Rebecca Bryn's Blog, page 2
May 3, 2015
Where Hope Dares
This is my third novel, set loosely in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco and not in the present time. Release date is May 29th 2015 and a preview can be read by clicking on the title on my author page.
August 22, 2014
Touching the Wire
My second novel, Touching the Wire will be released on November 1st 2014. It is now available as an e-book for pre-order on Amazon for Kindle.
Rebecca Bryn
http://www.amazon.co.uk/TOUCHING-WIRE...
A novel in two parts. Part one takes us to the horror of a Nazi death camp where a young doctor and nurse struggle against a brutal regime to save lives. As their relationship blossoms they join the camp resistance, risking death daily. Stolen secrets and liberation only begin another phase of the nightmare as the doctor struggles to save the life of his young love.
Part two sees the doctor's granddaughter, seventy years later, discovering an enigmatic carving that leads her on a quest to uncover her grandfather's past, his unkept promise, and the horrific secrets from which he's protected his family.
Written to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Holocaust day on January 27th 2015, this story is dedicated to the late Dr Schaeler, a Polish Jew, and a teacher at Kettering High School, and victims of tyranny everywhere. It was the pain of loss in this gentle old man's eyes that drove me to write this story. Inspiration for the plot came from a TV report and a series of burr-elm boxes made by my husband. While researching and writing Touching the Wire, I asked myself if I could forgive as many victims have managed to do. Can you? We must ensure such inhumanity can never happen again.
Rebecca Brynhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/TOUCHING-WIRE...
A novel in two parts. Part one takes us to the horror of a Nazi death camp where a young doctor and nurse struggle against a brutal regime to save lives. As their relationship blossoms they join the camp resistance, risking death daily. Stolen secrets and liberation only begin another phase of the nightmare as the doctor struggles to save the life of his young love.
Part two sees the doctor's granddaughter, seventy years later, discovering an enigmatic carving that leads her on a quest to uncover her grandfather's past, his unkept promise, and the horrific secrets from which he's protected his family.
Written to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Holocaust day on January 27th 2015, this story is dedicated to the late Dr Schaeler, a Polish Jew, and a teacher at Kettering High School, and victims of tyranny everywhere. It was the pain of loss in this gentle old man's eyes that drove me to write this story. Inspiration for the plot came from a TV report and a series of burr-elm boxes made by my husband. While researching and writing Touching the Wire, I asked myself if I could forgive as many victims have managed to do. Can you? We must ensure such inhumanity can never happen again.
August 19, 2014
D.I.Y Characters that live
I belong to an on-line writing group, The Word Cloud. I wrote a blog on character creation some of you may be interested in.
See full blog with suggestions from other Word Cloud members at http://writing-community.writersworks...
DIY Characters you can believe in.
I once read a good blog about character creation that gave a list of questions you should ask about your character. Whilst it made me think, it still left me with a rather flat character, a list of attributes, and creating rounded, believable characters is something I do struggle with. It’s not usually until they get me to the end of the story that I really know them, and they’ve come alive for me, and then I have rewrite the beginning because they seem dull and lifeless by comparison.
So I’m going to do the following exercise and see if using it to create my next character gives me an instantly-rounded character I feel I know.
1. Choose someone I know really well.
2. Describe them physically.
3. Write down what I know about their history, parents and forebears – what’s made them who they are.
4. Where do they live/work?
5. Note what I’ve observed about them: how they speak, mannerisms, likes and dislikes, idiosyncrasies.
6. How do they relate to others?
7. Greatest aspirations and fears?
8. How do they react in certain circumstances, such as those your character may confront in your story?
9. Sum up their character up in twenty words.
Here goes:
1. I’ve chosen my maternal grandmother. She’s dead so I can’t offend her.
2. She’s short and dumpy, with a comfortable, inviting bosom. She has grey eyes and grey hair, done in a typical pensioner’s perm and always neat as if she’s just had it set. She always smells nice. She’s left-handed and has thin lips, and her cheeks hang in folds around her mouth. She has a double chin and the corners of her mouth turn down slightly, a trait in our family that makes us look unhappy when we’re not. Her normal attire is a floral bib-type apron over a navy cotton dress with neatly-spaced white dots, and navy shoes with a low heel. When she dresses up she wears a suit, navy or grey-blue and always wears a matching hat, handbag and shoes: if I saw her standing next to the Queen Mother I’d have a job to tell them apart. She has a lovely smile just like her.
