Mick Davidson: Words & Pictures
  • Home
  • Captain's Blog
  • It's All About Inspiration
    • It's All About You Guidelines
  • Writing
    • Poetry
    • Reviews
    • Stories
    • Travel
    • Twitter Verse
  • Photography
    • Travel >
      • Australia >
        • Melbourne, 2012/13
        • Melbourne, 2013/14
      • France
      • Latin America
      • Luxembourg
      • Netherland >
        • Groningen
        • Limburg
        • Zeeland
      • Spain >
        • Alhambra
    • In Concert >
      • Celebr80s Party
      • Sultans of Slide
      • Tio Gringo
      • Blues Festival 2010
    • All Sorts of Treasures >
      • RuneFest 2103
  • Bio
  • Contact

Inspire, Perspire, Expire

10/14/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
As of now my It's All About You blog will be monthly. I've decided to go this way for several reasons. One is my personal situation at the moment means I don't have the time (or the energy) to keep chasing people to take part.

The second is that finding people is ten times harder than I imagined. While I wasn't expecting to be awash in people volunteering themselves, the fact is there's been hardly any who've done so: I've had to ask almost everyone so far. And that takes time and energy, things I don't always have at the moment.

Of course I knew from the start that I'd be spending a fair amount of time looking for creative people and chasing them up. Most have been kind enough to consent, a few didn't want to, and there's a few more that have said yes but are too busy right now. 

This may not be rocket science, but it is all a bit of an adventure so one must expect ups and downs. One thing that does surprise me is that more people don't want to get involved. Actually I'm quite disappointed by this as I thought that most creative people would jump at the chance of getting themselves some free publicity. Of course, people don't have to join in, and they also have to decide whether the effort they put in is worth the rewards. When I first started this there were no numbers, but I can tell you now that the average viewing figures for unique visitors is anywhere between 500-800 per posting, which isn't bad at all. 

Some people believe that they can't write for toffee, so have to overcome all sorts of negative feelings before they can put pen to paper, so there's clearly psychological barriers too. That said, I don't think most of us would struggle to write 500 words or so about our inspiration and work. Being creative means working hard, much harder than non-creative people imagine. You'd think that those of us who decide to take on the art and publishing worlds single-handidly are not afraid of writing so little. But you'd be surprised at how many very talented people have said that they'd struggle with the writing. Writers have no such excuse though - so I'm keen to find out why more writers don't jump in.

If you review the people who have taken part and the quality of their writing and their thinking, I think you'll see that anyone who participates is among good company. I do try to maintain a certain editorial standard but I am always keen to maintain the original work as much as possible. Allowing the writer to say pretty much what they want in their own way are key points for me.

One thing's for sure, the world of blogging is a live and on-going experiment. Yes, there are setbacks and frustrations, but there's also a lot of positives. It's been an interesting experiment so far, and I've learnt a lot from doing it. But the best bits have been reading about what inspires other creative people and knowing that the IAAY has benefited and encouraged other people with their creative activities. Which is all the inspiration I need to carry on.
Cheers.

P.S. it's never too late to join the IAAY, so get in touch if you'd like to be featured in the next posting. See the guidelines for more details.

0 Comments

The Fine Colour Of Rust - Review

9/23/2012

2 Comments

 
Picture
The Fine Colour Of Rust
by P.A. O'Reilly
Published by Blue Door/HarperCollins
I was fortunate enough to recieve an autographed copy of this book as a gift from my Antipodean literary advisor. Despite having both a free book and a personal message from the author, I shan't let either cloud my opinion here. 

But if you're looking for a good read about a group of not-quite-ordinary people struggling to carve a life out of a small town half way between Melbourne and and a great big open space, then you'd do well to pick up a copy. 

On the other hand, if you're looking for something fast-paced and where the action explodes off the page, this isn't for you: this story moves at it own pace, it unfolds gradually and gives you the time to savour the grains and dust that make up so much of our lives.

The story revolves around Loretta Boskovic, a single mother among a sea of single mothers who daydreams of capturing the heart of a reliable and hopefully (though always imaginary) well-heeled man, whilst inspiring the rest of the town of Gunapan's population to do battle with big and small government. Her much dreamed of man also has to come with a pretty decent car because her own, as we explore in great detail, is always en-route to the scrapyard.

