Monthly Archives: March 2012

March 31, 2012

Spreading blog love

By Ellen Gregory

A quick post to acknowledge two things that happened in my blog world this week:

WikiRandom Writers Challenge

A creation of the irrepressible Laird Sapir, the WikiRandom Writers Challenge is a flashfiction competition involving the creation of a three-sentence story using a phrase generated by hitting the Wikipedia random button. Sara Walpert Foster won the right to host the March competition after winning the first challenge in February. It was a lot of fun, and I managed to joint-win the right to host the April challenge. (Stay tuned — this will happen later in the month.)

Sara’s WikiRandom prompt was “an organic reaction”. Traumatised by the death of my mother’s dog, Jeddah, earlier in the week, I wrote the following:

The sheet looked like one of my mother’s, pale with a flower pattern, wrapped round and round with neatly folded edges and strips of blue fabric securing the bundle. Too small; too impossibly small for such a vibrant spirit. A few toys, no-longer needed, formed splashes of colour against the dirt raining down and down, until only three hastily picked geraniums marked the place where our little friend was now fuel for an organic reaction.

Thanks very much to Sara for the nod, and congratulations to Cheryl Byrne, the other March winner.

Liebster Blog

I enjoy receiving the various blog ‘awards’ as they come around, mainly because they celebrate our blog community. Laird Sapir has thrown the Liebster Blog nod in my direction this week. Thanks, Laird!

To explain, I’m going to quote Laird, who quoted Mike Schulenberg:

According to legends that come to us from antiquity, the Liebster is meant for blogs that motivate, inspire, and have 200 followers or less.  Its apparent purpose is to summon new followers like some sort of mystical talisman, increasing the power of those of us who are just beginning. — Mike Schulenberg

The Liebster Blog rules:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you on your blog and link back to them.
  2. Nominate up to 5 others for the award.
  3. Let them know by commenting on your blog.
  4. Post the award on your blog.

So without further ado, I select the following five to spread the Liebster love:

Barbara Forte Abate — Scribbling outside the lines

April Plummer — Heart of the world

Elizabeth Fais — Where the awesome begins…

Jennifer L Oliver — World beneath the evening star

Alvarado Frazier — Strong women grow here: writing while living life

That’s it for now. Until next post…

12 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in SF Community

March 28, 2012

Two touchstones for worldbuilding

By Ellen Gregory

Another WIP Wednesday, and today I’m going to talk about one aspect of the fantasy genre you just can’t escape from: Worldbuilding. This is perhaps one of the most attractive aspects of writing and reading fantasy for me. I just love the opportunity to explore amazing worlds, and when an author gets it right, it’s a transcending experience.

But it is hard work to do well, and the story suffers when you try to cut corners. I speak from recent experience, because I’ve just come out of the worldbuilding arena, after being forced in there by some vague and sketchy ideas masquerading as a rather important plot element!

As a result, I’ve come up with the following two touchstones for worldbuilding:

1. No room to be lazy!

To effectively write in a fantasy world, your worldbuilding needs to be rigorous — but not necessarily in every aspect of the world. Readers will fill in the gaps for common concepts. The main aspects you need to concentrate on are those which define your world and make it unique.  If these are elements which drive the story, then even more thorough development is required.

This is what stymied me recently. My story is heavily dependent on the politicising of certain cultural beliefs in a made-up land, and I realised I didn’t understand these people well enough myself. I knew the hand-wavy basics, but I hadn’t quite figured out where their deep-seated beliefs had come from. I was being lazy and trying to plough on with the first draft on the assumption that ‘it just was’ and I’d figure out why later. Nope. It all came out as rubbish, because how can you know how characters will act without understanding their faith?

2. Peel back the layers of history

What I’ve found is that when it comes to plotting in the absence of adequate worldbuilding, a cascading series of questions leads you to delve back and back and back to find the route cause of what you need to know.

Example: I’m having plot problems and I write down the question: “How did they pull-off D?”

In order to answer this, I need to know the answer to: “How does one become F?” And in order to answer that, I need to look even deeper into the cultural intricacies I’m trying to ignore.

