Writing

Self publishing a novel as an ebook

What a month it has been! No, make that two – or three…. First a hasty trip to Croatia and to Spain with my husband. I always like to record my travels on my blog, which I did, in between touring around, often alone, (thanks for those cognacs in that foreshore bistro in Cavtat!), as well as in company. Mark’s Symposium was hugely successful due to his great organising skills and untiring workload; that is, along with his colleague Suzana, who also acts as a patriotic diplomat for her beloved country of Croatia. Since the economy rests mainly on tourism, the Symposium is of great benefit to the country.

During the trip I had little time to think about my recently published novel, Karrana, as I was on the go all the time, supporting mon mari, ce heros to look his sartorial best – after all, we were in Europe! – and exploring the foreshore and islands near Cavtat. And blogging about the places, so as not to forget….

Three days spent as tourists in Spain, on the coast, was even more rushed. But we did out best! Eating, eating, eating…

After having succumbed to a nasty virus in March, I had taken advantage of the month spent in bed to edit the manuscript of Karrana: A novel, which certain family members had been urging me to produce. My blog had kept me in practice with general writing skills for years. However, blogging depends on utilising specific genres, more akin to journalism than to long fiction. I still didn’t know if I would be able to pull, out of my bag of tricks, that magic sounding elusive object – a ‘novel’. The members of my critique groups all applauded my efforts and gave me the confidence to continue, and to finish a manuscript.

When I arrived home from Valencia via Madrid and Dubai, last week, I was physically, mentally and culturally jetlagged. In my letterbox was a hardcover book, Skeffington: One-Name Study.

It’s based on a genealogical research project exploring the Skeffington name – my name – far back into past ages. It’s way out of my league, but I was expected to read it and relay to the author my impressions, immediately. Impossible!

My heartfelt thanks go to the members of Waverley Writers and to the Randwick Writers Group for their untiring support of my efforts. Thanks also to the manuscript assessment editor from Writing NSW, who provided me with the last piece of the structural puzzle that helped me to finish the work.

A big thank you goes to my sister, Susan, my very first reader, who gave me positive feedback; and to my husband, Mark, who did the same, having recently purchased his first Kindle reader. My friend, Kay, has also helped me with positive input while still reading the novel.

It wasn’t until near the end of writing the novel, that I knew where I was coming from in the beginning!

My novel has, I think, one foot in both genres, literary and commercial fiction.

It is a love story, with a ‘love triangle’ switch towards the end. But it is much much more. I will leave it up to reviewers to say more about the themes and metaphors throughout the book. And about the structure….

Why did I decide to go with Amazon, and to upload it as an ebook, rather than find a publisher? In other words, why did I decide to become an Indie Author? One of the reasons is that I had taught myself to self edit my work, over a long period of trial and error. Keeping a ‘Craft Writing’ blog helped me to research and to iron out many of the structural problems beginning novelists encounter on the path to writing a readable novel.

I felt, at last, one month ago, that I was ready to go.

So I signed in with my Amazon account and studied the guidelines for uploading a manuscript for an ebook. Even for someone technically challenged, I found the KDP directions clear and fairly easy to follow, with a few hitches along the way. Amazon now tells you how many typos and spelling mistakes there are in your initial file. I had 11, which I fixed and re-uploaded the file to their satisfaction. They also provide cover templates to choose from. I could only find one, partially satisfactory, image. In the meantime, my daughter, who is an excellent artist, is creating another one for me. Thanks, Kate.

Now comes the hard phase: marketing and promoting your work. As an excellent editor said at a recent workshop in Sydney:

Firstly, it is immensely helpful to get feedback on your work from trusted beta readers and professional assessors or editors.

Secondly, your ability to continue to develop your work to a publishable standard and to make the most of any feedback you receive relies in part on understanding that you are separate from your words.

Another great advantage of Amazon is that you can make changes to the content and/or the cover and re-upload it afresh.

