FERGUS, MOZART, THE ORANGUTANS, AND ME

Mozart

Fergus

Meet Fergus, Mozart, and my two adopted Orangutans, Rosi and Jarot.

Of course, Rosi and Jarot don’t live with me, but in the Sumatran forest at rescue centres.

 

Rosi

Separated from their mothers when babies, and now looked after by The Orangutan Project, Rosi and Jarot have the chance, along with many other Orangutan babies, to return to the forest where they belong.  If, that is, there is a forest to return to!

Jarot

Why were Rosi and Jarot separated from their mothers at such a young age?  Because the rainforest where they live is being felled for Palm Oil and other crops at an overwhelming rate with the remaining forest being degraded by drought and forest fires.  Extinction, for the Sumatran Orangutan in the wild is likely in the next 10 years.  Extinction for the Bornean Orangutans following soon after.

KEEP YOUR NOTE BOOK HANDY

With early morning fog and various other mishaps, I spent most of today waiting for planes in airport lounges.  Irritating to say the least, but it did highlight what a treasure trove airport lounges can be for a writer of fiction.  Snippets of dialogue, body language and facial expressions abound not to mention the interesting as well exasperating personalities.  Everything you could wish for to enrich your characters.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be an airport lounge.  It can be the beauty salon, coffee shop, the train, bus.  In fact, anywhere humanity congregates.

So, keep your notebook handy, and the next time you find yourself marking time, make use of the moment.

A WRITER'S OPENING 'HOOK'

Your first task in beginning your book is to ensure that your reader will turn that first page and read on. Only your imagination limits your choices, but whatever you choose, it has to give the reader a sense that something threatening is happening or about to happen. This can be done in a variety of ways. For example, an intruder, a death, even a doorbell ringing. Wouldn’t you agree that the doorbell ringing in the middle of the night would give you a sense of dread? At least until you opened the door.

The hook can be your opening sentence or your first paragraph but whatever you decide, keep the description to a minimum and don’t use passive sentences. For example.

Esme’s eyelids flew open, her body tensed and her arthritic joints twinged as the scraping noise came again from the room above.  

Straight away we have the name of the character. Esme, in this case. We also know that Esme suffers from arthritis, so is, possibly, elderly. And what is that scraping noise she hears? Is Esme in danger?

Another example.  This time for an opening chapter.

Laurence Harford emerged from the building into the cold night air and lit the cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. Discarding the match, he exhaled, absently watching the smoke blend with the shadows in the dimly lit lane. Moving slowly toward the stone archway and the street beyond, he stopped when a figure stepped into his path. As their eyes met, Laurence’s heart pumped, a sense of recognition and fear registering in his brain. Beads of sweat broke out across his brow, his cigarette fell to the web flagstones and he lurched from the lane into the deserted street, the sound of uneven footsteps sounding behind. 

In this second example something is definitely happening. Who did Laurence see in the laneway, and why did he react as he did?

If you would like to send in examples of your favourite hooks, I'll post them here.

YOUR MANUSCRIPT'S SAGGING MIDDLE

You’ve written zealously for months, your enthusiasm growing as the plot unfolds before your eyes.  Characters, once just names on a page, have come to life and appear to be writing the story for you.  Each morning you wake up with fresh ideas and churn out yet another thousand words before lunchtime.  It’s exhilarating to say the least until, one day, you find it all grinding to a halt.  Your manuscript has sagged in the middle!

Days become unproductive, nights sleepless.  Is there a solution to this dilemma?  The first thing is you don’t give up.  Instead you turn on your determination and treat this as a challenge.

To start with think of your manuscript as a three act play.

Act 1 you are busy introducing characters, the settings they inhabit, establishing subplots and conflict.

Act 2 complications arise, your protagonist tries and fails and tries again.

Act 3 you tie up sub-plots and loose ends, your protagonist finally confronts the villain and all is resolved.

If you look at Act 1, you can see there’s lots to be done establishing your characters, settings etc.  And again in Act 3, you are bringing it all together and finalising everything.  But Act 2 can be difficult because it’s where all the action is.  You have to tell your reader, in a plausible way, how your characters are dealing with their conflicts.  If you’re writing a murder mystery you have to show the workings of how the crime is being solved.  So it’s not uncommon to experience problems.  Your conflict might run out of steam or you find it difficult to solve the crime.

