Missing in Action

I'm sure you all must think my head has exploded by now, since it's physically impossible for me to remain this quiet for this long. 13 days without a blog post! Good grief.

I've had good reasons for being incommunicado- after a fortnight of crazy working hours trying to meet various deadlines, I just ended up burnt out of life in total. I haven't written a thing in all that time, either. Nada.

I've had helpful comments back on my short, The Last Day, and I need to get that revised by Sunday to enter the Glimmer Train Open Fiction contest (and I WILL do it, and I WILL blog about some of the important things I 've learned). There's also the first chapter workshop on at the CompuServe Books and Writers Forum at present- but I don't think I'm gonna make that one. I have six or so pages to finish bending from the first chapter of Between the Lines, and I'm not very focussed, I'm afraid.

The problem is this- I get a little too used to spending time in Bill's head, and after a while I forget I'm trying to tell a story, not write a diary. In the original version of this first chapter, Bill pretty much rocked up home, met his parents, lots of fanfare, and there you are. End of chapter. Nothing greatly dramatic about that. The stakes have now risen considerably- what Bill knows is, he's having to face a life without his great love; he also has to face his parents when only he knows the truth of what happened to his older brother on the battlefield. What he doesn't know is, he has a young son waiting for him in the house whose existence has been a secret until now.

So great- now I've got a direction. But I'm still struggling within the chapter to give it a beginning, middle and end kind of feel. This is very important stuff, as I'm sure you can imagine. What I learn here will translate out into everything else I've written.

I'm working on it.

Anyway- in the meantime, I've been ripping through books for the first time in a while. In the last week, I've started and finished Atonement, by Ian McEwan (absolutely brilliant, even if he did make me go cold all over by featuring two sisters nursing at St Thomas's hospital in London during the Blitz, and using the Balham Underground shelter ). It's OK, I've bumped AWTN back a couple of months in time, and I think I'll have to use the massive bombing at Bank Underground station rather than the original Balham bombing. Breathe.

Also I read Darkly Dreaming Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay, the book on which my favourite TV series is based- really interesting, the differences between the two, but I can sure see the merits of each. Turning a great concept into an even better TV series was a very good idea- the expanded episode format gives more chance to develop Rita, Angel and Deb amongst other important characters, and gives an even better insight into the mind of a lovable serial killer.

Lastly, I read One for the Money by Janet Evanovich today, the first in the Stephanie Plum series. I enjoyed it a lot, but I think there are other books higher on the list than the next few after that one. I'll get around to 'em soon, but in the meantime, I have the latest Boris Akunin Fandorin novel (YAY!) and a few others to get through.

That's about it from me for the moment. I'm around, but I'm both busy and frazzled. Hoping for a change in the mental weather very soon!

Stranger than Fiction

I just finished watching this awesome Will Ferrell movie, Stranger than Fiction.

I think this is a must see for all writers. All right, probably not. It won't be everyone's cup of tea. But I think any writer will see enough in it to make them smile- and probably, at the end, cry.

So, here's the deal- the main character, Harold Crick, wakes up one morning to hear a strange voice narrating everything he does. It bothers him a little, but it doesn't really get to him until the voice makes a startling declaration- by resetting his wristwatch, little does Harold know, but he has started a chain of events that will lead to his imminent death.

Having heard this narrated, Harold goes on a frantic mission to find out what's going on, and soon discovers that he is the main character in a novel-in-progress, being written by a critically acclaimed author who has been suffering from writer's block for ten years. Little does he know , but this author has ended every one of her books by killing the protagonist- and all she's looking for now is the right way for Harold to die...

I loved this movie for lots of reasons. Amazingly, Will Ferrell was watchable, likeable, and very very good as Harold. Emma Thompson was classic as the slightly mad author, and Dustin Hoffman was wonderful as the literature professor who tries to help Harold figure out what's going on.

Some of the best parts were those that dissected the way we write- the literature professor sits down with Harold to find out which of the 23 types of story his is likely to be; he then tries to discover Harold's core motivation (I was LMAO at that one). The author's difficulty in killing off a character she likes is EVER so familiar to me (now, don't draw any conclusions from that )- and I loved the way it all turned around in the end.

And I really can't say how, or I'll ruin it. Anyway- the point of this film was to show a struggling author whose character pulled her through in the end. I often feel like Bill does that for me- almost writes his own story- and he always goes to his fate without kicking and screaming.

I think most writers would enjoy this film- I think non-writers might find it a bit tough (DH slept through the last hour and a half), but I came away from it feeling all revitalised and ready to get in and write tomorrow morning.

Leading the reader

I've been having a bit of an awakening these last couple of weeks to an aspect of writing I knew little about. I've mentioned before that writing for me is mostly about slapping words on the page as the come out of my head, frantically at times as I try to keep up with the flow.

I also outline, hoping that some initial idea of plot will give some direction to what these characters up and do. Usually, of course, they just ignore me altogether and do whatever they like.

So- I've got 120,000 words of my characters doing their own thing, based around a roughly solid plot. What next? I've spent over six months trying to figure that out, and the Firsts Workshop currently underway at the Forum has given me the first glimmers of understanding as to how.

