In which we discuss continuing education.

Often when  I’m in between books I take time to study my craft and hone my writing skills. My usual custom and practice is listen to chapters three and four of the audio version of Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody. Even though I already know the book by heart, listening to the chapters about character development and story structure never fails to get me motivated. But 2020 was a total pain in the you-know-what of a year, so for my third Olivia Sinclair book, I decided to try something different. Luckily, I was able to get a spot in The Tarot for Fiction Writers workshop over at thewriterscircle.com. 

The instructor, Kris Waldherr, not only writes amazing novels, she is also the artist who drew and created The Goddess Tarot deck. Her latest novel, The Lost History of Dreams is a fabulous gothic novel, which released to critical acclaim in 2019. Kris’s unique skillset lets her navigate the world of tarot and novel writing with deft. Her curriculum in the Tarot for Fiction Writing Class specifically helps students negotiate the obstacles all writers face when crafting story. (Anyone interested in any of Kris’s workshops can find out info here.) 

The tarot consists of seventy-eight cards, each depicting a nugget of the human condition. Arranged in certain order, the images can reveal patterns about  the day-to-day things we humans struggle with, as well as the things we celebrate. Taken as a whole, the tarot deck can be mixed and matched and arranged anyway the writer wants to jibe with their story, their scene, or their attitude about their work. 

During the course, we’re given examples of tarot spreads as reflected by known works of fiction. Each week we learn a new type of spread for character development, story arc, character arc, and even spreads for motivating the beleaguered writer who hits the proverbial wall. So while the tarot isn’t a supernatural fortune telling system (Write this book and you will have a best seller… Don’t I wish.), it’s definitely a way to memorialize and capture fleeting bits of humanity, which can then be layered into your story, your characters, and into the writing process itself. 

There’s something mysterious and lovely about tarot cards and their ancient symbols. As I shuffle the deck and look at the images, my subconscious mind comes to life and responds to what I see. Characters become more deeply known as their motivation becomes clear; the fog clears in my writer’s brain and I see the way out of a plot hole. The tarot, it seems,  is a magical shovel for digging deep on all fronts. And that, dear reader, has made my writing life very interesting indeed. 

Quick note about the above picture: Ace of Cups (divine grace in artistic endeavors), The Moon (mysticism, creativity), Ace of Pentacles (new opportunities, abundance coming)

How about you? Have you ever used tarot or any outside source to stimulate your inner storyteller? 

Until next time.

Terry

 

RESEARCHING SETTINGS

 

One thing I love about writing is getting to know the places where I’ve set my novels. Often I use a fictitious house, town or village but set it in a real area I’ve visited and know well, that I can write about.

The Girl from Ballymor is set in the made-up small town of Ballymor located in the west of county Cork, Ireland. I love west Cork, and the town is a kind of mix of Skibbereen and Clonakilty. The hills in the novel are like those further west in the peninsulas, and the ruins of Kildoolin are based on a famine village on Achill Island, county Mayo.

The Drowned Village is based very closely on Mardale and the Haweswater reservoir in the Lake District. The geography and the mountains described are exactly Mardale – I just renamed everything.

People have asked me where the château described in The Secret of the Château is, and the answer is it exists only inside my head, but the village, mountains and valley are a sort of amalgamation of many such valleys in the Alpes Maritimes area of France, although the château itself is something you’re more likely to find in the Loire valley.

And The Stationmaster’s Daughter uses the real-life part-restored Lynton to Barnstaple railway, but transplants it to the Dorset coast.

Once I know an area well, I love writing about it, and I hope I can do a reasonable job of bringing it to life in my novels.

Lockdown has made things a little harder, to say the least. My current work in progress is partly set at Bletchley Park. When I decided to write this novel, I assumed I would be able to visit Bletchley, do the tour, and then be able to write from my own experience. But unfortunately due to the pandemic I haven’t been able to go there at all, so I’ve had to rely on my research using books and websites. There’s no shortage of pictures and lots of information about it – both as it currently is as a tourist attraction, and as it was during the war years – but nothing beats actually going there and seeing it for myself.

I’m currently under contract to deliver this novel plus two more over the next year. The other two I’ve pitched are both set abroad – one in France and one in Ireland. They’d be set in places I’ve been to several times (Chamonix and Dublin) but both are places I may not be able to get back to for some time, due to this blasted pandemic. Sigh.

There is a solution, that I might well go for – I have an idea brewing for a novel set right where I live now. We moved in December, to Mudeford, on the edge of Christchurch, Dorset. It’s a place with strong links to smuggling, back in the 18^th century, and there’s a part of me that’s always wanted to write a novel featuring smugglers...

DISCOVER WHY FAIRY TALES ARE BACK

Hello! For the past fortnight, I have been studying fairy tales, both in a Flash Fiction series of workshops via Dundee University's excellent Lifelong Learning programme, as well as the FREE three week FutureLearn series via The University of Newcastle, Australia. And apparently I'm not alone in rekindling my love of the genre.

WHY AN INCREASED INTEREST IN FAIRY TALES?

An article in last week's Times Literary Supplement explained why fairy tales are important for children - they tackle difficult subjects like sibling rivalry, marital breakdown, exclusion etc, within a safe environment. Remember the joy of a pantomime, booing each time the baddie arrived on stage? There is also the comfort of knowing that, eventually, all will turn out well. (Although this wasn't always the case. In the original version of Little Red Riding Hood written by French author Charles Perrault in 1697 - spoiler alert - Little Red Riding is eaten by the wolf, never to return!) Back to The Times article, which went on to point out that given the turmoil of the past year, it's little wonder that both adults and children are returning to stories that are familiar and provide certainty.

Little Red Riding Hood

In Western literature, the stories we think of as fairy tales (other cultures have their myths and legends too) have been around for centuries, shared as oral stories long, long before they were written down. How do scholars know this? Because of the repetition involved - What big eyes you have Grandma... What big ears you have... which made it easier for those listening to remember the tales. And surely stories that have stood the test of time are worth revisiting. 

One fascinating aspect of the FutureLearn course is that it considers the context in which certain versions of a fairy tale were written - time, place, the author's social status, who they deemed to be their audience - which all create subtle changes in the way the story is retold. (Remember Little Red Riding Hood - in the Grimm Brothers version, written in the early 1800s, the one referred to in most modern retellings, she is rescued by a passing woodcutter.) This need to adjust the tale to suit the audience is another reason fairy tales have been thrust back into the spotlight. 

Shining a light on Fairy Tales

WHERE NEXT FOR FAIRY TALES?

As society adapts, so the stories we hand down must change. Last year alone, we saw the publication of the Fairy Tale Revolution Series, which looks at classic stories from a different angle, as well and the Gender Swapped Fairy Tales, where female characters are no longer passive, awaiting rescue by a handsome Prince, but are central to the action and adventure. Fresh retellings for a modern age.

Fairy Tale Revolution Series...

USEFUL FOR WRITERS...

But what has all this got to do with my writing? Well for those that follow my book reviews, you'll know that as well as women's and literary fiction, I also enjoy Gothic reads. And I think my love of the dark side began with fairy tales (all those ogres and wicked crones), and I enjoy attempting to add an edge to my flash fiction pieces. Also, it stretches my imagination to take a fairy tale and re-tell it from a minor character's point of view, or to add a fresh twist. Skills I hope to transfer to my other writing too.

So, which are your favourite fairy tales? Do you love or loathe them? Did you outgrow fairy tales? Are you tempted to take a second look? I'd love to know. 

Happy reading!

Rae x