The town is, by and large, forgotten by everyone bar the locals and is thus ripe to be shafted by unscrupulous property dealers. Not only do they plan to nick the local water supply, they see the town as a sort of feeder factory of workers for the resort they plan to build (with help from some obliging members of the local council). That's battle No 2.

Battle No 1 involves dragging the Minister for Education, Elderly Care and Gaming into Gunapan to talk to the residents about their never-going-to-give-up battle to save their children's school from closure.

And if the minister's title brings a smile to your lips then you'll be happy to know that the book is laced with this kind of humour. It's not quite black, but for every situation Loretta and the town finds themselves in, there's nearly always a humorous lining. For me, one of the great lol moments was the hospital scene between Loretta, her sick mother and Loretta's children, which is both bizarre and sharply dark.

The characters, their lives and experiences are all well written and believeable - you warm to them all (except the scattering of baddies). If, like me, you read foreign literature to gain something of an insight into how other nations think and act, then you won't be disappointed, though it'd probably be wise not to imagine that the Gunapanians represent all of Oz. On the other hand, the issues being dealt with here are universal, the sort of things we read about wherever we are.

One of the things I like about reading books in non-British English is to discover how the langauge used differs to mine. So would I say that it is typically Ozzie in voice and circumstance?

I can't say I know enough about Australia and her people to comment, but it does reflect a certain gritiness, a willingness to get on with life without much moaning about what it's throwing at them. The language is undoubtedly Aussie, but given that Oz English is by and large British English, you only notice the difference in the details. In a way I'm a little disappointed by this: I know that if I read an American novel the English will be very different to British English. But this isn't a criticism of the book, it just shows how close Oz and British English still are.

My only real criticism is there is a long-ish build up to a fairly important event which we jump over, to land in the aftermath of an explanation of how it had unravelled and been dealt with. I felt slightly cheated because I wanted one or two of the baddies to get their come uppance, and I wanted the satisfaction of witnessing it.

On the other hand, O'Reilly twists and binds the ups and downs with so much humour and humanity that it's pretty easy to forgive her for not satisfying my expectations in that department.

It isn't a difficult book to read: the pages turn almost by themselves as O'Reilly's easy style of writing and the laughs keep you wanting more. Overall, I really enjoyed this snapshot of middle-of-nowhere Australia, a place populated with every-day people struggling to bring happines into some pretty tough lives, and not giving up on this despite the commercial and political skulduggery. Personally, I'd like to find out what happens next, but failing this, will settle for reading the rest of O'Reilly's back-catalogue.

You can order the book from Amazon, and while you're waiting, you can read the excellent interview with the author on her website.


2 Comments

Poetry or Death?

9/9/2012

2 Comments

 
Picture
One of the driving forces behind my writing is the desire to express myself in any way I choose. So I'm not going to limit my words and imagery because it might be, to some, a little too unreal or or unconventional and break accepted writing conventions or go against current publishing fashions.

I think that to be a writer, in fact to be any kind of artist, you have to be breaking rules on a daily basis. If you're not, you're not really trying; you're staying within the boundaries set by other people and your/our own limitations.

Art is not about following rules.

Or is it? 

It's easy enough to say that I will break the rules and not give a damn - but at the same time I also want enough commercial success to retire from being an employee and regain control of my life.

Can I do that and break the rules? Surely staying within the rules is the fast path to success? I suppose it can be, but that's about the best I can say.

What about breaking the rules to succeed? Loads of poeple have done it this way. Many have stayed true to themselves and their art and won. Given that there is no garantee of success either way, why should we bother to stay safe?

One of the problems we face nowadays is that the marketing depts of publishers are very focussed on what sells, so they like genres, something that is easy to sell, something that slots straight into the current template - fast and easy, bang, bang, bang and it's done.

You can't blame them for that. But it's not all they do. There are reams of books out there that break the rules or aren't a safe read - and the first that leaps to mind is The Road by Cormac McCarthy. 

It's not exactly a comfortable read is it? It's grey and dirty and depressing from start to finish, but I still think it's great, as are all his other books.

So, given that publishers are willing to stick their necks out, why do we as writers/artists stay within the rules, within our own comfort zones?

This is a question I ask myself again and again as I dream of writing the sort of story that I really want to write, whilst doing my best to ignore the demons that crawl around inside my head urging me into pastel green pastures with paths, easily accessed and well worn, with no surprises and no food for the soul.