Thus it was back to worldbuilding for me. For this type of thing, I usually start far back in the annals of history and look at how a culture develops over time. There are impacts of other cultures, advances in ‘technology’ (for want of a better word — we’re talking a pre-industrial society), the injection of an occasional leader who catalyses significant change, wars, trade . . . and this helps me to understand the what, how and most importantly the why.

Of course we all know the iceberg rule when it comes to worldbuilding — only 10% is ever revealed in the story — but I truly believe it makes for a more richly woven tale. Moreover, there many aspects of worldbuilding I’ve not mentioned here. These two touchstones are merely those which have struck me this week.

So now over to you! If you’re into fantasy or any kind of speculative fiction — what are your thoughts on worldbuilding? Any special tips or processes you’d like to share?

And if you’re not into SF — How do you think worldbuilding differs in non-SF genre fiction?

12 comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Craft, The WIP

March 26, 2012

If you found yourself on the moon…

By Ellen Gregory

How would you react if you suddenly found yourself stranded on the moon?

I jotted this question down recently as I watched a Dr Who episode — you know the one where Martha is introduced? The episode is called Smith and Jones.

Anyway, Martha is a student doctor working in a London hospital that is suddenly transported wholus bolus to the moon by aliens. (Typical for Dr Who, really.) All the patients, staff and visitors are transported with it, the windows revealing the barren lunar landscape that nevertheless seems to have earth-like gravity. (We’ll ignore this tiny factor and attribute it to the forcefield that provides the air.)

Upon realising they’ve been transported to the moon, most of the humans run around the hospital waving their arms in the air, screaming at the top of their lungs.

Is this how you would react? No? I didn’t think so.

I’m not saying I’d be a hero like Martha and help The Doctor save the day, but I do think I’d take the time to look out the window and MARVEL. I mean, this is the MOON.

In this particular case I think Dr Who lets itself down with such a cliched schlok horror moment of B-Grade hysteria. But it did get me wondering how people would react in such a situation — and the conclusion I swiftly reached is that everyone would react differently.

In fact, the spectrum of reactions that such a crowd would likely produce would in itself have made a fascinating story. Had there been no Doctor, who would have stepped up and worked with others towards a solution? Who would have lashed out with blame? Caused violence and spread doubt? Who would have slipped into nurturing mode?

The possible scenarios for how the situation could have panned out are virtually endless.

I suppose we never truly know how we ourselves will react in moments of extreme surprise/fear/pain until we are put into the situation. Moreover, our initial reaction will probably be unrelated to how we deal with the situation long-term.

For example: I might be confident that I’d stare out at the lunar landscape in wonder initially (there would NOT be screaming!); but, ten minutes later, confronted by hostile-appearing aliens with big guns? I couldn’t tell you.

We like to imagine we’d be strong and level-headed and helpful to others . . . but there’s a good chance you’d find me in one of the hospital wards hiding under a bed.

What about you? How would you react? Would you like to find out?

19 comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Reflection

March 21, 2012

WIP Wednesday: Lucky 7 Meme

By Ellen Gregory

Inspired by what might have been a throwaway comment on facebook by Alvarado Frazier, I thought I’d launch a series called WIP Wednesday, when I post on aspects of my Work in Progress. I’m not sure how it’s going to go, or what exactly I’ll write about from week to week, but it’ll be reflective of whatever WIP-related subject is on my mind at the time.

And what better way to start off by participating in the Lucky 7 Meme? I’ve been tagged by Tami Clayton, and here are the rules:

  1. Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP
  2. Go to line 7
  3. Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs, and post them as they’re written.
  4. Tag 7 authors, and let them know.
  5. If your WIP doesn’t have 77 pages, it would be perfectly acceptable to post 7 lines/sentences from page 7.

Hmm. All righty. From page 7 of my fantasy WIP:

“Definitely. In my view they are ready now.”

“What are you training them for?” Adehl asked, her hand shading her eyes as she followed their movements. “They are not to remain with the company, I take it?”

Frahto almost smiled as he contemplated his response. Freish like her were just the reason the teams had been conceived. “No. They will ride out beyond the plains as representatives of the Vuusah. We are finding them very effective.”

“Effective at what, exactly?”

