Distinction and New Beginnings

It's official, I have passed my MA with distinction. Spurred on by this, I have cleared out the box room (or rather got my other half to put his piles of paper and God knows what else in the loft) and transformed it into a study. I'm going to be working part-time from 1 Jan and don't want to associate the living room with study and all the stress that goes with it; better to keep it to a small room at the top of the stairs so I can shut the door on it. I have updated my bibliography, designed a research framework and study timeline. It's all ready, I just have to open the first book, start taking notes and of course, commence the next novel. Happy New Year to all and I'll keep you posted on how things are going.

Hurrah! Good News!

I haven't updated this blog for a long time as I have been off travelling in New Zealand and Japan. I had a fantastic time and even managed to pick up a few early editions of novels that are on my PhD reading list. I got home to find 'the envelope' with my dissertation mark and feedback. I am absolutely thrilled - all A's and an A*. The feedback is very constructive and I will revisit the manuscript when I have finished the PhD. I feel much more confident about my writing now and am really looking forward to starting my studies again.

Charing Cross Rd

I spent a few happy hours this week wandering round the Charing Cross Rd looking for books that are on my ever increasing bibliography. In this time of the rise of the e-book, e-reader etc it was an absolute joy to immerse myself in the physicality of the paper book. Even the smell of second hand books makes me smile to myself. I've also been to another Fire Station Bookswap this week. I managed to offload Mothers Milk (did not enjoy it) for Poppy Shakespeare by Clare Allan which has been on my wish list for a while.

Chelsea Arts Club

I was very fortunate this week to be invited to the Chelsea Arts Club. Students past and present were asked along by our tutor. Founded by Whistler, it is tucked away in a lovely location just off the Fulham Road. We were in a room at the front of what is essentially a cottage but then when you go through to the 'inner sanctum' it opens up into another world. Membership is exclusive, so I'm unlikely to go again but I briefly saw a parallel life that shows itself now again. When I turn it's gone but one day, maybe one day...

Champagne

I handed in my MA dissertation on Wednesday. I must admit to feeling rather bereft. This won't last as I have now started to get to grips with the PhD. Last Sunday was rather stressful. All I had to do was print the novel extract and essay but the printer jammed and I got through a brand new ink cartridge. My other half had to drive me to Staples in my comfy clothes and my hair all over the place, shouting "ink". The lovely thing was that we didn't just hand it in and then drift away. Fay Weldon invited us all for champagne in her office and we all shared stories of the last few months of writing. I am so glad to be going back to continue my studies.

Finished!

I finished my dissertation today. It is formatted, referenced and proof read. All I have to do is press print. It feels great. Having said in The Big Decison that I will probably shelve it I have now decided, following comments from my tutor, that it will go on ice and be re-visited when I finish my PhD. I am now going to spend a few weeks reading books that I want to read. I got The 19th Wife at the September Fire Station book swap (swapped it for a spare copy of Pat Barker's Regeneration as the one I kept has a cover that matches the rest of the trilogy!) and also picked up Francesa Kay's An Equal Stillness from the charity shop which I have wanted ever since I worked at her agents last year.

Nearly There

I can't believe where the time has gone. I have spent the last few weeks on the Writers Journal. As well as musing over my writing decisions, I have also had to look at my work in the context of published novels and other media. Therefore, I have been reading up on everything from strong female characters in the media since the 1970's to epistolary novels of World War Two. I have finished the essay and have spent most of the day working on the referencing for the entire dissertation. Even though I thought I had kept on top of it from the start it is incredible how long it takes to do, particularly when you have to use the Chicago method.

Fire Station Book Swap Birthday

Last night was the Fire Station Book Swap’s 1st birthday. There was cake (but then there always is) and a smattering of balloons. It was a really entertaining evening with Matt Rudd (William’s Progress) and Andrew Kaufman (All My Friends Are Superheroes and The Waterproof Bible) as guests. Both were extremely engaging and funny; it will be available as a podcast on iTunes soon and I recommend it (it's free!). Am adding Andrew’s books to my ever increasingly Christmas list.

The Big Decision

I had a tutorial this week which went well. I have some further work to do to the manuscript (nothing major) after which I will have one third of a novel which I am content to submit as my dissertation. So what’s the big decision? I start my PhD in January so have until Christmas to finish this novel (albeit I am travelling for six weeks). Should I expend a great deal of effort to complete it? The answer is no. It has been a fantastic learning experience but it is not my first novel. It is not what I want to go out to agents with saying “this is me.” The novel that I will be writing for my PhD is the one that I really want to write. It is also important to remember that publishers will go straight to the sales figures of any previous novels that you may have published and if they are not promising then they are unlikely to back you. I have a suspicion that even if I did finish the current novel and miraculously found an agent and a publisher it would not sell huge numbers. Whether it is a novel, a painting or a symphony, art requires patience and practice. I know that I am in this for the long haul i.e. years and I am not going to go to an agent until I have a novel that I am truly content with.

And Another Thing...