So my advice, assuming I'm qualified to give any, is to follow what you think is right; write what you want and write it for you. Bring poetry into your work and dare to find your own images and way. You should also gather a few supporting friends, friends who will speak the truth and want you to achieve the best you can.

I'm still struggling with this, and I expect that struggle to go on for a long time. My thanks and love go to those who help me to realise better things, it's because of you that it will happen.
Cheers.

2 Comments

Masterpiece, or Not?

8/26/2012

1 Comment

 
Picture
I've just finished reading Julian Barnes novel, The Sense of an Ending, which I really enjoyed for a number of reasons. One of the reviews listed on the back cover describes it as a masterpiece.

Which made me start wondering just what is a masterpiece. We all have our own opions and it is a matter of taste, but one thing's for sure, book reviewers have to be really careful about using such words (they're entitled to their opinion of course), because such high praise can only lead to high expectations among readers. 

And if these are not met, you are not only disappointed with the read but also then question its validity and potentially any other reviews from the same source.

That said, I really enjoyed the book, which is published by Vintage Press, it's a simple story and deceptively easy to read. It's told from the perspective of a man who's looking back on his life and dealing with things that happened at university (by and large) and the impact of those times on him (and a few other people) now. 

It's also to do with memories, and how these change with time, and how they become less certain as we age. Amateur writers such as myself can learn a lot from how the book's written. For example, you don't have to write 100k words to tell a story or for your work to be valid; the story can be low key - you don't have to have tons of actions or plot twist: simplicity can be your friend.

But as much as I enjoyed it, it's not a masterpiece in my opinion. A couple of indisputable masterpieces for me are Cormac McCarthy's The Border Trilogy and Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast.

These books take you deep inside the story, far, far away from the here and now. Then they bury you in words and ideas, they are poetic and imaginative in ways that take you can never expect. They lead you away from yourself whilst simultaneously taking you deep inside yourself. 

And when you've finished reading you are changed: the book is tattooed on your psyche. You are still savouring and thinking about them a year later and wondering how much more time has to pass before you've forgotten enough to start reading them again.

That, for me, is the difference between a masterpiece and a damn good read.
Cheers.

1 Comment

It's All About Inspiration

8/15/2012

1 Comment

 
Picture
Welcome to IAAY number nine!

This week it's all about British writer and editor, Marian Newell, whose first novel was inspired by childhood memories of the Cinque Ports and their lurid smuggling folklore.

IAAY is published every Wednesday (yes, all of them), so there's plenty of time for you to join in too! Contact me via the comments section or via Twitter: @mickdavidson.

It’s All About Marian Newell
It’s All About Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (1859)

 It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.’

This must be one of the greatest closing lines in fiction, quite an achievement when you remember that the book has a cracking opening line too. The words moved me to tears when I first read them in my late teens, and the nobility of the protagonist’s sacrifice retains its power for me still.

This book shaped my taste in fiction, making me seek grand themes and psychological depth.  Most of all, it piqued my interest in motivation. I want to get to know characters as if they were real people, and I want to understand what they want and why they act as they do.

One of the grand themes in this story is redemption. It asks whether a worthless life can be redeemed by a single noble act. It also invites us to consider whether the sacrifice has less value because the life is worthless, a burden to the man who sacrifices it.

The quoted words are finely crafted, using the literary device anaphora — the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. This occurs throughout the book and underlines the recurring theme of doubles. There are the two cities of the title and the two characters so alike that they can be repeatedly mistaken for one another.

For me, though, the power of the quote is in the satisfying resolution it gives to the story. An ending that might have been unbearably sad is lifted by the fact that death holds no fear. There is utter confidence that the path taken will leave everyone, including the man who forfeits his life, better off.

A sense of closure remains important to me. I often find stories that end ambiguously to be unsatisfying. While recognising that there is value in personal interpretation, I usually prefer to know what the storyteller means rather than to discover my own meaning in their work.


It’s All About Me

A Devil’s Dozen by Marian Newell (2012)

This, my debut novel, is a fictionalised account of real events. It describes the rise and fall of a smuggling gang that operated on the Kent coast in the 1820s. The tale demanded a strong focus on historical detail and actual incidents but my own interest was more in the nature of the fourteen viewpoint characters. I wanted to use fiction as a tool to look beyond the recorded facts.

