In Which We Discuss Starting a New Project

“Man cannot discover new oceans, unless he has the

courage to lose sight of the shore.”

Andre Gide

Batten down the hatches, everyone. I’m starting a new book and am chock full of maritime metaphors, as is often the case when I’m sitting down to that ever intimidating blank screen.

For me, starting a new book is similar to getting on the SS Minnow with Gilligan and the Skipper. There’s a very good chance that rough water will be forthcoming, and a shipwreck will more likely than not set things back. Most writers know this going into a new project. Those of us who plot, clutch our trusted outlines to our chest, even though we will ditch it midway and replot the entire second act. Many of us do all the laundry, make meals to freeze so we can hit the computer when we come home for our day jobs. Those who are pantsers (write their stories without an outline), sit down chock full of ideas and let the story unfold. I take my hat off to these writers. If I tried to “pants” my way through a book, I’d surely wind up in hospital. No matter your style, the path to completing that coveted first draft is a bumpy, stormy, turbulent ride of joy, tears, and often paralyzing self-doubt.

Writing fiction – and learning to write fiction – takes a long time for most people. I recall an essay by Ira Glass (of This American Life fame). I’m paraphrasing, but his take on writing –or any creative endeavour – was that you start out as a beginner with good taste developed from the books you read. You decide to write your own book, finish it, and realise that it is not nearly up to the standards of the books that you have read and enjoyed. You write yet another book. Yes, you see improvement, but your sophisticated taste reminds you that your work is still not quite up to snuff. Most people give up at this point. Ira Glass’ point – and I wholeheartedly agree with him – is that you shouldn’t give up! Keep writing. Keep painting. Keep making movies. If you keep practicing, eventually your ability will catch up to your taste.

Here’s Ira’s essay, for those of you who are interested:

Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.

--Ira Glass

I have written four books – book five is now underway – and each story has taught me something deep and meaningful about my own place in this crazy world. Has my writing ability caught up to my taste? Not even close. But I’m definitely getting there. When I’m two hundred pages in and the usual questions come burgeoning forth (Is this book horrible? What if no one likes it? What if my publisher doesn’t want it? What if this book ends my career?), the only thing to do is keep writing. When I feel like I’m in the middle of a stormy sea, far away from the shore, I dig into the story knowing that the words will keep me afloat. When I push away from the dock, I am more than ready to get lost at sea. I know that only through being lost can one truly appreciate the magnificence of finding the way. And I am most definitely not giving up!

            Who’s starting a new project? Would love to hear about your process and how you deal with ups and downs.

Cheers,

Terry

LINDA MITCHELMORE SPENDING SUMMER AT 23 THE STRAND

Today I’m delighted to continue with our Question and Answer series introducing Novel Points of View authors and their writing. Please give a warm welcome to novelist and prolific short story writer, Linda Mitchelmore and her delightful summer novel, Summer at 23 The Strand.

Hello Linda,

Before we get into the interview, let’s have a little introduction to Summer at 23 The Strand.

It’s May, and actress, Martha, has bailed out of a Hollywood movie, escaping a romance that she knew was doomed before it had even got really started. She comes to Devon and 23 The Strand for some time-out and to plan her next move. Meeting Hugh wasn’t in that plan but, to her surprise, she finds herself falling for him as they help one another heal from their respective, emotional pains. Martha decides to leave a welcome gift for the next occupant, something each of them continue to do throughout the summer – Cally, Arthur, Lucy, Ana, Stella, Bella, Caroline, and Margy – carry on. Come September, 23 The Strand has worked its magic on them all.

I loved the premise of the novel, having each visitor to 23 The Strand leave a small, thoughtful gift for the next occupant. Where did the inspiration for the storyline come from?