That's right, people. The proverbial lightbulb moment.

Here's what I've learned from the Firsts Workshop:

In my first paragraphs, I had a shot at putting up something that would hook the reader. I tried the scene where Bill meets Jared for the first time; it's total chaos, high action, interesting stuff. Nope. People were confused, though they were definitely interested. Confused is NOT good. Because I'd had the same reaction to the first sentence alone, I also tried something a little different. I tried starting the story with Bill arriving home from war instead, pausing at the gate, trying to convince himself to go up to the house.

Bingo.

That worked great. People responded to it. Why? What worked about this, and not so much the scene with Jared?

First up, there's a concrete starting point. We know where he is, where he's been, and how long he's been there. In the other scene, the reader is still grabbing around for something to anchor themselves. Second, the emotion is more subtle and engaging. In one, he's hesitating at the gate of his family home. He should be glad to get home, but he's not. He's sick to his stomach with fear. In the other, he's right in the middle of an emotional whirlwind- as readers, we're coming into it in full swing. It doesn't give us the chance to find our place.

Now, this is what I've learned- how to deliberately manipulate what people feel when they're reading the work. This is a big deal. This is the other side of the writing coin.

I've got my information, all 120000 words of it. Now all I need to do is take those words, and twist them and cut them until they tell the reader what the reader needs to know- that, and nothing more.

For example, do I need to tell people that Lionel is dead, and that he's also evil?

No, I don't. All I need is for Bill to reflect on Len, and how he's sure the Army must have told his parents. There's a sense of guilt but also irritation about his brother, and an early reader pointed out that this sort of attitude lodges a subtle question in the reader's mind- why does he feel like this about his brother? Shouldn't he be devastated by his evident death? What's going on?

It has really amazed me how many people were able to pick up the Bill- Lionel- Kit conflict through the first five pages alone. After all, neither Lionel or Kit appear in the first five pages- and yet their influence on Bill shapes his entire life. This is made clear by the fact that everything in the landscape carries visual reminders of the two of them. He can't get them out of his head.

Anyway! There's a lot of work still to be done on that chapter, including some consideration of the fact that a lot of readers felt Bill's long walk up the driveway to get to the house was just too long.

In the meantime, I've just finished that darned short story, about a week and a half (plus 2500 words) over the deadline for the Australian contest. It's the first short story I've finished since I was 15, and I'm feeling pretty pleased about it. I'm going to enter it into the Glimmer Train Open Fiction contest this month, with fingers majorly crossed.

Writing the short story was another interesting lesson in pulling the reader in specific directions, and I'll be interested to see what beta readers think of how it worked.

Regardless, I feel I've made huge leaps in the last month toward understanding what I need to do with the editing phase of BTL, and I've got a whole lot of positivity back as a result.

New digs

So, what do you think? Of the new setup, that is? I decided that my *own* eyes were getting sore, scrolling through page on page of white on black, so I've gone with a modified colour scheme- plus I've chucked in a second side bar. For those of you who don't like white-on-black, hopefully grey-on-slate will be a bit less of a sharp contrast, and easier to read. The whole colour scheme reflects (and quite nicely, IMHO) the header photograph.

I'm feeling all artistic and accomplished here (g). Yay me!

Spymaster's Lady- AND THE WINNER IS...

From the pen of our illustrious judge, Ms. Joanna Bourne herself:

Dear All --

I've been following along with Where in the World is Spymaster's Lady. Claire, you are beyond great to organize this. Thank you and thank you.

I purposely didn't look at the pictures themselves till this weekend. I wanted to be fair and see them all at once.

Wow.

That's all I can say.

Oh, wow.

What great photos.

It's strange and touching and wonderful to see these entries. I laugh out loud at some of them. Some are just lovely.

I cannot find words and, to paraphrase Annique, I am a woman with a lotta words.

Europe, the MidEast, Asia, Australia, the far reaches of the US. ... in dry, red desert clay and meter-deep snow ... my little book is travelling so far. I have this beautiful picture of Spymaster's Lady flapping its way around the world like a pair of teal and blue wings.

There just has to be some kinda profound thought that goes along with this.

If I was a profound person I'd be pointing it out. Unfortunately, anything I can come up with has "It's a Small, Small World" playing in the background and we simply can't have that, now can we?

The winnah, is Manuela Bernardo's Visiting the St Jorge, in Lisboa for the exact and appropriate historical moment.




The runner up, taking the coveted Surreal and Beautiful Category, is Katherine Bramley's Floating Book at the Mejiro Garden.

The winner will receive the unique and lovely Australian Book Thong.

Both the winner and the runner up will receive signed copies of Spymaster's Lady and a piece of special Spymaster's Lady memorabilia.

I'm still laughing at some of the entries here and at Books and Writers Community. As soon as I get those pesky 'how to do it' issues worked out, I'm going to post a bunch of them on my blog.

Thank you all so very much. I have enjoyed this no end and am tremendously grateful.

Joanna Bourne

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So, once again, thank you all so much for entering- this has been a real blast. I will contact Manuela and Katherine by email in the very near future.

Claire

Recipe exchange

I've had one of those recipe exchange emails in my inbox a few times this week, and I'm sorry, guys, but I can't much be fussed with those.

I can, however, be fussed with putting my current favourite recipe up on the blog- complete with a pic of the finished product! Now, how's that for service?

So- I have a recipe book called 500 Cookies with this recipe (yes, and 499 others) in it, and the same recipe appears all over the Internet- seems like it's the original Nestle one. This meets all the criteria for a good recipe- it's quick, it's easy, and it'll give you diabetes in about three bites.

TOLLHOUSE COOKIE BARS

230g butter (1 cup)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

Cream the butter, vanilla and sugar together- the original recipe uses half brown and half granulated sugar, but I'm a brown sugar addict, and I think this is the key to making the bars extra decadent. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, til combined.

2 1/3 cup plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Sift together all dry ingredients- or, if you're like me, just tip them all into the wet ones at the same time and swizzle a bit (g). Mix thoroughly until all combined.

400g chocolate chips- I used a combination of white and dark
(Or, if you must, use about 340g chocolate plus 1 cup of nuts)

We all know I'm allergic to walnuts, so in protest I refuse to add any nuts at all. I just amp up the chocolate. Mix your chocolate (and nuts, if you're using 'em) into the mixture until all combined.

Tip the whole lot into a greased tin about 15 x 15cm (or a jelly roll tin, I keep seeing on US websites). Bake at 190 degrees Celsius for 20-30 minutes, or until brown on top and firm.

The good thing about this recipe is, if you underbake it a tad (as I almost always do) you'll hardly notice- it's classic cookie dough. Anyway- once cooked, remove from the oven, allow it to cool, then try not to eat it all at once.

And I promised you a photo- here it is. Check out the white chocolate overload... Auughhh...

First experiences

As we grow older, it can be all too easy to forget what it's like to do something for the first time. I try to make sure I note every first in my life, no matter how big or small. It's advice I received years ago- view the world through a child's eyes, and you can't help but hope for the best.

Anyway! Last night, I ate no less than four foods that have never crossed my lips, not once ever, in my 26 years on earth. This is no mean feat for someone who has travelled far and wide, not to mention eaten kangaroo (regularly), goanna, crocodile and witchetty grub (not all in the one sitting). The occasion was the Taste Great Southern Seafood Set Menu dinner at the York Street Cafe, to which friends invited me without telling me the word "seafood" was included in the title.

See, I was allergic to seafood when I was younger. It never reached the heights of my walnut allergy, but suffice to say, when eating fish brought out hives around my lips, my parents weren't keen to feed me any other seafood. As a result, I've never eaten more than the very occasional tin of tuna or small piece of fried fish. This is very odd in Australia, since we're such a seafood-oriented country. Because I haven't eaten it before, I'm not so keen on the taste, either. I don't think others realise it's a little acquired, being able to stick something like an oyster in your mouth and chomp it.

So! This dinner was six courses of seafood, and like I say, four of the six I had never even contemplated eating in my life before. I ate my first prawn last year, for goodness' sakes. The newcomers last night were oysters, mussels, sardines, and yabbies. I'd eaten a little crab and salmon before, but that was it.

How was it? Well, I found the yabbies a bit bland. I had to psyche myself up for the oysters like I did for the witchetty grub, but they were a pleasant suprise- I ate three, with salsa verde, salsa crude, and citrus (big slice of orange- fabulous). The herb-crusted sardines with crab brandade (that's kind of fancy mashed potato- LOL) were delicious. The mussels were set in cucumber jelly, which sounds odd but was actually very tasty. The big winners of the night were the salmon (which was done in a soy and ginger marinade, and was just beautiful, and the dessert, which was a lemon and raspberry posset (sort of like a very thick custard) with languedechat biscuits (spongey- GOLD). With each course, we had wines from local producer Oranje Tractor, who are one of the only local makers who don't use preservatives in their products.

All in all, a triumph for local produce and for the restaurant- we were very impressed with the chef, who is a young guy, and seriously passionate about sustainable fishing and great food.

I'll be revisiting most of these again. Well, the yabbies I can take or leave (which is good, because they cost plenty), and the oysters- hmm. But the rest was grand.

Here's to new experiences!

Spymaster's Lady- Contest closed!

All righty- and we're done! The deadline has expired, and the Where in the World is The Spymaster's Lady contest is over.

One last entrant is Jenny Clark, of Lexington, Kentucky, who took Annique and Grey along to the watch University of Kenucky play basketball. Now, that takes some balls- whipping out your romance novel at a huge sporting event (bg).



Joanna Bourne will now knuckle down to judging the photos, and the results will be announced in the next day or two here, at the CompuServe Books and Writers Forum, and at Jo's blog (which you should all be reading anyway). We'll also contact the winner direct, if we already have their email address- if we don't, we'll let them know in the announcement.

Thank you to everyone who participated- I never expected the kind of entries we received from across the globe, and it's been great to see them all.

Stay tuned for the judgement!