It struck me that any group of that size includes a variety of people, doing similar things but for a range of reasons. Having read as much as I could about the time and place, I considered how the men might have differed in their backgrounds and circumstances. The motivations of the characters that I created range from need to greed, from the wildly irrational to the coldly calculated.

My story is unlike A Tale of Two Cities in that it has a factual core and doesn’t impose specific themes on what took place. However, and with no comparison to Dickens’ mastery of the form, I do see ways in which my work was influenced by his. Much of the impact of the sacrifice in A Tale of Two Cities comes from its unexpected source. Our expectations are often confounded: people we consider reliable may let us down, while people we dismiss may surprise us. I tried to cast against type when I allocated actions derived from contemporary local rumours to the individuals I had characterised.

Returning to endings, the optimism of mine certainly owes a debt to his. I was mindful of the importance of opening and closing chapters and considered my personal favourites. It was Rebecca (‘Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.’) and A Tale of Two Cities that sprang to mind.

My manuscript originally ended on a reflective and slightly sad note. During the editing process, I revised it to conclude in a more forward-looking way:

‘You sees that, boys? Paul? Tommy? You sees it?’

Tommy looked at Pierce, who closed his mouth and swallowed. They all stared at each other for a moment or two, then Pierce cleared his throat and shouted back.

‘We see it. By Christ, Quacks, we all see it.’

I had lacked the confidence to stop at this point but feedback made me realise that cutting what came afterwards would make the ending stronger. Readers would be able to see what the future held, just as my characters were seeing it.

I wonder if Dickens knew all along that his story would end with the uplifting sentiment we read in the final version. I suspect he probably did.

  • Book’s website
  • Buy it on Amazon

Picture
1 Comment

It's All About You

8/8/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Welcome to IAAY number eight!

This week it's all about British writer, Christina Cummings, who is one of the driving forces behind the Winchester writing group Pencils And What-Not.

IAAY is published every Wednesday (yes, all of them), so there's plenty of time for you to join in too! Contact me via the comments section or via Twitter: @mickdavidson.


It's All About Christina Cummings
It’s all about Everything

When I agreed to take part in IAAY, I hadn't predicted that, to my frustration, I would discover that everything I thought I knew and everything I’ve known would vie for my attention, so that to take just one aspect and offer it up as my inspiration would be to dishonour all the rest. It’s definitely part of my nature to want to gather up life’s wonders, like so many flowers and then not let go.

On deeper thought, some of the stems have fallen from my grasp and petals that once brought joy or solace, have dried up, lost to that place inside that exists just beyond memory. There are recollections more fresh than some, but nevertheless integral to my soul where inspiration nourishes me like rainfall.

I am not going to opt out altogether, or dodge this question for one simple reason: To know that which has driven me thus far. In questioning what inspires me, I question myself. 

So, where does my inspiration lie? My answer is this: in everything.

Because I am a writer, however, I think mention here of just three of the many works I’ve read that have over my lifetime allowed the quiet seed to grow, is to give tribute to the symbiotic love affair which only writers and readers know.  
  • The Women’s Room by Marilyn French
  • If you give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
  • The Tie that Binds by Kent Haruf

It’s All About Me
My first manuscript is entombed upon a floppy disc. It dates back from the early 90’s when I was living in Philadelphia’s now hip and trendy Northern Liberties. Typing with fumbled fingers, I began the purge that underpins the need to tell a story. As the word count whirled, it was as though I were the captain of a ship, steering my crew to a safe harbour. Each tiny bit of action, each character was at the mercy of my helm. Or so I thought. What actually occurred was a mutiny. The moment they were christened, or given a voice, they guided me until on a ‘good writing day’ we were all in it together. 

The synopsis wasn’t something I’d really thought about, but it was to be a story of unrequited love set in the deserts of Jordan. It seemed right to base the plot on what I knew, and the memory of spending a night near Petra with stars for blankets and a pillow of stone was the catalyst for what was the opening scene. 

However this unfinished first manuscript remains hidden even from me now, as I can’t view it and had never printed it off. Of this fact, I'm glad – I’m sure the naivety of my prose would make me blush.