3. She was born in 1892, the eldest girl of 11 children. Her mother was a lace-maker and died when Grandma was 17. Grandma brought up her 10 siblings. Her father was a coal-whipper, and then a stoker at the gas works: dirty dusty work. He was an alcoholic wife-beater and she had to meet him at the works gate on a Friday night and beg housekeeping money from him before he drank it all in The Windmill. I don’t know if he beat her too, or worse, but she suffered bouts of depression all her life. Her great uncle was deported to Tasmania for murdering a gamekeeper. Her sister was a kleptomaniac… but these things weren’t talked about. You’re getting the picture? She married Granddad when he came home from war in Palestine, in 1918. He’d promised they’d get married if he survived, but war had changed him, and the marriage was never really happy. I think they had a grudging fondness for each other, but I never saw any outward show of affection between them. This added to her depression and affected my own mother and so on… God, I feel depressed myself, now. I should have chosen someone more cheerful.
4. She lived in a rented backstreet terrace in Kettering, which she kept scrupulously clean. It had a small lawned yard, the bus rattled the front windows when it stopped outside and she had a treadle Singer in the front room: the best room which was never used. The kitchen smelt of carbolic and her pantry had marble shelves. She left school at 11 to work in the corset factory, and took in lodgers when her father died to mek ends meet.
5. She was a tailoress and very deft at sewing, knitting, crochet and embroidery. Her hands were never idle: the room fairly clattered with the speed of her knitting needles. She spoke with a broad Kettering dialect and certain phrases stick in my mind. It’s a bit over-fully It needs taking in: it’s too big. Y’ets to goo accordin. You have to go according to what material you have. She ets t’evit. She has to have it. Ooh, air Margrit… A sure sign my mother had done something she disapproved of (I may post my short story of the same name if I have the courage. It’s more cheerful than this even if it is a description of my mother’s funeral and a true story.) She was always mekking do ‘n’ mendin. The rent, insurance and club money was laid out every week and she never missed a payment. Despite her thriftiness, Granddad left only £70 when he died, and I doubt Grandma left that much.
She had a leopard-skin coat, fake fur, that she huddled under on the sofa when she was in a fit of depression. On Sundays she always cooked roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, and every week she said The gas is down, it ent never gunna rise. but it was always perfect. She loved a bet, was a regular at the bookies, loved a game of cards, and always did the pools. Silence had to be observed on Saturday afternoons when the results were being read. One week she got 24 points and was so excited she made a pot of tea with no tea in it. She won £75.
6. She relates to others by being defensive and, not exactly argumentative but stands her ground. She doesn’t show much affection but, despite this, she feels comfortable and safe to be with. The sort of person you could go to with a problem. She was quietly proud of all her grandchildren. It was her children she disapproved of.
7. Her greatest aspiration was to come up on the horses, or win the pools, since she knew no amount of hard work would lift her from her life of poverty. Her greatest fear was ending up in St Mary’s Hospital, which was still the local poor-house in her mind.
8. Faced with difficult situations she’d flap, but I think she’d be strong once she got over the shock, and she’d definitely need a fag and a gin and tonic for that.
9. Quietly dignified, like Queen Mum, gentle, proud, dependable, undervalued, honest, hardworking, no childhood, no chance of fulfilling her dreams.
Obviously, only a fraction of that information would go into a novel were she a character I would use but, by knowing her intimately, I can make that information count and keep the character consistent. My question is can you envisage this woman? Do you feel you know her?
Now that I've totally depressed you, why not choose someone you know well and try this out. It may help you understand them better, and, if you're a writer, try constructing a character, or applying this to a character you already have, and see if it helps you know them better or makes them live.
I’m now going off to try inventing a new HAPPY character using the above guidelines and similar detail and see if they come alive. Why not have a go and post your new character here? Could be interesting. And if anyone wants to use Grandma as she is, though why you’d want to is beyond me, feel free. She won’t sue! I think I shall post the short story, later. It's called Ooh Air Margrit, and it may make you laugh.
See full blog with suggestions from other Word Cloud members at http://writing-community.writersworks...
DIY Characters you can believe in.
I once read a good blog about character creation that gave a list of questions you should ask about your character. Whilst it made me think, it still left me with a rather flat character, a list of attributes, and creating rounded, believable characters is something I do struggle with. It’s not usually until they get me to the end of the story that I really know them, and they’ve come alive for me, and then I have rewrite the beginning because they seem dull and lifeless by comparison.
So I’m going to do the following exercise and see if using it to create my next character gives me an instantly-rounded character I feel I know.
