A drift

My very short fiction "Hunters in the Snow" is featured in a form flashing blizzard at Flash Frontier, with a commentary, alongside other pieces from Leanne Radojkovich, Jaclyn Bergamino, Martin Porter, and Kathryn Jenkins. Many thanks to Editors Michelle Elvy and Sian Williams for having me in their snow themed issue, and for giving my Flash Mob story a second flurry.

Snow coincidence

All images on this site remain property of me (Rachel J Fenton ©2013) unless copyright stated otherwise. Please contact if you would like to share images from this blog. Thank you!

Though I've written lots on how I write, I've never written a blog post about "How To" write. I'll tell you why. Because other people have written them already. Hey, I'm all for making efficient use of my time. The reason I'm posting this is because I just finished the first draft of the novel I've been working on since August. (I actually wrote the first chapter back in July, from a plan I've been working on and mulling over since 2007, when I first arrived in New Zealand - hint there, folks). Wellsy, one way I've been spending the snatches of time I've had away from writing has been to read other novellists' posts/advice on the whole process.

One blog I'd highly recommend to anyone contemplating the novel journey is Tom Vowler's. His debut, What Lies Within, has just been published (my copy's ordered) which proves he knows what he's talking about.

I was struck by the similarities between Tom's analogy and the very impressively illustrated one in the most recent blog post of another talented writer, Dan Purdue.

And the whole sculpture analogy brings me back around to how I write, because bookending the writing of my first ever novel - now safely stored out of society's way, no fear - I studied to become an artist then a designer. During this time, as well as painting, I made sculpture and pots (like Grayson Perry). Here's one of mine. Coincidentally, it's inspired by a landscape under snow.

Which - I like tying up plot threads - brings me to my final where to go for "How To" for this post: Catherine McNamara's got some excellent advice on both novel and short story writing, and as she quotes in her most recent post "coincidences happen when you are on the right path". Here's hoping.

Snow yourself

Snow: some flakes are big.

So, it's official, I am interviewing Women Rule Writer extraordinaire, Nuala Ní Chonchúir on September the 1st - plenty time to get those questions in (see last post) - and I'm really excited. I swing between nerves and giddiness (perhaps the giddiness is just the nerves making noise). And I have been thinking a lot about (everything - no change there) wanting to do a good job of the interview, because it's Nuala's good reputation, and it's mine too.

Some flakes are small.

Clicking onto my blog today I was suddenly hit by myself - as I must appear to you, out there.
I became uncomfortably conscious of my outward persona. There are two distinct impressions my blog gives.

Some melt before they hit the ground.

One can be summed up by the title of my blog, based on a poem I wrote about four years ago.

Snow; like thought
between breath,
lapses, caught
suspended
by soft short
parachutes;
melting. Death.

Every now and then I change the 'Death' to Nought, depending on my mood, and I switch the punctuation, too. I don't think it is a very 'good' poem, technically or otherwise, but it is a very me poem.

Some don't melt soon enough.

I read some interesting blogs recently and I was inspired to respond - one of them was about responsorial poetry, and the other was a poem which had me committing all kinds of errors, including this:

Plate hair

I looked at your
picture and thought
of the words. My jaw
seized till it ached with laughter. Snort
after snort, brought tears. Face: sore
and twitching; 'theose' I wrote, and 'ryme'.

I have noticed a tendency in myself to act spontaneously. I'm not sure it is always the right thing to do (especially in hindsight), but it is very me.

This blog is my first impression, in a way, to potential agents, publishers, fellow writers, and anyone else out there, in the ether, who cares to follow my ramblings - what does it say about me?

I still don't like the image of the snow - it looks like wallpaper, and might as well be yellow, and the background colour is just slightly the wrong shade of blue/almost grey, and my picture makes me look goofy and shy (which I am) but which I don't want to appear because I want to show my serious and thoughtful side (which I have), which is hidden by my humour, which is stupid.

Real snow is indescribable though, isn't it? You decide.

Image is everything...

Just spent a ridiculous period of time trying to create snowflakes, and customise a blog template to take them, only to decide I don't actually like them! They just don't go with my blog title. Well, they do...but they don't. Writing is much easier than creating an image. I am not the most technically minded person it has to be said - give me a paintbrush and I'll paint you a picture; a pen and I'll write one; a computer and I'll... erm... lose one somewhere in the ether...

On a positive note - there's always an upside to everything - I have got some nice snowflaky patterns all ready for when Christmas comes around...except I live in Auckland and it doesn't snow here...snowflakes anyone?

If only you could hear the chipper voice I write with!