The featured image on this page is of Bondi Beach at dusk.
You can find it – if you wish to buy a framed picture – on Aquabumps: “Iluka”
https://www.aquabumps.com

June 5, 2019 0 comment

Travel Writing

5 or 6 Things About Valencia

General Facts

Valencia, on the eastern coast of Spain, is the third largest city. It has a 2000-year-old history dating back to the Romans, Visigoths and Muslims, since it was established in 130 BC. You can catch a bus into the Old Town in the city centre and view the spectacular architecture of the buildings down through the ages.

The Old Town

The Cathedral sits at the centre of The Old Town of Valencia. It is said to house the silver chalice linked to Jesus. We got off the tourist bus at the central Plaza del la Reina, and took photos of the buildings and vibrant scenes surrounding us on all sides. It’s an impressive cathedral that spans a variety of architecture styles, including baroque, Romanesque and gothic.

It was Sunday, and we sat inside the church during a mass. The size of the congregation was impressive, due to the faithful being joined by itinerants such as us. This mingling of crowds did not seem to bother the priest; we basked in the peaceful and beatific atmosphere that churches always instill in one, whether one is part of the religion or not.

The adjoining plaza holds the famous Church of Santa Catalina, one of the oldest in the country. The beautiful and graceful eighteenth century Baroque tower housing the belfry is one of the most picturesque sights in the city. One can admire the five storey construction crowned by a small dome-covered temple. The tower of Santa Catalina is a landmark in Valencia, as well as marking the entrance to the popular markets.

We had lunch in a bistro facing Santa Catalina and admired the lovely yellow facade of an apartment building in the Square. We decided it was a very livable city.

The inside of the Basílica de la Vírgen de los Desamparados (Basilica of our Lady of the Forsaken), Church of the Virgins, reminded me of Stendhal’s tendency to faint and suffer dizzy spells in the presence of architectural and artistic spleandour, which gave birth to the name of the Stendhal Syndrome.

After lunch, we walked around the city in search of the bull ring, where brave matadors and, perhaps, tragically doomed bulls, used to perform for the public. On the way, we came across this building with a lion on its front façade. Beauty everywhere! The Bull ring was silent and, although reminiscent of Rome’s Arena, it appeared to be defunct and of no interest to tourists or to the citizens of Valencia.

The Climate

The land is flat and the climate of Valencia is dry, with 320 rain-free days each year. A river, the Turia, used to run through the city. However, in 1957 Valencia experienced a devastating flood, which led to a dramatic decision to divert the river and reclaim the land for the enjoyment of the populous. Today, several world renowned architectural monuments stand on the reclaimed land and compete for aesthetic appreciation with the structures in the Old City. Bridges now cross parkland boasting lush greenery with spectacular monuments on all sides for the feast of the eye.

The New Town

The City of Arts and Sciences is situated at the end of the former riverbed of the river. This majestic building, designed by the Valencia architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava, means that both the city and the Region of Valencia have the best infrastructure available in order to participate in international circuits, especially those of opera and major musical shows. The Hemespheric, also known as the planetarium or the “eye of knowledge,” is the centrepiece of the City of Arts and Sciences.

Another striking monument is the garden of palm trees enclosed in an aesthetic structure that showcases it to tourists and locals.

The Beach and Marine Culture

We stayed in a boutique hotel on the seafront, just outside the main city centre. It was close to the pleasures of the coast, including sea bathing and lots of restaurants. It was in proximity by bus or bicycle to the centre and other parts. People in Valencia seemed to be always on the point of breaking into song or dance, and the sound of drums and music could be heard across the seas from a far-off nightclub that was open from dusk until dawn. I walked and cycled around the area. Others choose to ride electric scooters or to catch buses. Close to our beachfront hotel was the marine area that spoke of a past history of a seafaring nation. I admired the marine decorations on some of the older buildings as I explored the area.