The piece of writing I have chosen for IAAY, however, is a more recent foray. The years in the interim have been rich with extremes and there have been days I’d forgotten how to write. But there are good days too. This excerpt is from a novel that I'm working on, for which my daily inspiration is the resolute and unwavering regard for life that I have, over time, learned from my mother, in order to survive. 

“Autumn is for mushroom picking. Eidel wandered the woods, keeping her eyes down. The basket she carried, was the one her mother used to keep the laundry in once she’d unpegged it from the line ~ she used to tie the rope from the cornice of the caravan to a nearby tree or fencepost, and for as long as they camped in that spot, clothes would flutter like bunting along the length of it. Now, over half a century later, on a warm day, if Eidel leaned in close, she liked to imagine that she could still inhale the floral pleats of her mother’s skirts and with that breath she would picture her mother folding cotton sheets and smoothing down hems with hennaed fingers, smiling, happy at work. Her mother had never known how to feel otherwise.“
©Christina Cummings 2012

You can find out more about Christina at the following: 
  • www.pencilsandwhat-not.com
  • Twitter: @PencilsWhat
Bio:
Chester-born Christina nursed, taught and sang her way around the world. Now living in Winchester, she is the mother of two amazing children, who still listen to her stories. She is currently wrestling with a novel.


0 Comments

It's All About You

8/1/2012

10 Comments

 
Picture
Welcome to IAAY number seven!

This week it's all about Australian writer, calligrapher, artist and, as if that wasn't enough, Olympic cycle trainer, Graham McArthur. Oh yes, did I mention he plays the guitar a bit too and released three music CDs ?

IAAY is published every Wednesday (yes, all of them), so there's plenty of time for you to join in too! Contact me via the comments section or via Twitter: @mickdavidson.


It's All About Graham McArthur
It’s all about My Father
I grew up surrounded by letters. Lettering was everywhere inside and outside the house. My father was a sign writer and calligrapher although he never used the label. He worked from home and there were large signs in the driveway and in the ‘shed’ where he spent most of his time. Small stuff was made inside wherever there was room. Works on paper, wood panels, scrolls, plaques, heraldry, photo mounts etc were stacked against the walls and on chairs and any available flat surface including the floor. The dinning room became his inside studio for 360 days of year (it only functioned as a dining room at Christmas). As a small pre-school boy this is the room I spent most of each day in.

I can not remember a time I did not draw. For obvious reasons most of my drawings contained letters. My father thought that if I was drawing letters, I should draw them correctly. From the age of five and before I learnt to read, he had me drawing Roman Capitals in pencil on a daily basis (up to about age 11-12). My love of letters has never lessened.

It was many, many years later that learnt to appreciate just how much he taught me and how skilled he really was. I still have a few leaves of gold leaf from those early years of learning to brush letter and gild on glass, wood and leather all before I learnt to read.

Unfortunately nothing has survived except 2-3 leaves of gold. I can only imagine how bad those early letters were, but the memories are what is important and much more precious than any physical reminders.


It’s All About Me
I left art school early to pursue a career in fine art. After an inaugural sell out exhibition I spent a few years painting portraits and landscapes. This drove me insane and so I turned to commercial illustration eventually working as an illustrator and typographer for a printing and publishing house during the early 1970’s. By the mid 70’s I was freelancing and have been freelancing ever since. 

Three years ago I accepted a full time job offer and have pulled back from illustration somewhat. Today my interests and work is varied and broad. I still love letters and lettering, calligraphy and type design. These precious things will never leave me. I still love to draw and paint and have learnt late in life to appreciate abstract art and all its singular challenges. I now understand just how important my often tedious and repetitious classical training in drawing, painting and lettering is in creating a sound foundation from which one can have the freedom of choice in pursuit of experimentation and discovering the new. Without that training you have little to nothing from which to stand on or leave behind.

I made my first guitar in circa 1990 because I could afford to buy a good instrument. Its is a terrible instrument but it taught me much. Ten years after that my guitar workshop became my daughter’s bedroom and guitar making was transferred to the shed where it remains with an ever growing hunger to re-establish warmer and more pleasant surroundings befitting its stature and importance to my life. Of course I play terribly and one should always wear ear muffs when I am near an instrument.

Music is of course extremely important to me and is a big part in my daily life. A recently developed passion for electronic soundscapes and experimental music genres has almost become an obsession, well OK, I will admit it is an obsession. 

