L is for Lawrence

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

David Herbert (DH) Lawrence was born in 1885 in Nottinghamshire, England and used his working class background and tension between his parents as inspiration for his work.

During his childhood he developed a love of books and wrote poetry, but it wasn’t until he won a short story competition (at the age of 22) for a local newspaper that he gained any recognition for his work.

Qualified as a teacher, it was a move to London in 1908 where he met Ford Maddox Ford that was to be the start of his writing career. He spent time in Europe and America, and listed Huxley, Katherine Mansfield, TS Eliot and Ezra Pound amongst his friends.

At their time of publication most of Lawrence’s novels were considered controversial, especially Lady Chatterleys Lover, which was classed as obscene by many. Until 1960 it was only published in highly edited versions. Penguin Books decided to publish the full edition and found themselves embroiled in a court case, which they won, proving that the novel was an important work of literary merit.

His work centered around relationships, which fascinated Lawrence. He was particularly interested in “Haptics” (the way we communicate by touch) and although he is best known for his novels, he also wrote almost 800 poems.

He died at the age of 44 in France from complications of Tuberculosis but was working right up until his death.

My favourite Lawrence quotes:

“I want to live my life so that my nights are not full of regret.”

“Oh literature, oh the glorious art, how it preys upon the marrow in our bones. It scoops the stuffing out of us, and chucks us aside.”

“I cant bare art that you can walk around and admire. A book should either be a bandit or a rebel or a man in the crowd.”

“I like to write when I feel spiteful. Its like having a good sneeze.”

“One sheds ones sicknesses in books – repeats and presents again ones emotions, to be master of them.”

“The novel is the highest form of human expression so far attained.”

“Never trust the teller, trust the tale.”

Good documentary, if you want to know more about Lawrence. Ive only skimmed the surface in this blog post lol

I found Lawrences comment on liking to write when he felt spiteful very interesting. Personally, I have to be in the mood to write, but im not too sure exactly what that mood is. I know I don’t feel like writing when im highly emotional, but then saying that, ive never tried it. Would my writing change direction if I, say, wrote whilst I was upset, or angry?Have you ever tried experimenting by writing through different moods?

DH Lawrence manuscript shows ‘enlightened’ attitude to women (guardian.co.uk)
New DH Lawrence manuscript discovered (telegraph.co.uk)
D.H. Lawrence Righteously Rages Against Misogyny in Newly Discovered Essay (jezebel.com)

K is for King

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

I was spoilt for choice when I was looking for an author for K, but, in the end, there was no contest, as my aim with the challenge was to highlight authors, I, as an aspiring author myself, could learn from. So please raise your glass, or coffee cup to….

Stephen Edwin King was born in 1947 in Maine and has published over 50 novels, 5 non fiction books and over 200 short stories…so far 😉 His books have sold more than 350 million copies.

He says that his inspiration for writing horror came from his uncle and finding a copy of The Lurker In The Shadows in his attic, but people have also speculated that the experience of whitnessing his friend killed by a train is what influenced the darkness in his work.

He spent his teens reading horror comics and his first story (serialized over 3 editions) was published in 1965 in a fanzine but it wasn’t until he was at University that he started writing short stories with the intent to sell them.

King published his first novel, Carrie, at the age of 26, but had initially thrown the first draft in the bin. Luckily, his wife retrieved it and encouraged him to finish it. And just like Dickens, 100 years earlier, it was to set him on a path of world wide success.

King has written extensively on “writing” and is eager to encourage aspiring authors. He sets himself a goal of writing 2000 words a day and doesn’t stop until he achieves that and considers “the finest word processor” to be a fountain pen and a notebook.

He often uses authors as characters, or mentions works of fiction in his stories, and sites his biggest influence as the author Richard Matheson. Love him or hate him, Stephen King is an icon amongst authors.

Again, I was spoilt for choice on Stephen King quotes, (thanks to his book On Writing) so heres a small selection I like:

“Read and write four to six hours a day. If you cannot find the time for that, you can’t expect to become a good writer.”

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.”

“Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.”