The Cuisine

Valencia is the birthplace of paella, the saffron coloured rice-based dish that requires special knowledge and culinary skills on the part of the chef in order to perfect it. In the beach area and in the Old City, restaurants serving seafood, chicken and mixed paella dishes abound. We tasted several superb dishes while in Valencia, and Mark is now motivated to invest in one of the shallow pans, and some saffron, in order to try his hand at cooking the dish once again. Our favourite eating place was a plain tapas bar near our hotel. The fact that it was frequented by lots of locals was a sign for us. Our instincts proved right, as it was friendly and good. We ordered two small pans of Valencian and Seafood paella that we shared between the two of us. It was delicious and inexpensive.

May 29, 2019 0 comment

Travel Writing

Return to Cavtat…uvijek!

We’re here in Cavtat on the southern coast of Croatia, for the 4^th International Symposium on Stuttering that my husband convenes. Participants come from more than a dozen countries, from Europe, Asia, the UK, America and the Pacific region. We are a going to visit Zagreb where the Croatian convenor, Suzana lives, and stay one night in her country getaway near Samebor. After Croatia we plan on spending a few days relaxing on the Spanish coast at Valencia.

Coming back to Cavtat is like waking up in Paradise all over again. It’s the Mediterranean like it once was many years ago. It’s the light, the wavy sea, the village stones and ancient buildings, the hotel that Tito built nestling on the cliffs like a sparkling cruise ship, the seagulls gliding outside the glass. It’s everything about this magical place. If it’s not heaven, then it’s a little piece of it. (A little bit of paradise: ‘malo raja’ in Croatian).

The first site for this hotel was further back from the edge of the cliffs. Once work began on the original building, it was discovered that Roman ruins lay beneath the ground and the plans had to be revised. The hotel is now perched like one of the huge seagulls from this area, and looks out over the Adriatic Sea. It can accommodate up to 1200 guests. The seagulls like to hover over the waters on the winds outside our top floor unit. I think of the arms of the cliffs that mark the entrance to the harbour as being like the claws of crustaceans, so prolific in this region.

The colours and the weather change very quickly here. We went to bed with clouds over our unit that fitted in perfectly with the grey/olives of the hilly landscape, and awoke early to a full moon in a blue sky over blue blue waters.

George Bernard Shaw, when he visited Croatia at the turn of the century, said ‘those who seek paradise on Earth should come to Dubrovnik,’ which he called ‘the pearl of the Adriatic’. That city is truly spectacular, with its magical Old City, its ancient ramparts, modern shops and restaurants; it has rightly become a tourist’s dream destination.

However, Cavtat, which was many years ago overtaken by Dubrovnik as a cultural and commercial centre, is today a haven of peace and beauty.

The monastic-looking building at the top of the village is actually the Racic Family Mausoleum, ‘Our Lady of the Angels’, from 1922. An inscription in the cupola states: ‘Know the mystery of love, and thou shall solve the mystery of death and believe that life is eternal.’

Down below is the Monastery of ‘the Lady of the Snow’ dating back to the 15th century. One of the items inside that has always morbidly fascinated me is the wall pulpit with an arm bearing a cross hanging out of it.

The Alter: Our Lady of the Snow Monastery

May 25, 2019 0 comment

Writing

Genre in Writing

This post from December 2016, has been re-edited and re-published in April, 2019.

Broad and Narrow Genres

Since the proliferation of Creative Writing courses in universities in the Anglo world, much has been written and said about “genre” in writing.

Creative Writing contrasts with Nonfiction Writing in the broader sense. The former is the sort of writing that novelists, short story writers and poets employ. Nonfiction includes traditional biographical works, academic texts, journalism, and books on a diverse range of subjects, such as food (recipes), self-help and memoir.

Within fiction, there is a breakdown into specific genres: science fiction, romance, historical fiction, mystery, horror, detective stories, action, fantasy and adventure.

Literary Fiction and Commercial Fiction

Literary fiction can be distinguished from commercial fiction, the latter referring to popular “genre” writing that publishers hope to sell to a wide readership. Literary fiction is best defined by contrast with commercial fiction. In the book trade, it is seen as having greater literary merit, focusing on depth of character and a concern with style.