And now to tag 7 other writers:

Julie Kenner
Carrie Daws
Linda Adams
Patricia Caviglia
Margaret Miller
Kim Griffin
Felicia Fredlund

This is fun! Not sure whether the 7 lines above mean much out of context, but it’s fun to get even a tiny glimpse into the works of other writers. I’ll be watching avidly.

 

13 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in The WIP

March 15, 2012

When you feel like you’re taking the hard path

By Ellen Gregory

A couple of weeks ago, Australian speculative fiction author Deborah Biancotti shared some very wise insights while guest-posting on Lisa Hannett’s blog:

“… But here’s what you have to remember: You’re running your own race.

“This means you set the pace & the direction. YOU do. Both. Pace AND direction.

“… So when you find yourself rubbernecking, looking at all the writers who are “passing you by”, remember: they’re not in your race. … Your race is still your own & it will always be your own.”

The excerpts I’ve included above will hopefully convince you to go read Deborah’s entire post, because it’s succinctly and excellently put and we should all print it out and tape to the wall by our computers as Lisa suggests. (Then come back here.)

What a great post. I really needed to hear those words, because it can be so hard to persevere along that lonely track when I see others taking what seems to be a much faster path. I almost said ‘easier path’ just now, but I know that’s not really the case. Every writer has a different path, with different challenges, drivers and external pressures, which is actually Deborah’s point.

My path has been longer — and more laboured — than I anticipated. I made a decision long ago not to write short stories — they don’t really interest me to write or read. I much prefer the immersion of novel-length works. But the latter do take far longer to complete, and when you consider how many ‘bottom drawer’ novels can be expected before something publishable turns up, I do find myself wondering whether a period of dedicated short story writing might have served me better as a training tool.

But that wasn’t to be my path.

The process of becoming an author is strange. There’s this cycle that starts with blithe self-confidence, which gives way to the devastating realisation that said confidence was completely misguided, which in turn is replaced by sheer determination to improve and prevail. And then it all repeats and repeats as skill levels creep upward. I can’t count how many times I’ve felt I’m just about there, that I’ve finally produced something worthy, only to have it all come crashing down.

When you’re in the trough of this cycle, it’s all too easy to compare yourself unfavourably with fellow writers in the ‘race’ and perceive yourself as losing. There’s always another writer (often a friend) who has better turn of phrase, a more unique voice, superior insight into character, better industry connections, is faster, better, more talented.

I had lunch today with a writer friend who questioned his own natural talent and said he persevered out of sheer bloody-mindedness and determination. Part of the thrill for him is the challenge of traditional publication purely because it’s so hard. That’s his ‘race’, I guess. (Go figure.)

My race? All I can do is keep running, keep improving, keep believing. I want to write a novel I’m proud of and have it reputably published. My pledge to myself is to try not to dwell on what I haven’t achieved, to not compare myself with anybody else. I’m going to focus on my goals instead, and do all I can to achieve them.

How about you guys? Do you sometimes wonder whether you’re taking the right path towards your goals? Does it ever feel like you’re in a race? What strategies do you employ to deal with setbacks?

 

18 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Process, Reflection

March 12, 2012

Decluttering: creativity essential or shameless procrastination?

By Ellen Gregory

I wanted to work on my WIP today. We’ve had a public holiday and it seemed the ideal opportunity to get back into my novel after a few weeks of neglect. But, as it turned out, there was something else I had to do first.

When my life gets crazy and starts to spin out of control, as it has done for the past few months, I have this tendency to shove stuff into piles ‘to deal with later’. Cases of wine… correspondence to be shredded… clippings from magazines… instruction booklets… bills… new car insurance policies… receipts… even, as I discovered, Christmas presents neatly in a carry bag since Christmas Day.

Kipple. The detritus of life. Much of it stuff I need — or think I need — but it’s too difficult at the time to think what to do with it, so it gets shoved onto a pile. And, after a while, the piles are so out of control that I cease worrying whether stuff is getting shoved onto the right pile. Because I know I’m going to have to go through them all anyway. So the mess starts multiplying exponentially, and, well… I think you can probably see where I’m going with this.

