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.