no doubt a lot of knowledge, wisdom and inspiration to be gained from a book, I think some readers read to avoid thinking for themselves. They will take whatever idea is presented in the latest book they’ve read, sometimes changing their opinion on important topics just to match the ideas presented there.

While I’m all for keeping an open mind and allowing myself to be swayed in my opinion on things if I believe there is good reason, I think it is also necessary that we all hold ideals that we have concluded after reading many different things, and neither hold simply to one without ever swaying no matter what argument is presented, nor allow ourselves to be swayed by every word and opinion we hear.

It is a difficult line to walk, though, but I think some people would prefer others to do their thinking for them.