Sorry can’t help it. My third CD was thrown at the world a few days ago.

When not following the above distractions I find a strange comfort it reading and writing. My fantasy novel ‘Mironmure’, which began life some 15-20 years ago is as stagnant as always, but not forgotten. I am still working on it - honest. The other novel is going much better and I am hopeful it will be finish with in the next 12 months. This time I have taken to crime with the aid of a rather socially inept and reclusive artist who has become very pissed off and annoyed at a certain individual who steals artworks and kills people. Can’t say any more on that. 

I must not leave without mentioning the bike, its always about the bike. Cycling is in my blood and its a sport I love dearly. Three athletes I introduced to the sport and coached in their formative years are riding for Australia in the Olympics. I am very excited about that.

You can find out more about Graham at the following:
  • http://grahammcarthur.com
  • http://epiplecticpencil.tumblr.com
  • http://mahag.com
  • http://mironmure.com
  • http://gmca.tumblr.com
 * All art work (C) Graham McArthur


Picture
10 Comments

July 29th, 2012

7/29/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Contents
1. The Darkness Beneath - Free Copy
2. It's All About You
3. Writers Read Right?
4. Watcha Reading?

The Darkness Beneath: Sex, Death and Trains, all Yours For Nothing (still!)*

You can get a free copy of my first novel, The Darkness Beneath, by following this link - but hurry! Only (yes, only...) the first 100 people to sign up can claim a free copy. *Terms and Conditions apply.

It's All About You
Last week's IAAY was hosted by British writer Stephan J Myers, whose first novel, Loss De Plott, is beautifully brought to life by the drawings of the characters on his website.

Writers Read Right?
We all know that as a writer you have to read - it's the law and if you don't, one day we'll all find out and then you'll be sorry. But that said, am I the only one who worries that other people's writing might unduly influence my own?

Weird as it seems, this is a worry for me. I worry because I want my writing to be original - it's bad enough that there's only six or seven distinct plots we can use, the fact that I might be using other people's ideas, mannerisms and language terrifies me.

It's hard to be original, but I think as writers we owe it to ourselves to plough our own furrows, even if that means furrowing our own brows as we chase our elusive unique selling point across our screens. And that takes work and the willingness to re-write or even throw out the lines that are not of our own loins.

Watcha Reading?
This week I have been mostly reading The Sense of An Ending by Julien Barnes. It's the first book by JB that I've read and I'm really enjoying. I think this is partly because I relate to the subject matter - aging, memory, death, and partly because the way he writes is so simple the words just flow off the page. 

I bought this book (yes, a real book with pages that turn - I'm still dragging my heels through the pre-Ereader mud) because of his delightful book A Life With Books. In this JB talks about his childhood and how he became a collector of books as well as a writer.

As a young man he used to spend much of his time searching musty old bookshops as he built his collection of what sounds like 1000s of books. This reminded me of how much I used to love doing the same, though on very much more modest scale. I particularly like the fact that he and I must have scoured the same book shop in Aylesbury. Obviously it's no longer there, which is a shame because being whisked away into lost and dusty worlds by the smell of a book that hasn't been opened for the last 50 years is a wonderful experience.

Call me sentimental, but there's nothing that fires my imagination more than opening a book, a world, that's been shut for decades. It's a world that puts me, as far as I am concerned, directly in touch with the ghost of the previous owner.
Cheers.

0 Comments

It's All About You

7/25/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Welcome to IAAY number six!

This week it's all about British writer Stephan J Myers, whose website supporting his debut novel, Loss De Plott, shows how to break down the barriers most of us - including myself, live behind. 

IAAY is published every Wednesday (yes, all of them), so there's plenty of time for you to join in too! Contact me via the comments section or via Twitter: @mickdavidson.

It's All About Stephan J Myers
It’s all about Carlos Ruiz Zafon


‘that blessed state of ignorance which made us believe we were worthy of 
a special state of grace: because we had no past we felt we had nothing to fear from the future’


Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Midnight Palace.


Today presented as something of a milestone for me. This marked by the arrival of UPS and the first colour copies of Loss De Plott. The latter representing my inaugural foray into the wistful world of literary design that shadows the rather quirky and somewhat beguiling Loss. It may be that you are following her on Twitter and having come to know the words and images that complement her tale have in part garnered an insight into her character.