Here are a few suggestions to remedy the situation:

Option 1:  Someone once said to me that embarking on writing a book is like giving yourself a lot of problems that no one can help you with.  That’s true in a sense, but not altogether because I’ve found just talking to someone about plot problem(s), does help make things clearer in my mind.  And the strange thing is the person you’re speaking to doesn’t necessarily have to respond.  They just have to have the endurance to listen to your ramblings until you’re quite finished.  Mothers are the best choice for this task.  If that’s not an option then a spouse or sibling is probably the next option.  Friends, not so good.  You wouldn’t want to do this to a friend!

Option 2:  Take stock.  Think about your characters and your plot.  What’s at stake for your characters?  Is there something about them you have overlooked?  If your plot has come to a standstill, is there another direction it can go in?

Option 3:  Skip over your problem area and write a scene further along.  Sometimes what you write might suggest actions for the scene(s) that have been giving you trouble.

Option 4:  Make things happen.  Create a new conflict/event for your character(s) to be faced with.  And think about how your character(s) will logically deal with this new situation.  If you’re writing a murder mystery, have another murder take place.  This is sure to get things moving again!

Option 5:  Write the finale.  Even if this eventually changes, it might give you a sense of direction.

What are your suggestions for sagging middles?

BOOK REVIEW

The Winter Sea

by Susanna Kearsley

I became totally absorbed reading The Winter Sea.  Set in north-east Scotland, it tells the story of Carrie McClelland, an author who starts writing a historical romance using her ancestor, Sophia McClelland and the exiled King James of Scotland as its background.  The reader is swept back in time to 1708, at the height of James’s attempt to regain his crown from England, and Sophia’s entanglement in this affair.

Carrie, settles into her rented cottage in the historic village of Cruden Bay where she finds herself surrounded by images of the past, not the least of which is Slains Castle, in 1708, a Jacobite stronghold, and the focal point in her book.  It’s not long, however, before the character in Carrie’s story start to take over her writing with surprising results.

Slains Castle today

If you enjoy reading history mixed with fiction and a smattering of  romance as well as mystery, you will not be disappointed.

DO YOU OUTLINE OR WRITE BY THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS?

When writing, do you outline, use a storyboard or, as someone put it to me the other day, do you write by the seat of your pants?  A Panster, in other words.  There is, of course, no right or wrong way, it just comes down to what works for you.

 

I, myself, work in some sort of confused muddle for eighteen to twenty-four months in the hope that I will eventually emerge into the sunlight.  It’s like trying to find my way through a maze.

I’ve never used a storyboard, but I do spend a lot of time drawing diagrams over the backs of my manuscript pages, on serviettes while I’m in a restaurant or coffee shop, and in a notebook I carry with me.  I don’t know whether this pastime helps me sort out my plot problems, but I think it has a therapeutic benefit.  I liken it to watering one’s garden.  It has a calming effect when I can’t solve the mystery I’m writing!  I do create a time line for my characters so I know where they were at the time of the murder(s).  And I keep a table of all my characters’ details.  It doesn’t do to have someone’s eyes change color between page 2 and 22.

What about you?  What are your methods?

YOU ARE A WRITER, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER PARTS OF YOUR LIFE?

 

Writing is an all consuming activity, your thoughts constantly with your characters, the settings they inhabit, the plot and sub-plots.  You're virtually in another world most of the time.  One that you have created.  And what happens in that world is entirely up to you.  Such power!  It's rather addictive.  So much so that you can fall into the trap of letting the other parts of your life slip by without your notice. That's a shame because you will miss so much.  And it's why, if the opportunity arises to get away for a few days, you should do so.


It doesn't matter where you go as long as you leave behind your computer, your manuscript and the cell phone.  Just take a good book.  You might find yourself in the South Pacific in cyclone season as I did last week.  Or in the northern hemisphere winter surrounded by snow and ice.  In which case you will need that good book, plus a roaring fire.  Of course, there is the possibility that you're unable to get away.  If this is the case. there's no reason you can't do the same thing.  Close down your computer for a couple of days over the weekend.  Put your manuscript in a drawer where you won't be tempted to look at it, and concentrate, just for the time being, on the other parts of your life.

I guarantee that when you return, you will be refreshed from your sojourn, however short, and your characters, settings, plot, and sub-plots will all be there waiting for you.