Paignton harbour where many of the characters
 go to get on tripper boats

This is something that was lodged deep in my memory banks! When I was growing up, my mother used to clean holiday chalets on a Saturday morning, and when I was in my teens I used to help her – earning the grand sum of 2/6! Very often, visitors would leave things behind … items of clothing, combs, books, amongst other things. My mother was supposed to hand anything left behind to the supervisor, but times were hard and if it was something useful then she’d simply slip it in her bag. But once, to her great delight, someone left a box of chocolates with a note on top – ‘For the cleaner’. I remember her delight that it was for her and not other people’s rubbish.

As I began each chapter and met each fresh set of characters, I enjoyed trying to second-guess what token they might leave. If you were to take a short break at 23 The Strand, what might you leave behind?

A parmesan grater. I’ve stopped in lots of cottages/gîtes and there’s never been a parmesan grater! I mean, who can make a spag bol, even on holiday, without freshly-grated parmesan on top?

The location feels very real and somewhere I’d love to visit. Do the beach chalets exist? (Please say yes!)

Ah well, I’ve taken a bit of poetic licence here with the chalets. The place

Colourful chalets at Preston beach

is real – Preston beach (and I’ve taken a bit of poetic licence with that as well!!) which is halfway between Torquay and Paignton and which most holidaymakers never find so it’s still very much a locals’ beach. There are chalets there but there are no facilities and you can’t stop overnight in them – they’re just somewhere to take a camping stove, get water from the standpipe on the prom, and store your bathing gear.

Each visitor to 23 The Stand brings their problems but it’s being close to sea and nature, along with the people they meet that helps them see life afresh. Do you enjoy spending time outdoors?

Seal getting friendly around the local coastline

How did you guess? I’m like a caged animal if it’s sunny outside and I have to be indoors. Even if it’s raining I usually get a short walk in every day. My house is perfectly placed – fifteen minutes walk from the beach, and a quick hop over the back hedge to the wood behind my house and another fifteen minute walk and I can see Dartmoor in the distance.

As I mentioned in my introduction, you are also a hugely successful short story writer. Short fiction and novel writing are very different disciplines – how do you juggle both?

Ah well, funny you should ask that. A magazine short story editor once

Author Linda Mitchelmore

told me that short stories are, more often than not, a terrible waste of a good novel plot! This, when she asked me to stretch a short story to a serial, and said serial then became a novel. So the discipline of writing is no different as such. That said, if I’m working on a novel I do find it hard to leave my characters on their journey of 350 pages or so and write about another character who might only cover 500 words. So, while I’m working on a novel I might only write a short story or five as a diversion from a sticky patch in the novel.

The questions I love asking writers – which authors do you enjoy reading? Who inspires both your novel and short story writing? 

I’ve been inspired in the craft of writing – both short stories and novels – by the American writer, Elizabeth Berg. She has a most excellent how-to book, Escaping into the Open, The Art of Writing True. This will open up your mind and help you bare your soul as a writer which, I think, is what you have to do to be good at it. Elizabeth Berg has written short stories although I’ve not read any. She’s also had many novels published and I’ve read a fair few of them ….  ‘Say When’ remains a favourite.

You write short stories, have completed a novel trilogy, and now Summer at 23 The Strand. Can you share a little about what you’re working on next?

I’ve also had two novellas and a stand-alone full length novel published

First in Linda's Emma Trilogy

before HarperCollins published Summer at 23 The Strand. I’ve got a couple of novel ideas out there under consideration at the moment; one is set at Christmas and the other is a summer, seaside-based one. While I wait to hear if they’re to be taken up I’m writing short stories … just so I don’t forget how!

Your joy in keeping busy shines through Linda. Thanks for giving us an appreciation of the inspiration behind your writing and we’re sure many of our readers will also enjoy spending time this Summer at 23 The Strand.

Join us next time when Victoria Cornwall, author of Cornish historical fiction, will be in the spotlight.

Until then, happy reading!

Rae x

CHARACTERS: HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM? YOUNG OR OLD?