Not only am I writing a novel for my dissertation, I also have to write a 5,000 word 'Writer's Journal.' This includes everything from my inspiration to the choice of setting and the relationship to other published works of fiction. At first I thought this was unnecessary pressure but I'm changing my mind. Since I started drafting the novel last summer, I made sure that I had a framework for the journal saved on the computer. Whenever I had a significant thought or came across a useful quote, I squirrelled it away under the relevant heading. Today I started to draft each section. Research notes, character profiles, the novel plan etc all have their home on my computer but without this journal there would be no place to store all those other key thoughts regarding not the content of the novel but how it is actually written. As writing a novel is often the result of years rather than months of work, it is difficult to remember those thoughts you may have had about an approach to a particular character's voice or why a particular setting was chosen. These may have a subsequent impact on redrafting/revision way off in the future but if its not recorded the meaning of this may be lost. I intend to keep a journal for the novel I write for my PhD even though it is not a requirement. In addition, having those headings on an otherwise blank screen will help identify where the gaps are and where key decisions need to be made.

Book Swap –The Return

I went to my second book swap at the Fire Station Arts Centre last night. There was a good turnout which meant lots of cake (I love Mrs. Scott’s macaroons!). The guest authors were Bronia Kita (The Swansong of Wilbur McCrum) and Aliya Whiteley (Light Reading). It is such a wonderful concept – the atmosphere is so friendly and the fact that most of the questions are not about writing means that you get to know more about the authors themselves. They both came across really well. I was interested in Bronia’s book and hope to get to read it once my dissertation is done and I can read non-MA related books again. It was good to know that Bronia had done an MA (Goldsmiths) so there may be hope for me yet and also that Aliya was published via the MacMillan New Writing.
http://broniakita.com
http://www.aliyawhiteley.com

Exposition

I had my tutorial this week, which covered the next 12,000 or so words. These were written from another characters pov and therefore totally separate to the diary entries previously submitted. It was a first draft and for me was about getting the skeleton of the story down, with the next stage being to add the narrative; a little like completing a preliminary sketch prior to a painting. Unsurprisingly, the main issue that my tutor raised was that of the need for less exposition. I was comforted by the fact that this is mainly structural (because the focus was on the action) and that it is something that can be remedied. I have also decided that now I am past the minimum word count for my dissertation, I will stop and concentrate on quality rather than quantity. I am in a very good place now as I can spend time working with the material that I have and stop worrying about word counts! Am really enjoying it.

Whose Voice is it Anyway?

In the last couple of weeks I have come across an interesting conundrum. Part of my novel is set in another era which suits my own voice. The remainder is set in the 1990's and told from the point of view of a character who is nothing like me. That's part of writing, I hear you cry; convincingly taking on various voices but always with your own style. The problem is I keep imaging an agent (I never dare to imagine getting as far as publisher) reading my MS and thinking badly of the vocabulary etc, i.e. that it is not very advanced. I am comforting myself with the fact that I have concentrated on getting the story down, focussing on pace and particularly dialogue and not on description. Hopefully I will feel better when I edit and can add to the latter.

Fire Station Bookswap

I had a great night out at the Fire Station Bookswap this week. It is a monthly event and was established a year ago by Scott Pack and Marie Phillips. The guests this month were Emma Darwin and Edward Vallance. The 'stage' is set up with a sofa and table complete with kettle and cake (the latter is passed around the audience during the evening). The audience put written questions in a pot at the start of the evening and these are used by Scott and Marie during their chats with the guests. Questions on subjects other than writing are encouraged which lends even more of a relaxed feel. Perodically, audience members are asked to pitch the books they have brought along and those who are interested try and pitch their book and get the swap. I was rather shy of using the mic so Scott kindly did it for me. I can now honestly say Scott Pack pitched my book (alright I'm strteching it a bit but hey). Anyway, back to writing my book; nearly at 20,000 words.

Positive Feedback

I had my tutorial yesterday and it went well. I honestly didn't know what to expect as the first 8,000 words that I submitted were two standalone chapters in the form of diary entries. I submitted a basic draft and then needed advice as to which areas needed emphasis. Only two elements need to be drawn out so that is good. In addition, my tutor was positive about the voice and the fact that although the draft sits on solid research it doesn't scream "I've researched this you know". I am glad that the first review is done and now feel a lot more confident.

The Gradual Slope

At the end of term, our course convenor warned us that life often throws things at us without warning so it was a good idea to get as much of our dissertations under our belts as soon as possible in case unforseen events took us off course. I paid attention and hoped that it wouldn't apply to me. Within a few weeks a close family member became ill and unfortunately died. Rather than put my work to one side I used it to get me through the five weeks, even to the point of writing the opening paragraph on the back of a letter from the dentist, whilst sitting in the hospital. It provided some structure at a time when all sense of time and place became distorted and also as a way of going to another place for a while. I have a real sense of achievement today as I have met all of my planned milestones and have completed over a quarter of my dissertation (only a first draft, however, so I may end up re-writing sections of it). I have my second tutorial on Wednesday when I will get feedback on the first 8,000 words. I'm a little apprehensive.