“So okay – there you are in your room with the shade down and the door shut and the plug pulled out of the base of the telephone. You’ve blown up your TV and committed yourself to a thousand words a day, come hell or high water. Now comes the big question: What are you going to write about? And the equally big answer: Anything you damn well want.”

“Reading in bed can be heaven, assuming you can get just the right amount of light on the page and aren’t prone to spilling your coffee or cognac on the sheets.”

“I’m a slow reader, but I usually get through seventy or eighty books a year, most fiction. I don’t read in order to study the craft; I read because I like to read.”

“If you’re not reading, then you’re not going to be a writer. Read things you don’t normally read. Read things you don’t want to read. Be open minded enough to look at work others don’t respect. Have you ever read a romance novel? Read one. Never read a horror story? Pick one up and read it. A western? Give it a shot.”

I was also spoilt for choice on YouTube for interviews and talks by King, but I chose this one, where he goes into a school and talks to kids about writing 🙂 Boy, what I’d give to do a class with him!!!!!

It did make me laugh to hear that he is a slow reader, but still manages to read 70-80 books a year! OMG, is that really a slow reader? I used to read a book a week, now, im lucky if I can finish one every 3 weeks to a month 😦

Going by Kings scale…..are you a slow or quick reader? How many books do you read a year?

Infographic: The Stephen King Universe (the-digital-reader.com)
Review: On Writing (Stephen King) (charlotteunsworth.wordpress.com)

J is for Joyce

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

James Augusta Aloysius Joyce was born in 1882 in a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. Considered to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century he wrote his first poem at the age of 9.

He attended University College Dublin and after graduating went to Paris to study Medicine, but returned to Ireland when he heard his mother was dying, where he made a meager living by doing book reviews after her death.

In 1904 he tried to publish an essay entitled “A Portrait of The Artist” unsuccessfully, and years later, completely reworked as a novel this became “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.”

After various stints in Europe (mainly Zurich and Paris) where he met Harriet Shaw Weaver (who became his mentor and gave him thousands of pounds to allow him to write and not have to work) he wrote his famous short story collections and novels such as “Ulysses” and “Finnegan’s Wake.”

Joyce perfected the stream of consciousness technique of writing and his fiction is centered on Dublin, his characters resembling friends and relations he had there.

An alcoholic, he died at the age of 59 due to a perforated ulcer.

My favourite Joyce quotes:

“Mistakes are the portals of discovery.”

“No pen, no ink, no table, no room, no time, no quiet, no inclination.”

“When I die, Dublin will be written in my heart.”

”I shall write a book some day about the appropriateness of names. Geoffrey Chaucer has a ribald ring, as is proper and correct, and Alexander Pope was inevitably Alexander Pope. Colley Cibber was a silly little man without much elegance and Shelley was very Percy and very Bysshe.”

Clip of Joyce:

Ok, so he pioneered “stream of consciousness” aka “interior monologue” in his novels, which means I have a lot to thank him for. I love using interior monologue (although i call it internal monologue) perhaps too much lol. Do you use interior monologue in your writing?

The variants and editions of Ulysses. (bobrbogle.wordpress.com)

I is for Irving

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jnr) was born in New Hampshire in 1942 and whilst still at school became a wrestler and coach. He published his first novel at the age of 26, which flopped.

In the late 60’s he took a class with Kurt Vonnegut at The University of Iowa and then produced two further novels, both of which sunk without a trace.

Now in his early 30’s he took up the position of Assistant Professor of English at a college and decided to approach another publisher with his 4th novel, which was obviously a good decision, as The World According to Garp became an international best seller.

“Garp” propelled Irving to success and his subsequent novels (The Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meany, A Widow for One Year, and The Fourth Hand, to name a few) have helped establish him as one of Americas most loved writers.

Irving’s novels usually center on characters whose stories are in the recent past and who are often outsiders, trying to find their way in life. He often uses the literary technique of “story within a story” and is currently working on his next novel.

My favourite John Irving quotes:

“I spend about two to three months planning the path of the book in my head before I write the last sentence of the novel. From there I work back to the beginning. From the day I think of the last sentence to the book’s publication date, not more than a semicolon has changed.”

“I can’t imagine what the first sentence is, I can’t imagine where I want the reader to enter the story, if I don’t know where the reader is going to leave the story. So once I know what the last thing the reader hears is, I can work my way backward, like following a roadmap in reverse.”

“The building of the architecture of a novel—the craft of it—is something I never tire of.”

“I’ve always preferred writing in longhand. I’ve always written first drafts in longhand.”

“I have pretty thick skin and I think if you’re going to be in this business, if you’re going to be an actor or a writer, you better have a thick skin.”

Interview with Irving…over half an hour long but do watch it, its very good 🙂

Oh gawd, yeah, a thick skin *gulp* lol. I’m not sure I have it, or rather, enough of one 😉 Anyone got any tips on developing a thick skin?

The World According To Garp, John Irving, 1978 (whatihaveinmindblog.wordpress.com)

H is for Hemingway

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Ernest Miller Hemingway was born in 1899 in a suburb of Chicago. He cut his writing teeth on articles for his school magazine and on leaving school started his career by working for a local newspaper as a reporter.

He spent time in Italy during WWI and was seriously wounded, spending 6 months in a hospital in Milan. He then moved to Paris and started to mix with writers such as James Joyce, Ezra Pound and Gertrude Stein, who became his mentor.

Initially, Hemingway published short stories but when he met and became friends with F Scott Fitzgerald (who had just published The Great Gatsby) he decided that his next book had to be a novel. That novel, The Sun Also Rises took him 8 weeks to write the first draft and was published in 1926. After subsequent publication of such famous works as A Farewell To Arms and For Whom The Bell Tolls, in 1954 he received The Nobel Prize for Literature.

Much has been written over the years on the quality of Hemingway’s work, who’s themes were mainly of war, love and loss. Writers today are still trying to emulate him but the New York Times once said that he was “a writer by a combination of great emotional power and a highly individual style that could be parodied but never successfully imitated.”

Hemingway died at the age of 61, the victim of a tragic accident was the story at the time, but 5 years later his wife admitted that he had actually committed suicide.

My favourite Hemingway quotes:

“All I want to do is write well.”

Interviewer: How much rewriting do you do?
Hemingway: It depends. I rewrote the ending of Farewell to Arms, the last page of it, 39 times before I was satisfied.
Interviewer: Was there some technical problem there? What was it that had stumped you?
Hemingway: Getting the words right.

“All my life I’ve looked at words as though I were seeing them for the first time.”

“The first draft of anything is shit”

“There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.”

“Never write about a place until you’re away from it, because that gives you perspective”

Hemingway’s Nobel Prize Acceptance speech

So I think it is safe to say that Hemingway is considered to be one of the world greats and that most writers would sell their souls to write like him. But he obviously didn’t find it easy. It sounds to me like he was a bit of a perfectionist. One page, 39 times? WOW! But where do you draw the line? When do you know you’ve edited, rewritten and tinkered enough? Have you, would you, rewrite a page 39 times? Or do you consider that obsessive?

G is for Greene

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Henry Graham Greene was born in 1904 in Hertfordshire, England. Born into an affluent and well-respected Brewery family, he was diagnosed with depression at just 16 years old. He produced his first work, a collection of poems at the age of 21 and after graduating from Oxford turned to journalism.

His first novel was published when he was 25 but it wasn’t until 3 years later when he published “Stamboul Train” (which was adapted into the film The Orient Express) that he began to receive mass recognition.

During WWII he worked for MI6 and many of the characters and situations he encountered ended up in his novels, but he was also fascinated with religion and the battle of good against evil, which is a reoccurring theme running through many of his novels. He kept a journal by the side of his bed where he wrote down his dreams.

Throughout his lifetime he suffered from Bipolar but produced 27 novels, some collections of short stories, autobiographies and travel writing. In his later years he moved to Switzerland, where he died at the age of 86 from Leukaemia

My favourite Graham Greene quotes:

“Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint, can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation.”

“The great advantage of being a writer is that you can spy on people. You’re there, listening to every word, but part of you is observing. Everything is useful to a writer, you see every scrap, even the most longest and boring of luncheon parties.”

“My two fingers on a typewriter have never connected with my brain. My hand on a pen does. A fountain pen, of course. Ball point pens are only good for filling out forms on planes.”

“A petty reason perhaps why novelists more and more try to keep a distance from journalists is that novelists are trying to write the truth and journalists are trying to write fiction.”

And if you haven’t seen this version of Brighton Rock….you really should!

I’m really showing myself up here aren’t I? Again, I haven’t read any Greene, but again, because I feel that I know his work so well from the film and TV adaptations. I know the story of Brighton Rock, The Ministry of Fear, The Third Man, The End Of The Affair, The Quiet American, Our Man in Havana and The Comedians. I have at least 2 of his other novels on my “Mount Toobie” and even one of his travel biographies *blush*

There are just so many books, and not enough days in my life 😦 I can see The Hubster rolling his eyes and thinking “Oh no, she’s not gunna buy more books!” Lol. I think my A-Z subject matter was a bad choice *snigger*

I love the fact that Greene preferred writing with a fountain pen. It’s definitely my preference as a writing implement, and so far away from Capote, who used to write in pencil. Shakespeare must of written with a Quill, so I’m glad we’ve moved on a bit lol.

What’s your favourite writing tool?

Written Interview: Graham Greene (gointothestory.blcklst.com)

F is for Forster

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Edward Morgan Forster was born in 1879 in London and at the age of 8 inherited a large sum of money (nearly £700,000 at todays rates) from an aunt. This enabled him to attend University and pursue his dream of being a writer.

The first of the 5 novels he completed (Where Angels Fear To Tread; The Longest Journey; A Room With A View; Howards End; A Passage to India; Maurice) was published when he was 26, but he was still working up until his death at the age of 91, leaving an unfinished manuscript (Arctic Summer). His biggest success was with the novel “A Passage To India” which stemmed from his love of the country, which he first visited after he left University. He returned again to India in the early 1920’s and in the 30’s and 40’s he was a well-known broadcaster on BBC Radio.

His novels and numerous short stories remain popular today and generally deal with class differences but also with elements of sexuality and symbolism.

My favourite E M Forster quotes:

“One always seems to overpraise a long book, because one has got through it.”

“Only a writer who has the sense of evil can make goodness readable.”

“I have only got down onto paper, really, three types of people: the person I think I am, the people who irritate me, and the people I’d like to be.”

“The king died then the queen died is a story. The king died, then the queen died of grief, is a plot.”

Forster was a “pantster” and liked his writing to happen, rather than approach it planned. “How do I know what I think unless I see what I say?”

I am again, ashamed to say that this is yet another author, who’s work I haven’t read (although I do have a copy of Maurice on my huge pile of books in the bedroom), but I have at least seen the film adaptation of A Room With A View lol. I found it interesting what Forster says about a large book. I personally just tend to avoid anything that has over 350 pages!

Are you a fan of huge tomes? Or do you avoid them like I do? 😉

Story vs. Plot vs. Action (thelivingnotebook.com)
E.M. Forster: The Difference Between Story and Plot (aerogrammestudio.com)
E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India (fibercompulsion.wordpress.com)

E is for Eco

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Umberto Eco was born in 1932 in Alessandria in Northern Italy. He is the first of the writers I’ve looked into who is actually still alive! Lol. Urged by his father to become a Lawyer, Umberto instead chose to go to University to study medieval philosophy and literature and subsequently became a University Professor. Now, he divides his time between studying semiotics, writing essays, philosophy, literary criticism and writing fiction.

He has written books for children, dozens of non fiction books and 6 novels. But his most famous work was his first fictional novel “In The Name Of The Rose” which was published when he was 48 years old. A historical murder mystery set in a monastery it encapsulates everything that Eco had studied and taught about in the previous years and has sold approximately 50 million copies.

The intricate plots of his fiction are full of references to literature and history. He sites Jorge Luis Borges and James Joyce as his influences. He currently lives in Italy, dividing his time between two homes. In one he has a library of 30,000 books and in the other, 20,000 (and I thought I was bad!!!!).

My Favourite Eco Quotes:

“The real hero is always the hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else.”

