A few days ago, I found on the internet – Facebook to be more specific – an advertisement about an interesting webinar arranged by Penguin Random House – The Writers Academy. I’m always quite suspicious when I have to deal with this kind of web-things. Although I’m internet-educated, my attitude is diffident towards events that aren’t physically real but created in the blurred and confusing world of the Web.
I was curious. The topic was intriguing: “How to write a crime novel.” Considering my interest in writing such a genre, I thought it might have been useful. I, so, registered and set a reminder for Thursday 29th of March – which means today. At six precisely, I sat in front of my laptop, put my earphones on, and prepared for the conversation. I spent a pleasant and helpful hour with Rebecca Watson and the crime novelist Barbara Henderson (pen-name Bea Davenport). After the introduction, Henderson plunged into a detailed explanation of the different kinds of crime fiction: Classical Detective Fiction (Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe, for example), Hard-boiled Detective Fiction (Raymond Chandler), Police Novel, and Literary Noir. “Don’t forget that crime fiction is never static,” her voice echoed in my earphones. “You should classify your writing, but, first, focus on writing itself.” The conversation went on, facing the main issue: the body. Where and who are two very important characteristics of the victim. “A writer should always set the victim or crime in the first pages,” Henderson claimed. “It immediately grabs readers’ attention.” The discussion was entertaining and gripping. Henderson switched topic. Now, it was time to talk about the characters. They must have internal and external problems, personal trouble. “The characters can’t be super-heroes,” she said. “They must have conflicts which bring them to do things they fear the most.” The plot is essential in a crime novel. Henderson said that the structure had to be complex, without losing the main development of the story. “Using a multiple Point Of View narrative is extremely suggested,” the author said, “but the writer doesn’t have to exaggerate.” A good way to keep the pace is the use of flashback. The seminar dragged to an end. Researching was also a very important topic for Henderson. It allowed the writers to create plausible stories. “The end unravels the mystery the writer described in the first pages,” Henderson said. “Thus, it has to be logical and satisfying for the readers and the characters.” LINK: The Writers Academy
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I often thought about that; starting a course in Creative Writing. I thought it might be useful to improve my writing. I thought it might be helpful to make my stories more appealing. So, once I took the decision, I enrolled in a six-weeks course. I needed someone to judge what I was writing; someone who followed my progress and corrected my mistakes.
The course started the last Monday (12th of March to be precise). It was a rainy day. I got off in Liverpool Street and walked up to Commercial Street. The road was busy, and people came and went frantically. I managed to get to the crossing, turn left and stroll along the pavement. After a few minutes walking, a narrow one-way street, where my school was, appeared on my right. Number 29, I thought, trying to remember what button I had to push on the buzzer. Number 29, the Breather. A strange buzz echoed and the door clacked open. Hesitantly and shyly, I climbed the steep stairs in front of me to the second floor and the room shorty loomed before my eyes. I took a seat at the big rectangular table; a huge window on my right cast a weak grey light. I glanced at the people who will go with me during this experience and I noticed that creativity was mainly a female activity. I am the only man. A black-haired woman with a warm smile and deep observing blue eyes watched at us. “Hello everybody,” she said at six-thirty precisely, “I’m Melanie and I’ll be your teacher for the coming weeks.” After an introductory round, we plunged into serious stuff: the creation of the characters. The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed, and Melanie was available to answer every question we have. Three hours flew away. I’m satisfied. The course is giving me many tips and it’s definitely helping me to structure what crosses my mind. There is a few homework to do and we have to read them in the class (this is the most embarrassing thing, but I’ll get over). This Monday we had the class and we focused on the places and the emotions we felt about them. The classes are becoming more and more interesting and exciting. I’ll keep you updated. See you the next week, as usual on Thursday. Cheers! LINK: City Academy Alex Clark, once again, has the responsibility of introducing three authors at the convivial auditorium of Foyles (Charing Cross) bookshop. A pleasant scent of pizza and the popping of bottled beer’s cap welcome the numerous attendees who quickly take their seats.
The grey side door swings open, and Alex Clark walks in, followed by the guests: Jess Kidd ( The hoarder), Mick Kitson (Sal), and Catherine Chanter (The half sister). Kitson sits between Kidd and Chanter. They happily smile; it’s not the first time the presented their work. “I had to prepare this evening,” Chanter exclaims, surprising the people in front of her. “It’s the first time I have to present my work to the public.” The writers chuckle along with the audience. Clark leads the conversation to its core, asking the authors to talk about their books and read a paragraph. One by one, their voices fill the room, grabbing the attention of the concentrated public. It’s engaging and amazing. When Catherine Chanter utters the last word of the paragraph she chose, a clapping of hands breaks the deep silence we all were in during the performances. “Although my main characters are two sisters,” Kitson says, replying Clark’s first question, “my book is mainly about parenting.” Chanter nods and then explains why she wrote her book: “I’ve always been into short stories and poetry. I decided to write this story because it has been knocking on the door for a long time.” The author explains that relationships fascinated her. They’re supposed to finish sooner or later for endless reasons, but every time you have to start them over and over again. “Don’t you think that a common characteristic of your characters is that they tend to isolate themselves?” Clark asks the writers. “I think that my character is actually in between the contrast of two other characters,” Kidd replies. “My main purpose was to create an unlikeable character that pointed out this unbalance.” Kitson, instead, has a different approach to his characters. He thinks that a character has to be trapped to grab reader’s attention. “Once the character is trapped,” he says, “you can create him and develop his story.” The conversation rapidly switches to the authors’ previous experiences. They all have different backgrounds and come from different environments. Chanter worked in politics in the UK and the United States. “I was into poetry,” she tells the audience, “and I was writing for somebody else. One day, I thought I wanted to write something for my readers, so I decided to create this story.” Kitson was a tabloid journalist. The decision of writing a book popped into his mind when a voice started ringing in his mind. “It was a voice for me, too,” Chanter confirms. “That’s why I decided to write my book in the first person. There wasn’t any other way to tell this story.” The Q&A is always the part I prefer in these events. It permits the public to address directly the authors. “Without any doubt, journalism helped me for writing this novel,” Kitson replies the first question. “A journalist always looks for a point of view that engages the reader. Besides, a writer must always check the sources of his information., and journalism is a good discipline to improve this ability.” A member of the audience asks about the editing process. How do the authors deal with it? “I love it,” Kidd answers. “It’s like a journey in the work I wrote.” “I stopped rereading what I write,” Kitson says. “Every time I reread what I wrote I feel the urge of rewriting again, so I decided to cease rereading my work and leave it as it is.” The authors agree on the last question before the signing begins: their characters are still in their mind. They became a part of them. “What happened when I wrote the last sentence of my book demonstrates that characters are a part of us,” Kitson says, stupefying the public. “When I concluded my story, I started crying as though everything had been real.” Smiling and relaxed, Tim Marshall, journalist, international relationships expert, and former war correspondent, steps on the small stage that the efficient and welcoming staff at Foyles bookshop in Charing Cross has previously prepared.