(Think Harry, Ron and Hermione in Bellatrix’s vault at Gringott’s Bank when they’re going after the Helga Hufflepuff horcrux in the final book/movie. You know the scene when treasures multiply like popcorn? Yep.)

Unfortunately, all this mayhem takes place in my study (the one room safe from visitors), and there comes a point when I can no longer be in there.

I reached this tipping point today.

The floor was so cluttered with empty boxes and extra side-tables that getting into the cupboards was impossible. The main table was piled high with wine and boxes of junk. My desk, computer and keyboard were obscured by piles of paper.

Very. Bad. Feng Shui.

Time, oh yes definitely time, for a periodic purge. I seriously should have taken a photo.

So now the floor of my study is visible and vacuumed. And my desk is clear and devoid of dust. At last, I can think and dream and plot and perhaps even weave some tales.

I should confess, however, that I have really only shifted the problem. After a few hours of shuffling stuff around, my living room is now the custodian of the wine (which needs labelling before I put it away) and the shredding. (And the old DVD player I need to get rid of… and the broken chair with hot pink gym ball…) And I have a couple of boxes filled with junk I still need to sort through. The kitchen table has stuff on it as well.

But my study is clear — at least for a little while.

Why is it, do you think, that it feels so hard to get decluttered for good? I know that unless I devote about a week to sorting through everything and physically getting stuff OUT of my very small house, it will all be mayhem again all too soon. This is a very familiar cycle.

So now tell me whether this is a familiar scenario for you guys! Do you need a neat and tidy workspace to be productive — or was this all one huge day of procrastination on my part? And please do share any decluttering and organisation tips. I need them!

 

30 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Process, Reflection

March 7, 2012

Six reasons to eat that vanilla slice

By Ellen Gregory

Bourkies vanilla slice, Woodend Victoria (looks like I need to take a road trip!)

Custard. Thick, creamy, sweet. Slabbed between two dainty sheets of flaky puff pastry. Eaten with a fork. This is a vanilla slice, an Australian cake institution, derived from the French mille-feuille, but oh so much better.

I have a weakness for vanilla slices, a weakness my beloved grandmother discovered while I was still a child, and diligently fostered with treats after school. Ever since, I’ve diligently sampled them far and wide, sometimes making pilgrimages to cafes of known vanilla slice awesomeness.

I’m not alone. Such is the obsession with vanilla slices in Australia that many country towns enter an annual competition to see who makes the best ones. The key component is the custard. Infused with vanilla, folded with whipped cream. The pastry is merely structural, an afterthought to hold it all together. It’s all about the custard.

So… I daresay you will not be surprised that it is often a vanilla slice to which I turn in moments of weakness, sadness, world-weariness. (Or sometimes I just can’t resist the sight of them — I’d be hard pushed to resist the one pictured!)

And if the guilt-monster starts attacking me? This is what I tell myself told myself today:

  1. Custard is mostly made from milk, which we all know is a fundamental food group. Plus milk contains calcium for strong bones.
  2. I need to break that $20 note to give change to the person who orders my coffee.
  3. The sooner I eat the vanilla slice, the sooner I can hide the evidence.
  4. Yesterday I ate a chocolate fondant, so it’s not as though I’ve been dieting recently.
  5. I walked 10 minutes to the shops and back, so I deserve it.
  6. There’s no point dieting until I start working out on a regular basis. So I might as well enjoy it…

What about you guys? Any sinful edible secrets you go to great lengths to rationalise? What’s the best excuse you can come up with?

39 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Food & Drink

March 2, 2012

April Plummer discusses Coming Home

By Ellen Gregory

For today’s FRIDAY WITH FRIENDS I welcome April Plummer, who has recently published her debut novel, Coming Home. I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but it sounds incredibly moving. I asked April to stick around to tell us about her novel and share some of her experiences during its creation.

Coming Home

For years, eighteen-year old Isabela Fuentes worked two jobs to support her promiscuous, alcoholic mother.

After the latest boyfriend rapes her at knife point, Isabela throws her few possessions into her car and drives until she reaches Lakeside, Montana, twenty-five hundred miles from New York City’s suffocating smog.