Fay Weldon recently wrote a piece in the Writing Tips feature on her website entitled ‘What age are your characters?’ In which she said: ‘Publishers, who these days tend to turn away novels by middle-aged women about middle-aged women on the grounds that they are depressing, are probably wise to do so.’  That in itself is a depressing statement. You can read the complete feature here: http://fayweldon.co.uk/writing-tip/what-age-are-your-characters/

The feature has upset a few readers and writers on social media. She must surely have forgotten the success of authors like Hilary Boyd, Veronica Henry, Joanna Trollope, to name but three who write about older women? 

Fay Weldon is a highly experienced writer but is she right when she says older women - who are prolific readers of fiction - prefer their novels to feature young women rather than old?

Anne Williams, a respected blogger (http://beinganne.com) in a review of Fanny Blake’s latest book ‘An Italian Summer’ says of the characters, ‘the fact that they’re beyond the first flush of youth makes such a refreshing and welcome change’. Anne also told me she actively seeks out books with older protagonists with whom she has some common ground.

Personally I lose patience very easily with young characters in chick-lit taking decisions that are so clearly wrong for them. To be honest I find the term chick-lit slightly patronising and off putting and rarely read in that genre anymore. I like the books I read (and write) to have a mix of characters of all ages, both male and female. Once past the age of 50 whilst we can, of course, remember what it was like to be 20 or 30 and recognise and understand the problems characters at those ages have, I don’t believe we identify or relate to them as an older reader - our life experiences have moved us on! Mature readers can identify far more easily with older characters at a higher level when there is a common interest and maybe a mirror placed on their own life experiences.

Claire Baldry who last year started the FB group ‘Books For Older Readers’ has this notice about the group pinned to the top of the page: ‘This Facebook group is intended for readers in mid-life and beyond and writers who write books which particularly appeal to this age group. As with all ‘genres’ it is very difficult to give an exact definition, but books discussed in our group tend to include themes such as second chances, late life career changes, adjusting to retirement, bereavement, and love in later life. At least some of the content is likely to reflect the perspective of the more mature characters.’ Claire’s group is going from strength to strength with an active membership highlighting books for this particular demography of society.

Reading Fay Weldon’s theory that older women prefer to ‘identify with themselves when young, not as they are now, in the days when they were sexually active, agile of limb, and not afraid of adventure’, I laughed out loud. Oh come on, in an age when 50 is supposed to be the new 40, they maybe ‘less agile of limb’ but they are certainly not afraid of adventure or of having relationships.

I like writing about women who have ‘lived a bit’ and at least six of my books have older protagonists. ‘Summer at Coastguard Cottages’ published late last year featuring new relationships and second chances managed to gain an orange bestseller flag on Amazon, so I think women most definitely do like to read about older characters. It’s not depressing, it’s actually life enhancing and encourages women to never give up on their dreams or ambitions. It may be difficult to do but it’s rarely too late to change things. 

One part of Fay Weldon’s feature I do agree with wholeheartedly though, is the following statement: ‘Women past their nubile prime don’t get parts in films or jobs announcing on TV. It shouldn’t be so, but it is.’ 

My personal opinion on having older feminine characters in books, grabbing at life with both hands, starting second careers, falling in love and having adventures, is that it can only be a good thing. At the very least it's a way of adding something positive into the fight of discrimination against older women. Discuss!

BEST CELEBRITY BOOK CLUBS

It’s time I came clean about a summer obsession I’ve enjoyed for many years.

On the whole I’m happy for the ups and downs of celebrity lives to pass me by. However, there’s one strand of celebrity culture I’m proud to embrace, the rise of the celebrity book club and in particular their recommended summer reading lists.

WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT CELEBRITY BOOK CLUBS?

Nowadays book recommendations are available from a host of different sources – book bloggers, book tubers, bookish websites, Facebook reading groups, newspapers and women’s magazines – so why do I love celebrity book clubs so much?