Project Management

I have been busy over the last couple of weeks setting up my dissertation. This includes a schedule (on a rather snazzy spreadsheet) which sets out the key milestones for the next five months. It's a good thing I did this as I thought it was a long period of time before I calculated how many words I need to write per week.
I have also amended my novel plan following feedback from a workshop and my first tutorial. I have two protagonists (one contemporary and one in the past) and the feedback I received was that the contemporary character was a 'frame' for the other rather than a key character in her own right. At first I didn't get it but that many people can't be wrong. Then I realised that although the contemporary character was alive and kicking in my mind, the reader did not get time to know her at the start of the novel before the inciting incident and therefore would not understand the impact on her. I was caught out by the belief that the novel should start 'in media res'. I have now added a couple of scenes to the opening which add a further thread to the plot, making the whole thing stonger (I think!).
I have also worked on character profiles - not everyone likes this much planning but it helps me to go between these and the plot before I start. Character profiles, by the way, are not about appearance or what they do for a living, rather they are about the character's key qualities and desires.
Finally, I have researched other novels that are similar in form, genre and subject matter and ordered them (I seriously need more bookshelves) as these will feature in the writer's journal that accompanies the novel.
And yes, I will now start writing...

Wonderful Feeling

I have that wonderful feeling of finishing a piece of coursework. The formatting and referencing is done (why does it always take longer than I think?) and I just have to print it off. I now have the outline of my second novel and just want to write it; I can see the characters, know how my protagonist feels and I'm ready to give them life. There is, however, the small matter of my first novel i.e. my dissertation.
I have my first dissertation tutorial on Tuesday and have five months to produce 40,000 words of the best writing I can. I'm feeling inspired this week as a former graduate of the course, Christy Lefteri, has just published her first novel.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Watermelon-Fish-Bible-Christy-Lefteri/dp/1849161275
A precedent has been set and I have no excuses.

Validation

I had my last lecture this week. We went through our novel outlines as a group with our tutors. I have to say that I was rather nervous as I have been researching it for so long and not shared it with anyone. It was very well received and I know what I need to work on. Writing a synopsis is very difficult but I did it in the first person which lent it vitality. All I have to do now is write the novel. I've been assigned a tutor to work with over the Summer and I will update my blog as I go.

The Third Degree

In my post on 3 January, I mentioned that the novel outline I was working on for my coursework was for a novel that I now knew would be written. I can now reveal that the reason is that it formed part of the MPhil/PhD proposal that I started pulling together before Christmas. I have just had the exciting news that I have an unconditional offer. I am really looking forward to cutting my teeth on the present novel and then focussing on one project for two to three years. All I need now is for work to agree to my application for two years unpaid leave.

Young and Old

This week I attended two interesting lectures. The first with David Flusfeder, reading from his latest book - A Film by Spencer Ludwig. It tells the story of a man going on an unplanned road trip with his father. After so many lectures focusing on the craft of writing (and of course that is what the degree is about), it was good to listen to a writer reading his work and having an open and honest discussion about both the novel and his writing life. This was followed by an event with David Lodge and Jim Crace. The university is currently running a research project whereby reading groups comprised of older members read and discuss eight specific novels related to ageing and then discuss their responses. Jim and David were articulate and engaging speakers, as one would expect, and the Q&A session was very lively. It was a shame, however, that both questions relating to women and ageing were quickly passed over.

The First Sentence

I am embarking on the most creative part of the MA - an original novel outline and 40,000 words of a different novel. I had a rather intimidating experience yesterday when Fay Weldon told us to start the first paragraph of our novel and then left the room. Half an hour later she returned and we each had to read out our scribblings. I had not expected this. Fay then discussed each one. No pressure there then. It was a very valuable session. I knew that I had to start in the middle of the action but I was not setting up the entire novel in the first 250 words. That is what I now aim to do. There are a few elements to include: the 'cosmic sentence', the middle of the action, setting up the problem to be solved, dialogue etc. It sounds impossible but I think a balance can be achieved. Mmmmm...

Back Again

I haven't been in the land of the living for a while and am glad to be starting a new year. I have finally finished my coursework and am pleased with it although I know in a few years time I will probably look back on it and cringe. I can already see an improvement on my coursework from the same time last year so hopefully I will keep getting better. I am now heading into the final term which looks at planning the novel. I already started to look at this in the summer but need to revisit it, particularly as I now know this is a book that will be written (hopefully more on this in future posts). My dissertation (40,000 word extract of another novel) is due in September. If the time taken to write my 2,000 word creative piece is anything to go by I had better to get started now. To an extent I envy writers who can get a first draft down quickly. I try to let it flow but just can't stop the self editor within me. I almost go into a trance so I can really see and feel what I want to express and then agonise over the exact words, scared that if I move on too quickly I will not be able to get back to that place. It can be tiring and frustrating but I wouldn't swap it for anything.