Many writers today are writing for commercial reasons, to be published or self-published in books, eBooks, or online, as quickly as possible. Literary fiction attracts writers who are experimenting with form and interested in lyrical expression and often dark and emotive themes.

The term “creative writing” is more appropriate as an umbrella term for writing that employs fictional devices. This distinguishes it from academic writing, which endeavours to present factual or argumentative texts in an objective framework. Journalistic writing, too, is based on the principal goal of providing factual information to the public, although there will be some overlap with fiction in its use of devices, such as dialogue and narration.

Creative Nonfiction

Non-Fiction includes traditional biographical works, academic texts, journalism, and books on a diverse range of subjects, such as food (recipes), self help and memoir.

Truman Capote’s nonfiction work In Cold Blood (1966 ) is looked on as the forerunner of this genre in modern times. It is also the ultimate true crime novel. Based on painstaking research and interviews, Capote used the story of the cold-blooded killing of a family in rural Kansas, and his investigation of the crime, as the plot for his novel. It is written brilliantly, employing all the techniques of the best fictional writing: strong characterisation, realistic sounding dialogue, vivid imagery, and narrative suspense, without wavering from the facts. Apart, perhaps from the ending, where he improvises a little; endings are often difficult for this type of factually based writing.

One of the first attempts at a creative nonfiction novel in Australia was Poppy by Drusilla Modjeska (Penguin 1990), in which the author recounts her mother’s life. It is well told but lacks the dramatic, page-turning aspect of plot-driven fiction. A past master at this subjective type of writing is Helen Garner, whose The First Stone is now a classic, as well as a cause of ongoing controversy for student discussion in Creative Writing Courses in Australian universities.

Memoir

Modern Memoir has taken on a slightly different aspect within this recent context. It refers to first person narration that focuses on a particular aspect or period of a person’s life. Memoir “sticks to the facts” but employs creative devices, such as narrative drive, strong characterisation, vivid dialogue, and dramatised events.

The best memoirs focus on a universal issue or concern that the author illustrates via personal experience.

It differs from fiction, wherein connections are concealed behind invented characters, settings and names. Many writers are wary of “treading on the toes” of living relatives and friends when they recount true events. It is easier and less constricting to create, rather than to recount the facts.

Lee Gutkind, an American author, is looked on as the Godfather of Creative Nonfiction today. He is the editor of a Creative Non-fiction journal and the author of Keep It Real: Everything You Need to Know About Researching and Writing Creative Nonfiction.

Specific Genres

Of course, with fiction, there is a breakdown of genres within the broad genre: science fiction, romance, historical fiction, mystery, horror, detective stories, action, fantasy and adventure.

Crime, Romance and Fantasy are popular genres in Australia today. Romance, in particular, attracts a large readership, perhaps because it represents hope in a threatening world.

love-eiffel-tower-pigeons

Here is a more exhaustive list of possible genres from Cathy Yardley’s blog: Rock Your Writing.

Action/Adventure — stories including epic journeys, lots of conflict, high stakes, some violence.
Erotica — stories of sexual exploration.
Fantasy — stories usually involving magic, other worlds, mythological/mystical figures.
Horror — stories that invoke fear.
Literary Fiction — stories with a focus on the quality of the prose over the narrative arc.
Mystery — stories that involve solving a crime, usually a murder.
Thriller/Suspense — stories of high tension that can involve either action or mystery.
Romance — stories about love/intimacy.
Sci-fi — stories usually involving technology, aliens, science-related alternative worlds.
Westerns — stories taking place in America’s “Old West,” often with focus on justice.
Women’s fiction — stories about women experiencing emotional growth. Primary emotion: hope.