1. Choose someone I know really well.
2. Describe them physically.
3. Write down what I know about their history, parents and forebears – what’s made them who they are.
4. Where do they live/work?
5. Note what I’ve observed about them: how they speak, mannerisms, likes and dislikes, idiosyncrasies.
6. How do they relate to others?
7. Greatest aspirations and fears?
8. How do they react in certain circumstances, such as those your character may confront in your story?
9. Sum up their character up in twenty words.
Here goes:
1. I’ve chosen my maternal grandmother. She’s dead so I can’t offend her.
2. She’s short and dumpy, with a comfortable, inviting bosom. She has grey eyes and grey hair, done in a typical pensioner’s perm and always neat as if she’s just had it set. She always smells nice. She’s left-handed and has thin lips, and her cheeks hang in folds around her mouth. She has a double chin and the corners of her mouth turn down slightly, a trait in our family that makes us look unhappy when we’re not. Her normal attire is a floral bib-type apron over a navy cotton dress with neatly-spaced white dots, and navy shoes with a low heel. When she dresses up she wears a suit, navy or grey-blue and always wears a matching hat, handbag and shoes: if I saw her standing next to the Queen Mother I’d have a job to tell them apart. She has a lovely smile just like her.
3. She was born in 1892, the eldest girl of 11 children. Her mother was a lace-maker and died when Grandma was 17. Grandma brought up her 10 siblings. Her father was a coal-whipper, and then a stoker at the gas works: dirty dusty work. He was an alcoholic wife-beater and she had to meet him at the works gate on a Friday night and beg housekeeping money from him before he drank it all in The Windmill. I don’t know if he beat her too, or worse, but she suffered bouts of depression all her life. Her great uncle was deported to Tasmania for murdering a gamekeeper. Her sister was a kleptomaniac… but these things weren’t talked about. You’re getting the picture? She married Granddad when he came home from war in Palestine, in 1918. He’d promised they’d get married if he survived, but war had changed him, and the marriage was never really happy. I think they had a grudging fondness for each other, but I never saw any outward show of affection between them. This added to her depression and affected my own mother and so on… God, I feel depressed myself, now. I should have chosen someone more cheerful.
4. She lived in a rented backstreet terrace in Kettering, which she kept scrupulously clean. It had a small lawned yard, the bus rattled the front windows when it stopped outside and she had a treadle Singer in the front room: the best room which was never used. The kitchen smelt of carbolic and her pantry had marble shelves. She left school at 11 to work in the corset factory, and took in lodgers when her father died to mek ends meet.
5. She was a tailoress and very deft at sewing, knitting, crochet and embroidery. Her hands were never idle: the room fairly clattered with the speed of her knitting needles. She spoke with a broad Kettering dialect and certain phrases stick in my mind. It’s a bit over-fully It needs taking in: it’s too big. Y’ets to goo accordin. You have to go according to what material you have. She ets t’evit. She has to have it. Ooh, air Margrit… A sure sign my mother had done something she disapproved of (I may post my short story of the same name if I have the courage. It’s more cheerful than this even if it is a description of my mother’s funeral and a true story.) She was always mekking do ‘n’ mendin. The rent, insurance and club money was laid out every week and she never missed a payment. Despite her thriftiness, Granddad left only £70 when he died, and I doubt Grandma left that much.
She had a leopard-skin coat, fake fur, that she huddled under on the sofa when she was in a fit of depression. On Sundays she always cooked roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, and every week she said The gas is down, it ent never gunna rise. but it was always perfect. She loved a bet, was a regular at the bookies, loved a game of cards, and always did the pools. Silence had to be observed on Saturday afternoons when the results were being read. One week she got 24 points and was so excited she made a pot of tea with no tea in it. She won £75.
6. She relates to others by being defensive and, not exactly argumentative but stands her ground. She doesn’t show much affection but, despite this, she feels comfortable and safe to be with. The sort of person you could go to with a problem. She was quietly proud of all her grandchildren. It was her children she disapproved of.
7. Her greatest aspiration was to come up on the horses, or win the pools, since she knew no amount of hard work would lift her from her life of poverty. Her greatest fear was ending up in St Mary’s Hospital, which was still the local poor-house in her mind.
8. Faced with difficult situations she’d flap, but I think she’d be strong once she got over the shock, and she’d definitely need a fag and a gin and tonic for that.
9. Quietly dignified, like Queen Mum, gentle, proud, dependable, undervalued, honest, hardworking, no childhood, no chance of fulfilling her dreams.
Obviously, only a fraction of that information would go into a novel were she a character I would use but, by knowing her intimately, I can make that information count and keep the character consistent. My question is can you envisage this woman? Do you feel you know her?
Now that I've totally depressed you, why not choose someone you know well and try this out. It may help you understand them better, and, if you're a writer, try constructing a character, or applying this to a character you already have, and see if it helps you know them better or makes them live.
I’m now going off to try inventing a new HAPPY character using the above guidelines and similar detail and see if they come alive. Why not have a go and post your new character here? Could be interesting. And if anyone wants to use Grandma as she is, though why you’d want to is beyond me, feel free. She won’t sue! I think I shall post the short story, later. It's called Ooh Air Margrit, and it may make you laugh.