Successful book club hosts make recommendations that encourage discussion, meaning their choices are both interesting and thought provoking. Most also select a varied range aimed to appeal to female readers, who make up the majority of book club members.

WHICH CELEBRITY BOOK CLUBS TO FOLLOW...

So if you’re planning on relaxing with a great book this summer, why not take a peek at some of the books these celebrities recommend…

REESE WITHERSPOON (HELLO SUNSHINE)

Reese Witherspoon

I discovered Reese Witherspoon’s book club on Facebook and was instantly drawn to the variety of of fiction and non-fiction featured. Witherspoon actively champions women authors, telling female driven stories, both through her book club and media production company Hello Sunshine. Examples of her production work include both Wild, an inspirational memoir by Cheryl Strayed, and Liane Moriarty’s bestselling Big Little Lies. Hello Sunshine has also optioned the film rights for Gail Honeyman’s fantastic Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

 

But back to the book club side. #RWBookClub was where I discovered one on my favourite books of 2018 (thus far) Celeste Ng’s, Little Fires Everywhere. Also, Witherspoon is über savvy when it comes to marketing and makes it easy to follow her book club on a variety of social media platforms, including Twitter and Instagram.

RICHARD AND JUDY (in association with WH SMITH)

The couple that got me hooked on celebrity book clubs was husband and wife team, Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The Richard and Judy book club began as part of their television chat show in the early 2000s but is now accessed online. Like Witherspoon, Richard and Judy use social media to the max, sharing author interviews and bonus material via their podcast, where authors not only share the inspiration for their novel but also their writing process and helpful writing tips. It’s also possible to see the couple interview authors about the books selected on You Tube, or join in the conversation on both Facebook and Twitter.

Richard and Judy’s Late Summer picks include the poignant Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon, alongside Rachel Hore’s Last Letter Home and Leila Slimani’s Lullaby, both novels I mean to add to my reading list. I can’t finish with Richard and Judy without mentioning my favourite of their 2018 Summer picks, which was Together by Julie Cohen. Head over to the website to read Richard and Judy's full review here...

FERN BRITTON (in association with TESCO and Harper Collins)

The shiny new kid on the celebrity book club block is writer and broadcaster Fern Britton, who has teamed up with supermarket giant Tesco to recommend books by publisher, Harper Collins. I was delighted to discover that Fern’s first picks were How Hard Can It Be by Allison Pearson, Mother, the Romantic Novelists’ Association winning debut novel by Hannah Begbie and the epic historical novel, Last Letter from Istanbul by Lucy Foley.

I’ve already read and loved both How Hard Can It Be and Last Letter from Istanbul, with Mother riding high on my to-be-read list, so I can tell that Fern’s Picks are ones I’ll definitely watch in future.

ZOE BALL #ZBOS

A television book club has been sadly missing from the UK schedule for some time and so I was delighted when it was announced that Zoe Ball was to host a new weekend book club. It’s one for early risers though, as Ball’s book club discussion is included in her Saturday and Sunday chat show at 8.30am on ITV, where she reviews her choice with a celebrity guest.

Viewers/readers are also given the opportunity to upload a video review of the titles selected - something I haven’t plucked up the courage to do just yet! However, if 8.30am sounds too early for the weekend, never fear as each author in the spotlight has produced a short film providing a feel for their story. Ball’s choices include Rowan Coleman’s Summer of Impossible Things (one of my favourites of 2017), Sally Magnusson’s The Seal Woman’s Gift, Maggie O’Farrell’s I Am, I Am, I Am. For the full list, as well as catching up on previous episodes, follow the link…

YOUR FAVOURITE CELEBRITY BOOK CLUBS

So which celebrity book clubs do you ALWAYS check out? Which amazing authors have you discovered? Which brilliant books have your read? ...

Please get in touch and let me know.
Perhaps I am seduced by celebrity after all!

Happy summer reading,

Rae xxx