The Rise of the Monomyth: The Hero’s Journey:

the-hero-with-a-thousand-faces I had attended a seminar on “The Hero’s Journey” and could not see how this theory, first elaborated by the American scholar Joseph Campbell “The Hero With A Thousand Faces” (1949), could be applied in a helpful sense to my writing. George Lucas used it in the “Star Wars” movies and it is very relevant for screen writers in the film industry today in the United States and elsewhere. It is based on the idea of the “monomyth”, that all stories can be conflated into one: the hero’s journey. This starts with the Call to Adventure, continues through Initiation, and ends with the Return. Each of the three stages can be broken up into sub-sections linked to certain archetypes. I feel that this theory can be applied more readily to commercial mass media genres, such as the “Star Wars” screenplays, than to literary writing, at least in terms of plot. However, even here, I could be challenged by those who know. Finally, I can see that the archetypes are invaluable as guides for creating character types in fiction. Just as the debate on genres changes in response to commercial interests, this is true with relevance to movies on the big screen as well.

Are stories all ultimately conflated into the hero’s journey?

April 25, 2019 0 comment

Writing

Another Look at Point of View

More confusion surrounds the concept of Point of View in fiction writing than any other term.

One of the problems is that writers, and I have been guilty of this sin, have come to utilize Point Of View (POV) both in the broad sense of perceiving, and also as defining the three modes open to authors of fiction. I prefer to use the word “perspective” or “viewpoint”, rather than point of view (POV), when referring to characters’ attitudes within the text, because of this confusion.

The Three POV Modes

The mode that an author chooses will have a huge impact on the narrative and its effect on the reader. Particular options and benefits are linked to each of the POV modes.

Stories can be told from one of three main points of view: first person, second person, or third person.

In first person point of view, the narrator tells the story from his or her own perspective. You can recognize first person by its use of the pronouns “I” or “we”. The reader is given direct access to a character’s thoughts, emotions, voice, and viewpoint within the world of the novel.

Second person is quite rare, but can be recognised by the use of the pronoun “you” throughout the work.

With third person, the use of pronouns “he”, “she”, and “they” are used to refer to characters within the story. The narrator may be an entity outside the story, or may be so close to one of the characters in the narrative, that they are almost one and the same persona. (Limited POV).

The Most Common POV is Third Person

Here the author has the freedom to choose which character (the protagonist) to focus on, throughout the story (First person limited). If the POV is multiple, the narrator chooses the optimal degree and rhythm of focus on each of the viewpoint characters within the narrative. (Third Person Multiple POV)

Third Person Omniscient

The traditional perspective used by fictional writers of the past is the omniscient one. Third Person Omniscient POV means that the narrator knows all the thoughts and feelings of every character and can dip in and out of different characters as needed. Their perspective is unlimited. Classical novelists portrayed multiple viewpoints throughout their novels using the omniscient voice. These authors created huge works of art, peopled with many characters, whose thoughts and behaviours reflected the society of the time. Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina remains with us today as an aesthetic monument to its creator and to the social and historical setting portrayed therein.

Omniscience is still found, occasionally, in well-structured modern literature, when its use is warranted by the genre or by the needs of the particular story being recounted.

Modern Trends

Authors today, especially since the 1950s, have tended to focus on a particular character’s viewpoint, or on particular events, within and throughout a novel. Modern authors write within and about a very different social milieu. And readers in recent times have often demonstrated lowered concentration spans; they exhibit less patience with tackling very long works.

Writers must describe the “modern” societies in which they find themselves. This is a more hectic and frantic world than that of the past.Books have begun to “thin out” in relative terms.

“Up close and personal” writing is another modern trend.

Implications

POV has come to signify a style of writing, touching on the concept of voice, with its own constraints and conventions. The mode chosen might result in greater character intimacy and deeper understanding of persons involved. Or it may avoid closeness, because of variants available within the choice of mode.

Usually, the writer selects one character in the story to be the principal viewpoint character. This character might reflect a certain voice or style of speaking, which is also typical of modern creative writing.

POV Examples from Books/Authors

For Whom the Bells Toll by Ernest Hemingway: a novel with 3rd person limited or close (deep) POV.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, in which a child character tells the story: 1st Person Limited POV.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver: 1st person multiple POV
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: 3rd person multiple POV novel.

April 20, 2019 0 comment