Week Two Homework

Can't say I have done the homework as requested but I have spent the week photocopying pages from books I have recently read to analyse how those writers have written their novels.  I am starting to do more than just read a book now.  I am analysing how it has been written and how the story has been told.

This also led me to start reading two novels this week and not finish them.  Two reasons for this.  I didn't think they were teaching me anything and I had my own novel to write!!

The week was very busy with the boiler breaking, parent consultation at school, and having to travel to meetings for work, but I did manage to have a day off on Friday and was able to use it productively.  

Have had a number of comments regarding my painful thumb which have included recommendations for lighter pens, exercises to do, and changing my grip.  The best idea has been to use the voice recorder on my mobile or voice recognition software. 

FB Post from Stephen Booth (2)

My first writing course of 2019 is going well, with a great group of writers. 

I've never seen anyone so enthralled in the details of POV and Show Don't Tell (or was I imagining that?). 

The group are now calling themselves 'Writers on Fire' as a tribute to our venue, Retford Fire Station.

Novel Writing with Stephen Booth - Week Two

Yvonne brought a bag of all her Stephen Booth books to Sarah Ward last night - hence the cheering - so Stephen was nice enough to sign them all for her today.

Prior to the start of the morning, we discussed struggling to find the time to write this week. However, Stephen began by emphasising the 2 writing rules: 1.WRITE  2. EDIT

He told us how he doesn’t always write in chronological order.  He writes as the ideas come.

SB led us through Point of view.  This has always confused me.   I enjoy writing in the first person.  SB said this would be difficult to sustain for a whole novel, so it’s got me thinking…

After POV the next decision is whether to write in the past or present tense.

SB talked about the use of Senses and Show Don’t Tell.  Showing encourages readers to interpret details for themselves.  The reader then plays an active part, which keeps them reading.      

Homework was to analyse what we have written so far and see if our characters are describing what they actually know.  Check to see if our voice has intruded?   Also, try writing a scene in both past and present tense, or different POV's.  Sometimes writing is like Method Acting - you must become that person.  

At the end of the morning, I asked if people would be interested in setting up a FB page, so we agreed on the title Writers On Fire.

Sarah Ward at Lindum Books

The evening was advertised as; An evening with Sarah Ward and her detective DC Connie Childs, and her fabulous series set in Derbyshire.  There are four books in the series and the most recent is 'The Shrouded' which Lindum Books believes will appeal to Ann Cleeves and Elly Griffith fans.

This was certainly us, but we investigated Sarah before we made our final decision.  I borrowed her first novel - In Bitter Chill - from the library and loved it.  We found that Sarah has a blog - Crimepieces https://crimepieces.com/ - where she reviews crime fiction from around the world.  She stated (in her talk) that this is how she started out - as a reader, as opposed to a writer.  Her earliest memories are of The Secret 7, Nancy Drew, and then Agatha Christie, who she sees as the 'master of plotting'.

Sarah started her talk saying her books were based in Derbyshire and The Peak District, as were Stephen Booth's - Cue cheer from the back row!  She stated that she has tried to incorporate the Derbyshire countryside into her novels.  However, her third novel; 'A Patient Fury' has Horncastle (Lincolnshire) as one of its settings.

She told us how she was living in Athens with her husband; teaching, but with a lot of time to herself, when she told herself it was 'now or never'.   Her first novel - In Bitter Chill (as I said, very good) - was based on something that happened to her and her own memories of the 1970's.   

Sarah stated that she is interested in the impact of a crime on people, and has tried to write strong female characters.  She deliberately made her Detective (Connie) a lower rank so there was somewhere for her to go, and because the higher they get in the force, the less they actually get involved in.  'People like the underdog'. Connie has a terrible love life as she 'follows her heart'. 

Sarah mentioned Ruth Rendell;who highlights the weirdness of 'ordinary people'.  No one knows what goes on behind closed doors, or the secrets that exist within communities.  She is aware of her readers constantly looking for clues and then need to keep them guessing.  

Sarah's fourth novel -The Shrouded Path - is based on The Monsal Trail in Derbyshire, which in some places follows the tracks of the old railways and railway tunnels.  'A great place to find a body'.  Sarah asked about what people remembered from when it was a working railway in the 1950's.  The story is based on someone seeing 6 schoolgirls go into a tunnel, but only 5 come out.... 

Week One Homework

On the drive back from Retford I had so many ideas.  Unfortunately, I didn't get chance to write them down as I was driving, so lost them.  The same thing happened after I went for a nap after getting back.

I then had a crisis of confidence as I could not decide which tense to write in.  This meant I ended up doing lots of 'research', which basically means I read a lot....

Also suffered with all my note taking and writing on Saturday.  My hand / thumb is very painful, not to mention my neck!

However, Wednesday night I managed to write 320 words (handwritten) and Thursday it was nearer 1100 words.

Posted on FB for help with regards to my painful thumb....

Novel Writing with Stephen Booth - Week One

Well, there was snow in Lincoln, but luckily only a ‘slight dusting’ in Retford.  I was worried as I left the house but once past Doddington Hall, it soon brightened up.  Arrived at the Fire Station on time, with only a couple of stops en-route to check where I was going.  It’s wasn’t too hard to find and I got parked quite easily.

The morning started with Introductions from Stephen and the other attendees.  There are 12 of us. A variety of people, experiences, and ages.  Two men (+ SB), a couple of journalists, two people currently writing fact-based literature for work.  A couple of attendees mentioned writing ‘my life story so far’, there were two ex-police officers, a teacher and some big fans of SB.  All wanting to write something.  Some have started.  Some only have a blank page.  Watch this space!

Stephen highlighted that he learnt to write, simply by writing.  He didn't attend any formal courses – other than his background as a journalist.  However, after he was published, he learnt a great deal from his readers.  He emphasised there is really only one rule you must follow and that is to WRITE! 

This week we discussed the three main elements of a Novel:  Characters, Setting and Plot.

SB emphasised the need to make our characters more than one dimensional.  He discussed the use of the Diamond Exercise. This involved thinking about what sort of person your character is in different parts of their life, and with different people.  Readers need to be able to relate to your characters and to be interested enough in them to want to keep reading.

I struggled with this as I don’t, as yet, have a character to dissect.  Homework was to write a scene with your character in, and show them reacting to what is around them.  Imagine yourself as that character.  Meet your character for the first time…