“It is a myth of publishers that people want to read easy things.”

“Every time I write a novel I am convinced for at least 2 years that it is the last one, because a novel is like a child. It takes 2 years after its birth. You have to take care of it. It starts walking and then speaking.”

“I love the smell of book ink in the morning.”

“Thus I rediscovered what writers have always known (and have told us again and again): books always speak of other books, and every story tells a story that has already been told.”

Check out Umberto Eco’s Rules Of Writing and this rather wonderful interview about his most recent novel.

Ive never read any of Eco’s work (although The Hubster has) and I don’t tend to read books that have an intricate plot structure. So does that mean I choose books that are easy to read? I probably do you know *blush*

What do you think? Do readers want to read easy things? Do you?

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (inilliterati.wordpress.com)
Umberto Eco_The lost art of handwriting (nathama.wordpress.com)

D is for Dickens

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Charles Dickens was born in 1812 in Portsmouth England and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the 19th Century. During his lifetime he wrote 16 novels (one remained unfinished) and numerous collections of short stories. He suffered from severe insomnia and is widely regarded as a genius, his novels remaining popular today.

Dickens first found success with “Sketches by Boz”, which were weekly pieces published when he was just 24 years old. From there he was approached by a publisher and the rest, as they say is history.

Often described as the greatest creator of characters since Shakespeare, they were often based on people he met as he walked the streets of London. The settings for his novels were also based on real places, and many still exist today (especially in Rochester where I live…lucky me!).

He wrote extensively about London, appalled at the conditions the lower classes were subjected to and campaigned for social reforms. He died of a stroke in 1870 (just up the road from me) at the age of 58.

My favourite Dickens Quotes:

“An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before t will explain itself.”

“Be natural my children. For the writer that is natural has fulfilled all the rules of art.”

“My advice is to never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time.”

“The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists.”

“I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time.”

Here’s a great video from a fellow Wrimo who went to visit the churchyard that inspired Great Expectations….one day I will do something like this 🙂

Dickens used his fiction as a springboard to highlight social abuse and deprivation in Victorian society, bringing the subject to the attention of the reading public. It’s generally believed that many of the reforms that were made during that period are down to Dickens influence. This got me thinking about how, as authors, it is easy to sound off about what we think is right and wrong about our societies, in a work of fiction. Personally, its not something I’ve ever done, consciously….yet, but an interesting concept that i’d like to explore…. Have you ever based one of your stories on a social problem you’d like highlighted?

‘Nicholas Nickleby’ by Charles Dickens (camlind73.wordpress.com)
Can you spot a Charles Dickens sentence? (guardian.co.uk)
Charles Dickens¿ or the world’s worst writer? Blind reading test found 48% couldn’t tell difference between literature great and ridiculed novelist (dailymail.co.uk)
Charles Dickens (tellingtrails.wordpress.com)

C is for Capote

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Vikki Thompson

Truman Capote was born in New Orleans in 1924 and is best known for his novel Breakfast at Tiffany’s and “nonfiction novel” In Cold Blood.

He taught himself how to read and write and having discovered his passion for writing when he was 11, spent the rest of his childhood honing his craft. He started by writing short stories, the first of which was published when he was 21.

A close friend of Harper Lee’s, both Capote and Lee have characters based on each other feature in their work and Lee worked along side Capote as he researched In Cold Blood.

Capote embraced being a celebrity and would seek out the company of authors, critics, business tycoons and Hollywood A listers. But, after years of drug and alcohol dependency, rehab clinics and break downs he died of liver cancer at the age of 59.

My Favourite Truman Capote Quotes:

“I write my first version in longhand (pencil). Then I do a complete revision, also in longhand.”

“Everything a writer writes is in some way autobiographical.”

“Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it.”

“All literature is gossip.”

“Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade, just as a painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself.”

I love this whole idea of literature being gossip. The stories we tell each other, going right back to the days round the campfire. I picture two women in their back yards, hanging their washing and discussing the recent events of the street where they live. I think we’ve kinda lost that nowadays, probably because, here in the UK, I think we’ve lost a sense of community. People are too busy now to stop and chat in the street don’t you think?