“Tim, let’s kick off,” Adam Boulton, journalist, and columnist, says, introducing Marshall “What’s your favourite wall?” Marshall casts his eyes ceilingward and smiles. “I think, if I had to choose one, I would go for the Chinese wall,” he says. “Obviously, I chose it from a mere architectural point of view. It’s stunning.” The hall murmurs and chuckles. Boulton leaves Marshall to his presentation. He smiles again and grabs the remote of the slides projector. He’s completely comfortable in front of people, and talking about his last book – Divided, why we’re living in an age of walls – is easier than being in any place he reported from. He dresses sober, dark blue trousers and a dark blue suit jacket on a black polo neck. “I decided to write about walls because we’ve been living in an age of divisions,” Marshall says. “Human beings are suspicious and diffident by nature. We can say that walls themselves are our essence.” Having our own space is a fundamental necessity, and we need to feel comfortable with other living beings. When we obtain this comfortability, we then can start having communications and relationships. Marshall explains that the concept of wall is not modern. It is thousands of years old, and, most importantly, it’s global. “There are walls everywhere,” the journalist says, switching the slides. “India built a wall to control the movement of people from Bangladesh. In Europe, we can see walls between Serbia and Hungary, between Greece and Macedonia.” The conversation is appealing and interesting. “We had walls in the United Kingdom, too,” He exclaims. “Belfast still has walls dividing the city. Marshall is a great speaker; he’s never boring or complicated. The projector shows a picture of the Great Wall of China. They intentionally built it to separate the civilisation – the Chinese nation – from the other civilisations who tried to invade them. It’s always an us versus them. “Chinese created another kind of wall,” Marshall claims. “They used the technology to create the Great Firewall of China and control the internet. Nobody says the walls to separate people have to be material, they also may be technological.” The projector clicks again, and a map of the United States of America appears on the room’s white wall. “The immigration from Mexico has, obviously, increased in the states sharing the borders with Mexico,” Marshall says. “This phenomenon has had a huge consequence. The people who emigrate spoke mainly Spanish, and the administration had to accept Spanish as second official language. The fact wouldn’t have been a problem if it hadn’t turned people uncomfortable.” The journalist is clear and explicit in his explanation. When people start feeling uncomfortable, they see the enemy in the cause of their discomfort. Consequently, the necessity of protecting their individual area becomes stronger and stronger. The analysis quickly examines other areas where the government decided to build walls to preserve their people: the Middle East, Jordan, Niger, and Morocco. “European Union brought everyone together,” Marshall says. “But then it failed in controlling the nationalist movements. In any country, we’re seeing an increment of the far-right organisations.” The conversation rapidly comes to the end, and the Q&A is lively and engaging. “What could decrease the necessity of building walls?” a guy sat a few seats to my left asks. Marshall glances around. He sighs, and a smile grows on his face. “Mars invasion,” he unexpectedly says. “If Martians invaded us, we would have to deal with another ‘them’. It might be an incentive to bring us together and face the newcomers.” LINK: Thewhatandthewhy Foyles Events: Divided - Tim Marshall in conversation I haven’t written about my writing for a while. Although I attended a few events and posted some articles about reading and books, I haven’t published any updates. Am I becoming lazy? Am I giving up writing? Absolutely no!
In these days, I’ve worked hard on a short story. I’m quite satisfied with the outcome, although I still need to improve and polish the final version of it. The writing of this story didn’t take that long, to be honest – I had everything in my mind. What took more than what I had expected was the editing. I usually don’t plan anything when I write a short story. Everything comes out of my mind as it is, then, when I put down the second draft, I start tidying things up. This time, the writing of the second draft overwhelmed me. Among new twists and corrections, I went through a serious rewriting and editing process which dried my energy out. I’m happy, though. The short story has come out as I wanted. Now, it’s time to think about what to do with it. My main wish is to submit it to a mystery fiction magazine. If things go well, they might be interested in my work. I just need a few feedbacks from beta readers, and I’ll send it over. My novella. “The fear eater” is my second project. I had written that I was going to publish it, and that’s exactly what I want to do. I received interesting and encouraging comments about it. I now need to write the suggested changes and rewrite some parts, and I might consider it ready for the readers. I hope to be able to finish it by the beginning of the summer. I only have one doubt left: shall I go for self-publishing or traditional? I haven’t yet thought about that seriously, and, however, I still have time. Here we are, this is what has happened during these snowy and cold weeks. See you, as usual, the next Thursday. Cheers! |
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