Alba back

Photograph courtesy of The McGowan.

A novel lesson, part two: an exciting incident.

You may be wondering if you blinked or, shock horror, if my last post was all a dream.

No fear - your comments are saved and much valued.


Breathing Apparatus








Coasting





On shore in the dark -

not night -

two thousand miles

between us; ocean flicks

its tongue.



Pick a shell,

lift it to my ear; it sighs

into me.



And there is sand between my toes.







Tumbling





“Doing quiet somersaults

thinking of you”;



I have run away

with your circus.







Plumbing





He'd never managed to fix your tap

and his car set tongues wagging

but he saved your life



though all you can report is that you saved his.



You knew it was a heart attack

when his plumb line went flat



but your husband wasn't convinced

it was necessary to remove the plumber's

trousers to give him mouth to mouth.

Up date

It is nine pm on the fourth day. For the last three days I have been writing for sixteen hours each day but it has been totally worth it because I now have a completed first draft of my novel. Mothering Sunday is officially my Up date!
Watch this space. I may be some time.....sleep, coming at you!

Stuff IT

Some stuff that did and didn't happen.

S. IT trouble.

My laptop broke. My button was wobbly. I thought, for a while, it might fall off but it didn't: it jammed. I had to send my laptop off to be fixed. It's all mended now though.

T. I had a request from an agent to read one of my novels.

I sent an email and had a positive response, then my laptop broke. After much perspiring and use of pen drives I was able to send the requested MS. I am crossing my fingers and hoping said agent likes my story. I'll report back as and when.

U. I had a new blog post all done but for a few pictures.

My laptop broke. I have to do it all again. And I will. Soon. There were three things I wanted to do but Valentine's day is like the world's fastest cake and I am going to spend this week's writing time catching up on all of your blogs and making a list of questions instead of worrying about what's gone (scone).

F. Serendipity.

I posted a letter. I received a lovely reply and I'm meeting a lady on Saturday who grew up in the town I am writing about and is the granddaughter of the man who is the central character of my triptych. The really interesting thing is, she lives just five minutes drive from me - but the best bit: my laptop could not impede good old fashioned post and I have an actual little bit of paper history all of my own to tie me to the lives of those I am writing about. Am I writing myself into fiction or bringing my fiction to life?

F. I thought about using numbers to mark these bullet points but numbers only add up to more numbers and I don't want numbers, I want words. That was my stuff for today. More and less of the same coming soon.

Thieve a few

A little piece of NZ, framed especially for you.

I think I may have lost my marbles. Do tell me if you see them rolling around anywhere, feel free to collect them up and keep a few cats' eyes for yourselves, I won't miss the odd one or two.

I have been planning a novel for some months now and next month I am going down to South Island to carry out research for it. I don't have to: in theory I could find all the information I require at my local libraries or from contacts I have made in South Island, and it's going to cost me an arm and a leg, but I really feel I need to experience the place I am writing about first hand. Plus, as there is a lot of oral history in NZ, I need to go to the place itself for that.

I don't want to give too many details away other than to say it is a variation on the idea of a triptych and already it is consuming me. I made a start with writing a few "scenes" back in June, to get a feel for my characters. Much of what I've written so far will not make it into the novel but it has served a very useful purpose, and been worth every word, to really bring my people to life.

This is the first novel I've tackled that's had me scared. I am worried I may have bitten off more than I can chew but there's nothing I love more than a difficult challenge: if something's not hard, it's not fun for me. So I'm doing as much research as I can to be as prepared as possible for everything I am throwing at my characters, and I'm chomping at the bit to find out what they're going to throw back at me.

I've never been to South Island before. When I started planning this novel I spoke to librarians - they were fantastically knowledgeable (as you would expect librarians to be) and went way beyond the call of duty to email links and things they thought might be of interest to me weeks after I had initially queried them! I was given contact details for people living in the place I am going to and was offered free accommodation! I asked an architect about a building and he offered to check out all the details on buildings in my story for accuracy! I have never encountered enthusiasm, helpfulness, generosity or trust as I have found from the people of New Zealand (except, maybe, in the UK! - Especially me, when I lived there!). But seriously, I've been blown away by the offers I've had. So this post is really a big thank you to New Zealand for all the opportunities it has given me.

The only downside is that I have to plan the whole trip! Everything requires timetabling and, as I have droned on about before, I really am not bedfellows with numbers. And the nearer the trip gets, the more stressed I get about catching the plane etc on time, and the more difficult I find organising all of the other things for the correct times and dates. It's giving me headaches - I need to eat some feverfew. I much prefer organising novels than trips! So my marbles have started disassembling and I may loose a few for good. So, go on, take some, I hope they are more use to you than to me!