Radcliffe Library

I was very saddened when I went there the other week to find out that this library is ear-marked for closing or downsizing. Librarians will be made redundant. The book stock will disappear. The lovely old building will be used for something else.

It seems such a shame.  I can walk to it from my house – admittedly a bit of a trek and through the woods. But I was looking forward to that when I retired and got my dog.

I’ve filled out the consultation survey. I’ve said how important the library is to the local community. Now it seems I still need to argue with the politicians.  

A local councillor was due to come and answer questions that morning. S/he didn’t show.  Did they know that I and another stroppy, grumpy old woman were waiting for them and they couldn’t face us?

The place is always vibrant. There is always something going on. “The children form the local primary school come in together and choose their books,” said one of the librarians. “They would never be able to do that normally.” They certainly won’t if the nearest library is Prestwich.

I guess I’ll drive there to get my books. I can. But what of the old-age pensioners without transport and the young mums stuck at home all day? It’s not the same, bundling your little ones on to the bus. The fares aren’t cheap either.

Ironically, the day before I heard this news, a local company pulled all of its buses off the roads. It couldn’t afford to pay its insurance. No library, then and no bus to take you to the next one.

I’m forever grateful for the excellent library in the town where I grew up. I don’t think I’d be a writer and university lecturer now if it hadn’t have been for that wonderful collection of books – Enid Blyton and her Famous Five to start with, then stories about young women finding their way in life and finally books in French and German as I studied these subjects for A-level.    

Later, I enjoyed taking my own children to the library almost as much.

Some say it’s all different now, that young people have greater access to books without going to the library.  I’m not so sure. Time is limited at school and other ways of obtaining books cost money. The library still has its place.   

The Tower

I have a new book out!

The Tower is the third part of the Peace Child trilogy. Now alone again Kaleem tries to adjust to life without Rozia. A natural catastrophe happens on Zandra and threatens to undo all the good work that Kaleem had done in reconciling this planet with Terrestra, his birth planet.  Complications set in as huge economic problems come to light. He continues to be plagued by the Babel prophecy.

I’m offering Babel free as an e-book from 4 – 8 May. Check it out. You can also read Rozia’s Glog, which links Babel to The Tower. You don’t have to read it in order to understand The Tower, but it just gives you a little more story. You can read excerpts of The Prophecy on my Sample Sunday blog. Babel and The Tower also include a glossary. So lots of ways of getting up to speed if you haven’t read the first two volumes.

I’m again offering school visits to do with The Tower. This will include one free copy of the book – perhaps for the school library - readings, a question and answer session and a creative writing exercise. I’ll also bring postcards for the students and I can arrange to have a supply of books if you wish. If you are connected to a school and would like one of these visits, please email me at gill dot james at btitnernet dot com.  I can also turn this into a longer visit.

 Note that The Tower is suitable for  students 14-18.

I’m seeking book reviews on this title, so please email me at the above address if you would like a copy and specify Kindle, PDF or hard copy.           

Fibbin’ Archie

You’ll only have to look at the cover and read the title out loud to get some idea of what this story is about. It is a bit of a pun, however. Archie is a lad who tells a few fibs and there are a few uncomfortable circumstances as a result.  He is also obsessed with numbers – including, of course, the Fibonacci series.

Mort than this, however, the whole book is a bit of an experiment. It’s a sort of “writing by numbers”. I’m convinced that the Golden Segment exists just as much in literature as it does in art. This was an attempt to uncover it. I’m not sure I’ve quite found it yet. It’s possibly there right under our noses in the Three Act Structure and it’s possible that those experts on story theory, Christopher Booker, Joseph Campbell, Robert McKee, VladimirPropp and Christopher Vogler have identified it in all but name. Certainly, though, this made me write in an entirely different way – a way that was no more nor no less rewarding than any other.  Just different. An introduction and a postscript give more details.

It’s a story set in West Bromwich, the town where I grew up. I’ve become incredibly fond of Archie – maybe because he’s a teenager very similar to the one I used to be, perhaps because he comes from my home town or it might just be because he is one of my newest characters and we always like our latest creations the best as we strive to improve all the time.

I’m keen to get people’s reactions. If you’d like a free review copy, then contact me on g dot james 1 at salford dot ac dot uk.     

