Suzy Davies's Blog: Book News - Posts Tagged "writers"

It is nearly two years since my debut novel, “Johari’s Window,” was published. I have been re-reading my book, and now time and distance have given me new insights into what I have written.

The novel which, elsewhere, I have described as a love letter and a game, is also a kind of quest novel, not only about the quest for love, but it also charts the quest of one woman to discover what life is about, and the unintended consequence of her soul-searching is in her discovery of herself as a writer.

The central chapter in the book is, “The Window,” chapter, which describes the genesis of the artistic imagination in a kind of natural “fire walk” in the Forest of Dean, England. This walk of fire, through grassy woodland, is created by the rays of the sun, which burn through “The Cathedral” window sculpture, suspended between two giant trees. The grass appears to burn with fire, like the artistic imagination set alight, and inspired.

Of course, the memory of this vision also contains the memory of the artist as a child; that of spinning round and round, in circles, in the “Brookie Fields” of her childhood, the dizziness and euphoria recreating the world as a kaleidoscope, with the ecstasy of whirling forms of light-saturated color. The patterns and forms are dynamic. They reform and change, thrilling and surprising us, and such is life.

My novel is postmodern in form, and the mimetic text is playful, mirroring the color and chiaroscuro shades of a world which is always changing in the memory of the writer, and which always reflects back the essence of who we are, and who we may become.

The famous psychological theory of personality was the idea behind the title. And life is a quest, in which our memories are stories we tell ourselves, and others, about our personal journeys, our personal quest. We are always recreating, and layering, our memories as current scenarios remind us of our past. We may be drawn to echoes of the past, even as we step bravely forward into new lives and new futures.

The “Journey Beneath The Stars” chapter in my book, is without a doubt, pivotal to the spirit of the novel. In“Johari’s Window” I wish to foreground the “unsung heroines” who charted a course to prepare the way for their sisters to voyage. To draw an analogy, the woman sailor Jeanne Baret, navigated and sailed on “L’Etoile” to be the first ever woman to circumnavigate the globe, and journey into New Worlds, yet, in her time, her story was never brought to light, because this woman sailor, disguised as a man, could never tell “her” story.

I use artistic license to say her journey was through darkness.

And it is under the cover of the night, that we foreground our feelings over thinking, subjectivity over objectivity. It is only in a voyage of dreams that we may return to the wild, and know ourselves as primitive. In this, “primitive,” is everything, “known before,” and deep in our collective conscience. This territory shows forth in the language of dreams, and it is with this language, in stories of archetypes, myths and legends, that we may better understand who we are.

Copyright Suzy Davies, Author, 08/10/2016. All Rights Reserved.

2017 is going to be a wonderful year! A radio chat on the horizon, and a whole Children's Series in the making!
I'd like to thank all those who supported me in 2016, and thank you to those who have joined "Snugs" and I this New Year. Snugs is delighted! We now have over 1,500 followers!

“I know my limitations,” she said.
Her eyes were honest,
and she shook her head.
So many lines,
so many lines
rehearsed, unsaid,
and crumpled paper,
that blew - confetti,
yet still, unwed.

“To begin, again, is almost unthinkable!”
The specter of polite letters -
the “not quite there” comments,
that made her sink into despair,
crack open the wine,
and celebrate -
magnificent failure, alone.

She flits about the room, a moth,
dives for another plot, another character.
An open door, a newly arrived spectator.
“I need to be alone to hear the voices, Diane.”
The door closes.
She begins to begin, again.

Another chapter, and she’s lost.
Lost to the book, that tells her to give up.
“Just let them write themselves.”
She hears the voices in her head
and feels that it might crack.
A siren outside, interrupts her train of thought.
And from the sash window,
revelers, in the street, run, amok.

“Just get it done” (and it will be enough.)
She types the characters, plods through
the sentences.
She gasps for air. Goes outside.
She walks the forest, alone at night.
An unknown shadow’s at its heart.
She reaches in her breast pocket.
She knows her limitations,
takes the knife,
and draws blood.

Copyright Suzy Davies 10/01/2017. All Rights Reserved. No Copying.

Super-excited to be recording an author's interview on my old home ground with Jonathan Hines of U.K Talk Radio! Really looking forward to our chat tomorrow, and I will let you know when it is going to go live. Be sure to watch this blog for details of "Snugs The Snow Bear," my latest creation on Amazon Worldwide!