As her bodily scars fade, she takes solace in the nature around her and records it in her sketch pad. It isn’t until she begins sketching scenes from her rape that she learns to cope with what happened.

But leaving her mother behind to fend for herself might have been a mistake; and when two strangers appear on her doorstep claiming to be her dead grandparents, they threaten the fragile childhood memories.  Before she can rebuild her life, Isabela must decide to either let her past go or unite it with the woman she’s become.

What can readers expect from Coming Home?

I think readers can expected an unexpected journey. Sure, we’ve heard all about it before a million times — a young woman is raped and runs away to start a new life. But this story is about so much more. Isabela must discover her own freedom and learn to trust others as well as herself, but she also must face a past she didn’t even know she had.

What was the kernel of an idea for this book?

I love that — “kernel.” That’s exactly how all my novel ideas begin. This one started with the rape. It’s a little personal for me, and I needed an outlet. I needed a way to deal with my own emotions and the complexities raised in my own life. That’s all I knew about Isabela when I began to write — that she had been raped. She told the rest of the story for me. Took it right out of my hands and splashed it onto the screen.

What have you learnt from writing it?

Wow, I have learned so much. I think the biggest thing is that you can’t force a story. The first draft of Coming Home was totally different. I tried to turn Isabela into something she wasn’t. I had this idea that she was a dancer, just as I was. I wanted her, I guess, to carry on my childhood dream of becoming a ballerina, while also fighting her inner demons. But it didn’t work. That isn’t who she is. I backspaced my way to the beginning, started again, and let her take control. It worked.

Why have you decided to self-publish?

My husband suggested it several years ago, and I think, honestly, at first I was just lazy. It was so much easier to sit back and wait for an agent. But the thing is, you can’t just sit back and wait. You still have to be active in your pursuit of the perfect agent. And I wasn’t doing that. I realized as I researched a bit more that doing it all myself is exactly what I needed. Money is not important. Sure, I want to make money from my writing, from something I love. But more than anything, I want others to enjoy my stories. I want people to read my stories and become the characters. I want to hear, “April, I couldn’t put it down.”

What has been the most challenging aspect of self-publishing?

Balancing my time, without a doubt. When you do it yourself, you do it ALL yourself — marketing, promoting, the cover art, editing, writing, more and more and more editing, formatting, social networking…then you remember that you’re also a full time employee, a wife, and a mother. You have friends and family all demanding your attention. And, oh yeah, you love to read, and you have a few favorite TV shows. And laundry to fold and dishes to wash and floors to Swiffer…it’s never-ending, and I’ve had a few meltdowns. It helps to have a supportive husband, supportive friends, and a terrific group of supportive writers who know just how I feel (like you, Ellen!).

What are your thoughts about the publishing industry at present?

I personally feel that publishing has entered a whole new, wonderful world. I know self-publishers still get a lot of criticism, and I won’t lie. I’ve downloaded quite a few books that…aren’t so great. Because it’s true. ANYone can publish now. But I’ve also come across a lot of jewels from authors that may never have been able to find an agent. Not for lack of talent but for lack of time or just plain luck.

I think ebooks have broadened the horizons for many readers. I know that I have read books I never would have read because of the easy access and the cheaper cost of buying an ebook. I think it’s causing more and more people to read than ever before. Which is always a good thing.

Where to from here for April Plummer?

For some reason, that question makes me smile. I currently have 2 more completed manuscripts — a crime novel and another women’s fiction. I intend to have the crime novel ready for publication this summer sometime, followed by the women’s fiction early next year. I’m not rushing myself because I do have another life, and my family comes first. Sometimes I forget that, but my husband gently reminds me.

Meanwhile, I have a few more ideas tossing and turning inside my head. :) I’ll keep writing, and I plan to keep publishing. If I snag the attention of an agent along the way, even better!
[ed. Well, they do say the self-published novel is the new query!]

How can readers obtain Coming Home?

Currently, it’s available for kindle on Amazon here. Soon, it’ll be available in paperback there as well, but for now, you can purchase a paperback here.

Thanks for visiting, April! I wish you lots of happy readers.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Fridays with Friends, Publishing, Reading

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 437 other followers

%d bloggers like this: