Writing Groups

Now that I live in Tokyo, I’m thinking of joining a writing group. So why now?

1. There were no writing groups where I used to live apart from one that was at least 1.5 hours away from my apartment.
2. Self-taught novel writing has its limits.
3. Great way to meet people and make friends!

When I attended the 2011 Japan Writers Festival in Kobe last year, I was surprised at the amount of people who were from Tokyo. Many people, it seemed, belonged to the same writing group. I now know that some of those people actually belong to several writing groups. That’s Tokyo, for you.

I looked online at a few different groups and discovered one on the same train line (that’s impressive!) within fifteen minutes from where I work. Next week I might go along to find out what they are like, and whether I can commit to the group (they meet monthly).

Joining a group is what I need to keep motivated and make new (writer) friends. I still don’t know anyone in Tokyo (besides long-term Japanese friends who aren’t writers!), plus I think it would be great to get out there and see what other people are doing, and how they are dealing with their own writing goals.

It is both exciting and daunting. I’ve pitched my current work in progress to an audience, but I’ve never actually read from my ‘first draft’ ‘manuscript. Let’s see how I go.

-UPDATE-

31 May, 2012

The “salon” was great! There were about 8 people and we spent the evening (2 hrs) doing writing exercises and sharing what we had written.

Everyone seemed to be at different stages in their writing, but the group as a whole was an interesting yet somewhat even mix (in terms of age, sex, nationality, etc). I would love to see what kind of writers participate at future meetings.

Unfortunately we don’t share our current works in progress, so I never actually read from my work. However, because I am an active member of the group, I have been trying to fit in time to write (mostly at work!) more than before.

My current manuscript stands at 17,600 words. Below is an update:

• I’ve re-located the primary setting of my story and re-written/edited various aspects of chapter one (ongoing).
• I’m debating the inclusion of a certain ‘supernatural’ event. It can drive an aspect of the plot, but it could be replaced if I can think of something more engaging for the reader (and myself).
• The story hasn’t actually progressed whatsoever because of the above points.

Ain’t no time to play, gotta make moves with no delay.

As you may have guessed from this blog post title, I landed the Tokyo job. Apart from finding a new apartment and moving everything across the country, there have been a multitude of “things to do”. As a result, my short story suffered dearly and will not be ready for submission at the end of the month. It currently stands at approximately 2,150 words.

To be honest, I could sacrifice an hour of sleep each night to hammer out another 1000 – 2000 words before rushing through a couple of edits, but it certainly wouldn’t do any justice to my story. When I took a look at it on the weekend I realised there was much to be improved.

Yesterday I discovered an open anthology by the same publisher with an October deadline. With this in mind, I began thinking of changes that could turn my current draft in a new direction. With a time limit of 5+ months as opposed to 2 weeks, I promise that there won’t be another “I couldn’t finish” post come October.

The genre, if you’re curious, is “general horror”. As always, I am sticking with gaslamp fantasy.

Submission for short story anthology

Last week I had an interview and translation test for a Tokyo-based company. Should things go well, a follow-up interview will likely be scheduled for the upcoming week. Another company has requested an interview for later next week. All in all, things have been busy.

On a side note, I’ve just recovered from a virus that put me in the E.R. department last Friday. In short, I fainted in the patient waiting area pending the result of a blood test. I’m getting better though, and my mother-in-law is keeping me going on Pocari Sweat ion drinks.

Has there been any time to write? Actually, yes. My current novel is on hiatus until I write and submit a short story for a small press anthology. With exception to my entry for a newspaper short story competition, I’ve never formerly submitted any of my writing. 2012 seemed like a great time to start.

The submission deadline is the end of May and the word count is fixed between 3,000-6,000. I have written about 1,750 words. Like my novel, my short story is a gaslamp fantasy with a female protagonist.

I’ve read a lot on the blogosphere that writers shouldn’t take on more than one task at a time. My understanding is that in doing so a writer is merely putting off what they should really be doing. In a sense, it is little more than procrastination and writer’s block rolled into one.

Conversely, much like visual artists, working on more than one work in process allows you to step away and return with a fresh perspective. While writing this short story I have felt relieved to have taken a break from my novel. I don’t believe that there is any one correct method, but to find what works for you.

Two months to go on the WiP. I hope to complete it at the end of the month then move on to edit it before the submission date. Oh, and get a job at the same time.

Perth Writers Festival

Yesterday I returned to Kyoto after nearly three weeks back in Australia.

One of the highlights of my trip was the Perth Writers Festival (PWF) which ran from 23rd – 26th February at the University of Western Australia as part of the 2012 Perth International Arts Festival.

On the opening day I attended an all-day seminar entitled Publishing Seminar: The Whole Shebang. Throughout the day participants listened to industry professionals speak about everything from how to prepare your manuscript for submission right through to copyright.

Here’s a photo of what the stage looked like from the front row:

On Saturday I summoned the courage to pitch my current work in progress to a publisher from UWA. An explanation of The Pitch, as it was called, was both vague and somewhat misleading in the brochure. I say misleading because the layout made it appear to go from 12:30 – 3pm. This is from the summary:

You have exactly three minutes to impress UWA publisher Terri-Ann White with your idea. Put your name at the door and wait to be called for your chance at publishing fame and fortune. Or simply come along and watch all the fast-talking action.

Because The Pitch ran for an hour from 2-3pm, it made sense that only a maximum of twenty people would be able to participate. Realising this, I was second in line at the door at 12:15pm!

At 1:45 I sat down inside the lecture theatre and watched people pour in. By 2pm about 70-90 people were seated. Terri-Ann explained that she would call our name, we would then stand and pitch our idea to her in front of everybody, and then be given feedback and comments/questions from the audience.

Five minutes later I was on the stage and pitching my novel idea to the audience. Overall, I was very pleased with my pitch. Terri-Ann said that she liked it, but that it wasn’t exactly something she was looking for, and that she was more interested in literary fiction. She suggested that I research the right publisher for my novel.

Several audience members said they would be interested in my novel should it be published, and one gentleman said that my idea “would likely sell”. That, together with many “Good luck!” comments from people during and after The Pitch, really motivated me. An elderly lady even passed notes via another lady to suggest that I read a non-fiction story that my pitch reminded her of.

On Sunday I attended a morning workshop, Fact or Fiction with Lisa Lang, and followed with an afternoon workshop, Creating the Extraordinary from the Ordinary with Lara Morgan. I feel that I most benefited from the latter session in particular because Lara is a speculative fiction author, and the seminar largely dealt with sci-fi and fantasy related matter. The world-building writing exercises and the handout were excellent.

Next up, the 2012 Japan Writers Festival in November. I wonder if I can complete a first draft by then?

The Alice behind Wonderland

A great inspiration behind the Victorian setting of my novel is Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Like many people, I have seen the classic Disney film and had the book read to me as a child. This book is one that I believe can be returned to time and time again. I certainly rediscovered its magic and charm in my mid-twenties.

The last time I read it was actually in Japanese during my commute to a technical college not far from Kyoto station. It was early 2010, and Tim Burton’s film Alice in Wonderland was screening at the cinema. Japan was buzzing with Alice fever and I too was ensnared. I distinctly remember buying my Japanese language copy at the small bookstore above Starbucks opposite the station.

At the time  I had to create a four page magazine article for the graduation component of my editing and graphic design course. My theme: Alice in Wonderland. You can check out a scan of the completed assignment via the PDF link below.

Studio Voice Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Feature Article Design

As the assignment is in Japanese, here is a run-down of the pages:

1. Studio Voice magazine cover (Feature / Alice in Wonderland / Investigating C.S. Lewis’ masterpiece)
2. Contents (completely imagined)
3. Film Remake Chronology
4. Tracing Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (includes background information, plot, etc.)
5. Character Profile (two page spread)

During my research gathering I stumbled upon a formal portrait photo of a little girl taken by Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) himself. Her name was Alice Pleasance Liddell (1852~1934). She was the daughter of Henry Liddell, the dean of Christ Church College, where Dodgson was a mathematics lecturer. As you may guess, she was the catalyst for the famous story.

One particular photo of Alice Liddell has been the source of much controversy. In it, she is dressed as a beggar maid from a popular poem of the same title, first published in 1842 by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Her arms across her breast she laid;

She was more fair than words can say:

Bare-footed came the beggar maid

Before the king Cophetua.

In robe and crown the king stept down,

To meet and greet her on her way;

“It is no wonder,” said the lords,

“She is more beautiful than day.”

As shines the moon in clouded skies,

She in her poor attire was seen:

One praised her ankles, one her eyes,

One her dark hair and lovesome mien:

So sweet a face, such angel grace,

In all that land had never been:

Cophetua sware a royal oath:

“This beggar maid shall be my queen!”

The image, however, lingers in the viewer’s mind long after seeing it. Perhaps even raising doubts as to why Dodgson indeed took it at all. After all, apart from her seductive pose, her shoulders, lower arms, chest and left nipple are exposed.

Unmasking the background of this photo is Simon Winchester in his book, The Alice behind Wonderland (Oxford University Press, 2011). The book is a quick read, perhaps because it is concise yet fascinating in its details. You can almost imagine the young Charles Dodgson conversing with Alice and her siblings, and in particular, her mother. Alice’s story, however, really is quite unfortunate. A curious falling out between Dodgson and the Liddells, death of her sons, debt and so on. Somewhere in your heart you might feel like I did, wishing that her life was one of joy beyond that of her youth.

Photography, as one may guess, is the key component to this book, and Winchester goes into great detail explaining the relevant history, camera types, usage, and so on.

The book is divided into seven chapters:

1. The Photograph in Question
2. The Photographer-To-Be
3. Matters Arising
4. The Rude Mechanicals
5. The First Makings of Art
6. A Portrait Most Perfect and Chaste
7. And Then The Girl Became a Lady

A very Lewis Carroll aspect of the story is that Winchester was never allowed to actually see the photograph in question. It is contained in a basement vault at Princeton University’s Firestone Library.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to discover more about Lewis Carroll, his ‘Alice’, and explore further down the rabbit hole that is Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I guarantee you’ll want to read it after reading this. Even the photo itself was enough to provoke me.

Research + Observation + X

Recently I have been frequenting the brilliant website Writer Unboxed. It is full of great advice for aspiring writers from those in the know. It also has a sister site (currently on hiatus).

Today the top post was entitled Research vs. Observation by Donald Maass. He begins by asking:

Do you research your novels to the point of obsession or do you not research at all?

I said in my last post that everything comes down to research. Looking at it now, that’s a big statement. I’m not exactly writing historical fiction, but I do believe that thorough research is a crucial factor to writing good fiction. When I started out I was probably in the following category (according to Maass):

The majority of fiction writers fall somewhere in between: They study just enough so that their settings are accurate and their characters’ occupations feel real.  The rest is write what you know.

However, as my story progressed and I became more familiarised with my characters, I began to feel that this wasn’t enough. I was limited by “writing what I know”. I needed information (research) to supplement my ideas.

Maass goes on to say:

Research means not just getting the setting details right.  It means getting the people right. …Failure to observe people as they are results in overly familiar characters, actions and emotions; that is, stereotypes, predictable events and hackneyed prose.  It’s a paradox.  When you write what you think you should, it doesn’t feel wholly real.  When you write from life, characters become quirky and unique.  Their actions have a better shot at surprising.

I couldn’t agree more. Yet as someone who researches I occasionally get caught up in setting details and forget the characters amidst it all. No point having a cliche character in an exquisitely detailed story world.

Maass’ advice to writers like me is to observe people.

Research and the Suspension of Disbelief

As I mentioned in my previous post, I tend to conduct my initial research on the Internet because I live in Japan. Until I began writing, I never really gave any thought to how stories were formulated. I would just turn the pages and be sucked into the story world. Yet I have now come to understand that a well researched novel has believability, or at least, contributes to assisting the reader’s so-called “suspension of disbelief.” According to the Wikipedia page, this term

“…often applies to fictional works of action, comedy, science fiction, and horror genres.”

Now I don’t see the word “fantasy” in that list. Well, this is where the keyword “willing” fits in. As science began providing the world with rationality in the 18th century and fiction with supernatural elements were in decline, the concept of “willing suspension of disbelief” might explain how an enlightened audience could enjoy fantasy. Put simply, the reader has to cast aside doubts  for the sake of entertainment.

Even then, the term has been criticised by authors like J.R.R. Tolkien, who said:

 ”…in order for the narrative to work, the reader must believe that what he reads is true within the secondary reality of the fictional world. By focusing on creating an internally consistent fictional world, the author makes secondary belief possible.”

“…suspension of disbelief is only necessary when the work has failed to create secondary belief. From that point the spell is broken, and the reader ceases to be immersed in the story and must make a conscious effort to suspend disbelief or else give up on it entirely.”

So where am I going with this, and what does it have to do with my research? Well, the term is deemed essential for storytelling, and that it

“…was on the reader, rather than the writer, to achieve it.”

So if the writer does their best to keep the plot together, create well-rounded characters, realistic dialogue and so on, then they are already on their way to providing entertaining fiction for a reader, right?

Here are some examples that kill the suspension of disbelief (assuming that readers have enough knowledge on the subject that a book deals with):

1. In a crime novel a murder occurs and within hours the detectives are told “the toxicology report is back” when in fact it would take about two weeks. (Lynda La Plante in a 2011 interview for ABC Radio National’s The Book Show)

2. In a western novel a gun is fired in a way which is implausible due to the period/type of gun/handling, etc. (Western writer Charles Whipple at the 2011 Japan Writers Conference)

Putting good storytelling aside for the moment, everything comes down to research. If your facts are wrong, people will tell you. It scares me to think that someone would go and check, but they do.

I currently have an order pending delivery on Amazon solely for research purposes. One of them details the history of Victorian marionettes.