The call to write is a passion, and the pull to write, sometimes, irresistible. But who writes? Who calls himself an author? And how do they persuade their audience to buy their book? This is a question I ask myself from time to time, because the vanity press allows almost anyone to own the title. Anyone with the nerve, and the wherewithal, may lure an audience, with fancy book covers, advertising, and well-targeted spin, to reach into their pockets and buy, buy, buy, a self-styled author's work, irrespective of whether that so-called author can actually write.
Now, I wish to be clear that I am all for giving newbies a chance, and if publishing becomes fairer, allowing unheard voices to be heard, so much the better. It does need a shake-up! But it is a nightmare-in the-making if the public is duped into purchasing lacklustre trash, which is not even grammatically correct, yet somehow passes off for the real thing. I have read semi-biographical books which fall short. I have even read "children's books" which purport to "teach children," and yet the authors have not even mastered the basics themselves.
I am the kind of person who delights in congratulating my peers for their hard won achievements as authors, and long may their success continue.
However, in my search for "the real thing" among new writers, I have come across writers who do not know their grammar, do not know basic spelling rules, use colloquialisms inappropriately, yet, often, they are the first to sing their own praises about the "popularity" of their books, the "awards" and "badges" they have won, and so on. We as writers, should relish the journey for its own sake, and that journey should involve professional development and skills mastery, which involves not only one's own writing, but also reading books.
Now, come on, I am in my sixtieth year, and I wasn't born yesterday. Who are these writers fooling? The public may be deceived in the short run, but some of us are in it for the long haul. We care about the quality of our work, we do not feel we are "entitled," and we continue to strive to make our work better and better!
To anyone reading this, please look carefully at a writer's work, and then decide whether or not he deserves to call himself a writer.

Snugs and I have over 1,650 friends on Goodreads. "Best Wishes," and "Thanks" for your friendship and support. It is greatly appreciated!

When you think about it, we always remember firsts! Our first early memories, our first childhood friend, our first school uniform, our first birthday party, our first pet, our first kiss, the first time we fell in love, our first wage packet, (and what we spent the money on,) our first independent holiday without parents or caregivers, our first flat or house, our first car, the first time we won an award or competition, and so on! Life is full of "first times." How could you ever know that you would be contemplating another first - your first book!

First books "happen" in different ways to different writers. There is a common misconception that, all of a sudden, you will be inspired, as if by divine intervention, to write a book, but misconception it is, since to write a good book you will have read a lot of books by well-respected writers, or at the very least, read widely and avidly - whatever your reading material.

If you write books without having read anything, how will you know, from an honest objective viewpoint, that your writing is good enough to publish? Friends and family, after all, are a sure win captive audience, and are likely to be biased, after all. The true test of any writer is whether they attract the attention of readers, and possibly whether, in the long haul, they grow to become a writers' writer as well.

Popularity, however, is not everything! Think of the "undiscovered" writers, whose work did not gain true recognition until after their death. And think of writers whose work was so visionary, that perhaps we could argue that the merits of their work are only fully seen, and appreciated, today.

This brings me to a question of ethics. Should a writer be instrumental, and do a cold analysis of what sells? I don't have to mention what sells; we all know that sex sells, violence sells, how to make a quick million sells, even death sells.

I believe that to succeed as a writer, you have to write from your authentic self, the self that is the same on the inside as the outside - the congruent self. Readers are not easily duped. They will know whether you believe in your book or not, and whether it comes from the heart.

So, you think you have a book inside you. If you trace back through your memories, you are likely to discover that the seed of an idea about being a writer has been germinating for some time. In my case, the story of becoming a storyteller goes something like this.

1) A schoolgirl always chooses a window-seat in class. Why? She finds what is going on outside the classroom more interesting than what is going on inside. She likes to observe what is going on out there in the world.

2) This schoolgirl is sometimes described thus in school reports: "....has a tendency to daydream."

3) The schoolgirl is at her happiest with the wind in her hair and sand between her toes. She misses the sights, sounds, and smells of her father's homeland - the cows coming down the lanes at the end of the day, the music of waterfalls, the silly, skittish lambs jumping for joy on the hills, Welsh women polishing the brass steps of their cottages, fishermen hauling in the day's catch at the docks. She misses Wales, the land of her father. She misses being an outsider, an observer, and a dreamer: "The English Girl."

4) The schoolgirl meets a mentor, someone who believes in her, who tells her she can write. Suddenly, this girl finds a reason to do English homework, and it is the one subject she can do. She has a poem published in a school magazine. Being a writer seems surreal; she sees her name in print, and it feels like watching a film.

5) The young woman does a string of dead-end jobs, and progresses to more interesting ones but is still not fulfilled. Eventually, luck, motivation, and opportunity coincide, and she realises her ambition to go to university.

6) A mature young woman enters university. She feels like an ant climbing a mountain, she is so intimidated at the prospect of the "great minds" she will encounter there. She reads and reads and reads. She stumbles across a book by a famous writer that impresses her. She reads another, and another, by the same author. The third book is not so great. She has a secret thought, that gathers strength the more she writes: "I can write as well as that writer!" She has some small successes with writing poems - and a publisher puts them in an anthology, with ninety-nine other poets' work. When she receives a royalties cheque for just over a pound, she is so poor, she banks it!

7) This young woman, with a tendency to procrastinate, has become a legend, who can turn out term papers, written last minute, overnight, and get respectable marks. She likes to delay up to the hand-in deadline of tomorrow. Sometimes, she misses the deadline, but most times she doesn't because she has spent weeks "writing it all in her head."

8) The young woman is not young anymore. She is now a teacher. She teaches the four English skills: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. There is nothing like teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and Literacy as a way to know your language inside out and back to front.

9) The woman is middle-aged now. She vows she will write a book before her time runs out. She has lived enough to have material to draw on, she has survived, and imagined enough to put her dreams into words. Her first book, a Romance Novel, "Johari's Window," is her apprenticeship.

10) How to write your first book? Write your apprenticeship book first. Let it pour out! Put your heart into it! The second book may well be the one with which you are most satisfied, until you write your third.

I'd like to wish all my readers, followers, and those lovely people who gave "Snugs The Snow Bear" 5 star reviews, a Very Happy World Book Day!
Today gives us the chance to celebrate good writers and their books!
Get involved in World Book Day, and discover something new in Children's Fiction for your kids!
Once again, thank you all for your support and kindnesses. It is great to make people happy doing what I love, and to be appreciated!

Once again, thank you to those lovely people who read and reviewed my books! I am uplifted, humbled, and encouraged! The fact that the reviews are so positive, spurs me on in my writing endeavors!

It is now two years since I wrote my debut novel, "Johari's Window." I look back and smile when I realise how much I learned from my apprenticeship!

For ease of reading, here are some points - Do's and Don'ts :

1) Do get something down on paper. I know this sounds obvious, but procrastination is not preparation. I begin by "writing in my head" and jotting things down - just in note form to begin with. You can always rewrite, and rewrite, till you have written your best possible polished version.

2) Do write about what you know. However, if your work is fiction, go on an adventure with it, too! Do the research, unless you have direct experiences you can write fiction about.

All kinds of things come under the rubric of "Research." The Internet makes it relatively easy to gather information, as do libraries. Ask people, and organisations, for information, if need be.

You may be tempted to visit a location, for example, but almost as good, and perhaps a more cost-effective method, is to ask someone who lives there, contact travel firms or search online.

3) Be selective. Don't be tempted to write everything into your book that you know! Remember, what you include in your book has to be there for a reason - don't pad out your best writing with "filler" or "waffle."

4) Do read your work out loud. I find this useful when I want to choose between two versions of the same idea. Which words and phrasing sound easy on the ear? Which is the better choice? Your ears will tell you!

5) Use memory devices, such as post-it notes or flashcards, to help you organise, and bring together all the different aspects of your work.

I find it useful to use color codes, with highlighter pens, or different color post-it notes.

Even if you are tidy, be prepared for creative chaos! Floors are good for "filing" if you run out of desk-space, and they are good for "doing jigsaws" as you piece your book together!

6) Do ask yourself, at intervals, whether what you write is what you want to say. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, but your book will be read by many people. Make sure what you write is clear. Do not be afraid to use a wide range of vocabulary but be precise in your selection.

Make sure you "signpost" the reader when you give him/her choices of interpretation in characterisation or the story-line, too. On the other hand, ambiguity in fiction is sometimes a good device when intended!

7) Consider writing the ending first of all. Then, you know where you are going, and can make adjustments to it, as you go along with your story.

8) Pay particular attention to the opening sentence, and the beginning of your book. The first sentence is what "hooks" the reader. Go straight to the important point of your book, at the very beginning. This can be a character, (which can be a place,) or some kind of question that summons an answer, for example. Create atmosphere and suspense. Make it "unputdownable."

9) Do scrutinise your manuscript thoroughly, when you feel it is ready. All of the book, should have a "holistic" quality, when it is finished, ready to be published. Is the writing even, and the voice consistent? Have you used parallel and opposition to best possible effect? Do your characters sparkle on the page? Are they believable? Are you clear about the themes in your book? They should be woven carefully throughout your book, like a tapestry.

10) Do be ruthless in cutting out anything you don't like or which doesn't work. You will most probably do a lot of this! The process is akin to a sculptor, who chips away at everything until he has a masterpiece! Aim to write over the word limit you need, and then, when you do the final "cut," you are more likely to meet the word limit with your revised final version.

11) Don't do your own final editing! Don't, Don't, Don't! O.K?

12) Don't depend on friends and family to make judgements about the merits of your work! Even if they "know" you are a good writer, and provide much-needed moral support, don't let them sidetrack you or distract you from your purpose. Make writing your priority, and keep your feet firmly on the ground. It's going to be a long haul, unless you are very lucky!

13) Do remain positive, and give yourself breaks away from the computer, and writing, to do something completely different. Your life is good fuel for your job as a writer, and the more experiences you have, the more raw material you will have to draw on.

14) Do you see your first novel as an apprenticeship? If you do, whatever the outcome, you will not be disappointed. Dedicate yourself to your craft, and your growth as a writer will be a reward in itself - perhaps the greatest reward in your lifetime!

Copyright Suzy Davies, 05/03/2017. All Rights Reserved.