Whilst I have truly enjoyed bringing her to life the journey has hardly been devoid of angst. Each challenge met and in turn laid to rest, yet it is the last of these that proves most irksome. For though Loss is light on word count her tale is undoubtedly informed by the quandaries life has seen fit to present me with in recent years. A truly humbling experience which has seen me run the gamut of emotions. Each coming unbidden as the Machiavellian plot driving continuing economic turmoil unfolds; with notables such as ‘Fred The Shred’ and other ‘fat cats’ lingering as sordid reminders that trust might be as easily bartered as 
common coin by those without conscience. 

How then to impart the subtlety of the message imbued in this tale of Loss whilst rallying the thoughts of those that care for kin and country A dilemma indeed but for the words of Zafon and a wonderful read entitled The Midnight Palace, but no less than the quote with which I began this discourse. For that special state of grace to which Zafon eludes is surely within the grasp of all.

It’s All About Me
For my own part I am minded that beyond those halcyon days of youth a magic lingers still. Cast not by a sorcerer’s hand, but born of expectations untainted by the realities of life. Such magic imbuing each with sense of self and the enduring belief we might a difference make.

As I write, I look to the world about. Not yet blinkered to the wonders that abound but seeing well the shadows we have cast upon this Eden; a timely portent that in the absence of care all things might find their end. Such thoughts undoubtedly influencing my tale of Loss, each character a parody of some you may have come to know; some you might studiously avoid!

Be you young or young at heart it matters not. This tale I wrote for you. That you may look to the past and a future yet unwritten for yours is the legacy upon which both might be well founded!

My thanks to Carlos Ruiz Zafon for the best of words and no less Mick for his kind invitation to make a contribution to ‘It’s All About You’.

You can contact Stephan J Myers at any of the following:
  • www.LossDePlott.com
  • Twitter: @stephanjmyers 
  • https://www.createspace.com/3923926

0 Comments

22 July 2012

7/22/2012

2 Comments

 
Picture
Innholdsfortegnelse
1. The Darkness Beneath - Free Copy
2. It's All About You
3. It's All About Writing 

The Darkness Beneath: Sex, Death and Trains, all Yours For Nothing (still!)*

You can get a free copy of my first novel, The Darkness Beneath, by following this link - but hurry! Only (yes, only...) the first 100 people to sign up can claim a free copy. *Terms and Conditions apply.

It Is All About You!
We had a cracking IAAY from guitarist/Composer Simon Imagin who talked about how JS Bach has influenced his work. I'm also fortunate enough to have been introduced to Bach at an early age, not sure how early but probably before reaching double figures. Next week's IAAY is all about writer Stephan J Myers.

It's All About Writing
Constructing and De-constructing: Digging Into Your Writing
One of the things that I learnt from hearing Bach was to listen to the elements that made up a piece. Not every single note, my brain was far the scatter-gun for that, but a few bars here and there. 

After mastering the art of only listening to one instrument or phrase at a time (on a record player!), I was able to see how Bach twisted and twined and bounced melodies off each other. This showed me how they were related (two sides of one coin), and how combining different melodies etc produced something that was more beautiful and often very different to how they sounded and felt on their own.

Another thing I used to do as a child was, when on a train, stare out the window (and don't tell me you're a writer and then say you never do that!) and imagine I was watching a motorcyle (ridden by myself of course) bouncing along  out there as we hurtled through the English countryside.

Of course, at speed and with a limited viewpoint, I couldn't always see what was coming, so I'd frequently find my ghost rider ploughing into trees and bushes, disappearing down holes and crashing into bridges. 

What I'd then do, to keep the continuity of the ride going, was to dial the story back a little and build the new elements into it, along with how I would have dealt with them had I seen them coming. In other words, I was editing the story.


Write, Edit; Re-write, Re-edit
Which brings me to editing and re-writing. As you already know, writing is really all about re-writing - which is something that not everyone likes or wants to do. I can't say I want to do too much of it, but I know that I have to, especially as I'm a self-publisher: no one else is going to do it for me. 

That said, I do have a number of readers (and my thanks to you all for your invaluable and free help) who pick up on all sorts of errors (grammar, spelling, plot...) but they only usually get to see what I intend to be the last or 2nd to last draft. Which means I have to scratch my way through all the mess I leave behind as I plough through the story the first four or five times.

