The Penny Has Dropped

My husband recently went away for two weeks so I took time off work (I work part-time) and dedicated the entire period to study. The aim was to draft ten thousand words. There was one point when I didn’t leave the house for three days but it was worth it and I achieved the word count.

Why did I want to do this? I wanted to get as much of the story down as possible (as well as the historical micro research that goes with it) so that I can then go back and focus on description, dialogue and character. This is just my way of working.

Character. Well the penny has finally dropped. I had another tutorial last week and I received the same feedback as usual – my protagonist is too distant. I was incredibly frustrated as I had really worked on this area. However, it’s all very well knowing there’s a problem but you need the tools to fix it. I clearly hadn’t got the right tools. There are reasons for this distance issue: my job requires very factual drafting with no emotion or bias; I spent last year reading 30+ novels which were mainly from an omniscient or distant third person point of view; and I naturally like to sketch in the story and then build layer upon layer of shadow and colour.

It’s all part of the learning process and I like a challenge. I went off to the library, took out every book I could find on the subject and read. My problem was understanding the difference between distant third person and close third person as well as everything in-between. For some reason I couldn’t see it from reading novels, I needed a detailed explanation. I now have it.

I am now going back through the first nineteen chapters and editing them with this in mind. I used to look at my writing but not see it. I found this frustrating because in my day job I could read a submission of my own and see a sentence or just a word that was incorrect because it didn’t follow the key principles behind that particular drafting style. Now I can see it with my creative writing. The thing I have to be careful with is how I move along the spectrum between close and distant; knowing when to do this and how.

How to be a Writer

Last night I went to the book launch of How to be a Writer by fellow student Sally O’Reilly. As the book description states “There are hundreds of books that will take you through the writing process or provide advice about how to get your work published, but none that explain how to transform your talent into a long-term career”. Sally offers practical advice, including case studies, on everything from using the Internet to how to find a day job. Even if you are not yet published, it is a valuable way of anticipating risks and finding ways to mitigate them. It also helps to manage expectations. Sally is a published author and Creative Writing tutor and so has a great deal of knowledge and experience.

The launch was held at the famous Groucho Club in London. It was a great night and it was lovely to see so many friends. Sally also read from her latest novel which I’m very much looking forward to reading when it’s published.

Sally blogs at http://how2beawriter.blogspot.com/

Halfway There

Well, it’s the end of the year and I have reached the milestone that I set myself – I am now halfway through the first draft of the novel. It’s also an important moment for my protagonist. She started off rather naive and a little selfish and I’ve now put her through a number of events which have caused her to reflect and move forward. This is good as she will need some strength to get through the next few chapters. She does get a break around chapter twenty seven but there’s a way to go yet.
I’ve really enjoyed the first year of the PhD. Not only have I got fifteen chapters down but I’ve also: read thirty one novels; read numerous books and journal articles for my thesis; carried out research at the archives; attended five training events; attended one academic conference, an exhibition, seminar and two plays; had four tutorials; and visited the Somme battlefields. Next year there will more of the same. Plus my day job and training for a half marathon!
For anyone who reads my blog and who is currently engaged in a writing project or about to start – just write a little every day. It doesn’t matter what but please write. The days go by so quickly and writing is one of those things which seems to easily be displaced by other activity. Once you get something on the page or screen and it begins to grow then you feel a real commitment to it and you can no longer leave it alone. It will keep tugging at your mind and demanding attention. The key is to get started.

I'm Still Here

I'm conscious that I haven't posted anything for a while. The reason being is that I have two milestones that I want to reach before 31 December and I have been working hard to achieve them. Firstly, I want to finish Chapter 15 (and therefore the first half of the novel). Secondly, I want to finish reading and 'de-constructing' the thirty or so novels that I allocated to this year. I'm getting there but am also aware that I can't let some of the work around my thesis slip. I attended a couple of events last month - Theses and Open Access Papers (how to find them) and the 12-24 month PhD event. In my spare time (!) I have been cross referencing bibliographies and interrogating databases to ensure that the resources I use for my thesis are comprehensive. It doesn't help that the tendons in my wrists and hands are playing up and I'm waiting for physio. Anyway, I'll keep pushing and hopefully be able to start 2012 having got to where I want to. Novel writing is one of the most challenging things I have ever done but I love it for that.