Heath warning: it’s a bit rude in places and there is some strong language. 

How we form our stories

Premise, plot, synopsis – why not just write?

This has been on my mind a lot recently: I’ve been lecturing on writing fiction and on another module I teach at the University of Salford I’ve recently marked synopses of novels the students are working on. Naturally, in a twelve week module, when they’re studying two other modules as well, they’re probably not going to complete a whole novel. So writing a synopsis at this stage may seem a little false. In this submission, though, I’m looking for two things: evidence of a story that will work and a business-like, industry standard document that crystallizes that story neatly. Interestingly I ask for a 2500 word extract of the novel and the reworked synopsis in a subsequent assignment. This replicates what we might submit to publishers.   

The spirit of the synopsis

In my own practice I don’t write the synopsis until I’m ready to  submit but I’ve often got a bullet-pointed outline in my head. My eventual synopsis is a crystallization not just of a plot outline but of a whole process. Perhaps a default good synopsis will include:

A concrete premise (e.g. Jack stumbles across a pirate ship and manages to stop the pirates hurting his friends.)

Some character description

An outline of a story arc

A more abstract summary of the premise e.g. Jack finds his courage and saves his friends.

In order to have that in mind as I’ve write, I’ve come up with an initial idea, possibly putting it into words and taping them to the top of my computer screen to stop myself going off at a tangent. I’ve got to know my characters – so even if I haven’t answered a six-page questionnaire about them.  They have lived with me for a while and have come out rounded and believable, with a back-story and a future. In producing a text I’m using a balance of various writerly techniques using both art and craft.

Character or plot and is there a difference?  

Always story comes from a tension amongst the characters that people it and between them and their environment. But there are writers who claim to plot in detail, perhaps spreading story-boarding cards all over the floor and those who say they just put the characters together and step back and watch what happens. If these are actually two extremes I’d put myself almost exactly in the middle. I think, though, in fact we all understand the same about story. This is just a matter of different writers preferring different tools.    

I come back again, as I often do, to Stephen King who claims to write entirely from character yet produces stories with superbly crafted plots.                      

Gifts for Writers

Just before Christmas I was contemplating buying a gift for a writing friend. I saw something that looked absolutely fabulous in Waterstones. It was called “The Writer’s Toolkit” or something similar. It looked delightful. It came in a very attractive tin. It contained lots of prompts, tips and treats for the writer.

But I really shouldn’t spend that amount of money on my friend. She has given up the day job, lives on a shoe string and can only buy people token presents. It would embarrass her.

It struck me, though, that I could make her a Toolkit myself. The time it would take and the care in the choices I made would be the real gift. The Toolkit would come mainly from bits and pieces I had lying around.

I didn’t do it this year but I’m actually considering doing it for next year and also for one or two other writing friends.

Here are some of the ingredients for a Writer’s Toolkit:

• An attractive tin or box to put everything in
• A few old postcards – the pictures on the front and the messages on the back may lead to stories (I actually use old postcards a lot with my students. Go to a postcard fair and you can often pick job lots of old postcards for a small amount to money.)
• Half a dozen or so favourite creative writing exercises (I’d probably gear these to the particular writer – perhaps trying to push them a little out of their comfort zone.)
• Some free post cards – I’d write prompts on the back
• Some brightly coloured post-it notes (off my own pad if I’m really doing this on a tight budget)
• Some nice pens
• Some other bits of stationery
• An attractive note-book (Okay. You’d have to buy this but you can often find bargains. Keep your eyes open when you’re out and about.)  
• A book I’ve enjoyed – with a note about why I’d enjoyed it and how it might help the writer
• A chocolate bar (squeezed out of the weekly shop)
• A few paint colour charts to provide exotic names for a piece of flash fiction or poems
• A few photographs that might prompt a story
• A list of trustworthy small press publishers who’re currently open to submission
• A collection of newspaper cuttings of incidents that would make the good basis of a story         
• A list of affirmations about being a writer  

I have the feeling that I’d get a good deal of fun putting these kits together. Do you dare me? And if you know a writer who’s on a diet right now, would this be a good alternative to an Easter egg. (Skip the chocolate bar!)