Although I'd rather do less of this, I think my musical and motorbike experiences taught me the value of picking things apart and putting them back together again. A lesson that's been very valuable and certainly makes the task of re-writing and editing something I've actually come to enjoy. 

Like many writers I see writing as sculpting: you produce a thicket of words and ideas that you have to cut and trim until all that is left is all that is needed to tell the story.
Cheers.

2 Comments
<<Previous
    Picture

    Author

    Mick Davidson is a full time technical writer and semi-full time fiction author. He also finds time for both guitar playing and photography. When not being creative, he is heavily involved in Staring Out The Window research.

    He is definitely in the market for publication and agent representation.

    The links in my blog are doors to adventures and other countries, they don't all land in the most obvious puddle.


    Fav Blogs + Websites
    Specter Magazine

    Zencherry
    Dave Palmer
    Libboo
    Peirene Press
    Rebecca Venn
    Bigo + Twigetti
    Wryd Climate

    Archives

    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011

    Categories

    All
    2012
    3d
    A. A. Milne
    Abstract
    Adelaide
    Amazon
    Art
    Artist
    Australia
    Author
    Authors
    Aylesbury
    Bach
    Barnes And Noble
    Bbc
    Blog
    Blue Door
    Blurb
    Book Covers
    Border Trilogy
    Borges
    Botton
    Boundaries
    Calligraphy
    Carlos Ruiz Zafon
    Cbd
    Censorship
    Character
    Charles A. Wustum
    Charles Dickens
    Charlotte Wood
    Choose
    Christina Cummings
    Comfort Zone
    Competitions
    Composer
    Cormac Mccarthy
    Creative
    Creativity
    Critique
    Cycling
    Cyclist
    Damocles
    Dbc Pierre
    Delusions
    Depression
    Design
    Dickens
    Distraction
    Dreams
    Ebook
    Editing
    Ego
    Escape
    Eurovision
    Experiments
    Facebook
    Fiction
    Flow
    Francis Bacon
    Free Book
    Friends
    Gayla Drummond
    Gormenghast
    Graffiti
    Great Ocean Road
    Guitar
    Harpercollins
    Hiccups
    Holiday
    Holland Park Press
    Hot
    Iaay
    Indie Author
    Indifference
    Inspiration
    Inspire
    Istc
    Jane Austin
    Jan Freidlin
    Jealousy
    Jeffrey Eugenides
    Js Bach
    Julian Barnes
    Julien Barnes
    Kenosha
    Kent Haruf
    Kentucky
    Latin America
    Laura Numeroff
    Lazy
    Lee
    Le Guin
    Lesson
    Lettering
    Libboo
    Life Problems
    Lincoln Brady
    Lionel Shriver
    London
    Lonely
    Loss De Plott
    Madness
    Magical Realism
    Marian Newell
    Marilyn French
    Marketing
    Masterpiece
    Maureen Hovermale
    Mccarthy
    Melbourne
    Mervyn Peake
    Middlesex
    Motorbike
    Myers
    Mystery
    Negative
    New Authors
    Novel
    Novels
    Opinion
    Optimism
    O'Reilly
    Owensboro
    Paddy O'Reilly
    P.A. O'Reilly
    Peirene Press
    Perspire
    Plan
    Pod
    Poetry
    Positive
    Pr
    Print On Demand
    Prometheus
    Publication
    Publishers
    Publishing
    Racine
    Reading
    Rebecca Venn
    Resistance
    Restrictions
    Review
    Reviewing
    Re-write
    Re-writing
    Roald Dahl
    Rules
    Russ King
    Self Help
    Self-help
    Sign Writer
    Simon Imagin
    Sleepless
    Songwriting
    Specter Collective
    Specter Magazine
    Stephan J Myers
    Success
    Suicide
    Suitcases
    Sun
    Sutcliff
    Tale Of Two Cities
    Tate
    Tate Modern
    Taxes
    The Hoopla
    The Mind
    The Sense Of An Ending
    Tonya Cannariato
    Train
    Travel
    Twitter
    Type
    Umberto Echo
    Usa
    Uw Parkside
    Vampire
    Vintage Press
    Water Color
    Water Colour
    Winnie-the-Pooh
    Wise Grey Owl
    Writers
    Writer's Block
    Writing
    Writing Problems

    RSS Feed


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.