Novel Approaches to History

This is the title of a conference that I attended this week, at the Institute of Historical Research in London. The aim was to explore the relationship between academic history and historical fiction. The conference was opened by a session with Hilary Mantel and Dr David Loades. The former was a very engaging speaker. Dr Loades set out the three different ‘types’ of historical novelist: those who use an historical period as a canvas where the narrative content itself is pure fiction; those who understand the broad historical context and create fictitious characters alongside actual characters; and then those who only ‘invent’ where there are gaps in the history. This, of course, is mirrored by the spectrum of academic historians, including popular historians. Hilary Mantel focussed on the importance of detail as well as the understanding of intellectual history. She reminded us of the importance of honesty and how building on untruths can lead to farce.
The following day comprised a range of plenary sessions as well as a key note speech by Alison Weir. Key themes throughout the day included the ability of the historical novelist to provide insight, difficulty in the use of language, the need to look at history from fresh angles for a new audience and not to recycle well worn images (often inaccurate themselves) and the relative importance of accuracy, authenticity and plausibility.
The event will continue as a virtual conference next week – details can be found at http://www.history.ac.uk/historical-fiction
In terms of my novel, this week I finished Chapter Thirteen. I really missed writing over the last couple of days and can’t wait to get back to it.

Get Closer

This week I had my fourth tutorial. It was very positive but there is a key area that needs work. On the plus side, my tutor is happy with the content and the structure and feels that there is a strong story. I am relieved as the last thing I want to do at this stage is start deconstructing the chapters that I’ve written so far. In addition, if I’m not telling a strong story I’m in trouble. Although my tutor is content with the characters and understands their motivation etc I still haven’t got to grips with the voice. We think that the main reason for this is that in my day job I have been required to write in a very objective way; stripping out all opinion and emotion. Interestingly, I seem to have no problem with dialogue and letters from my character. That’s because I am right there in her mind. As soon as I go back to the third person I become too distant from her. We discussed going back and writing her in the first person but this is too restrictive for the story that I’m telling. We then discussed my writing her in the first person and then changing it back. I have now started to do this and it has made a difference.
This week Emma Darwin has been blogging about this very element of writing. http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2011/10/point-of-view-narrators-3-external-narrators.html
She also suggests the approach that I describe above. Although I wish that I could have achieved the right voice from the start, I do feel that I have learnt something. If I were able to get the story, plot, narrative, characters, dialogue and voice beautifully from the start then I would have been extremely lucky!

Busy Week

This has been a really productive and varied week. I have worked on Chapter Eleven and am three quarters of the way through. I am now at the beginning of the second of three ‘acts’. For me, the middle of the novel is the most exciting. I have laid the foundations of my protagonist’s world and can now really put her through the various scenarios that build on each other and make her a different and better person by the end of it. I struggled when I started the chapter. It is a bridge between her old world and the new but the writing felt naive and lacked something but I was not sure what. I came back to the basic question; what does she want? Even though I was describing her new world it wasn’t enough. There needed to be conflict, however low key that maybe. Once I answered that question, a secondary/tertiary character came forward, the dialogue almost wrote itself and I learnt more about my protagonist. She came alive again. Creating something from nothing is extremely hard work but when it starts to happen it is a wonderful feeling.
I also attended a training session on exploiting electronic journals. It’s great that they are available electronically but finding what you need is not necessarily easy. I am now looking forward to setting a day aside to play with the various databases.
In addition, I have read a lesser known novel by Mrs Humphrey Ward – ‘The War and Elizabeth.’ I absolutely loved it. It did something that novels rarely seem to do for me anymore; it moved me.
Finally, I want to a fantastic seminar run by the Western Front Association. There were four speakers whose subjects ranged from Ploegsteert Archaeology (a subject close to my heart as my Grandfather was there and I have spent many years in all weathers working on an archaeological site albeit pre-historic) to women war artists and the representation of women in WW1 art. It was so good to get out of the study (and my own head) and meet like-minded people.