Archive for the 'Authors' Category

What I am reading: ‘One more time: a novel’

No Comments »6th October, 2009; Category: Authors, Books, Fiction, Master of Arts course, Novels, Reviews, Writing a novel

Writing a novel – a writer’s journal part 23

What I am reading: ‘One more time: a novel’ by Damien Leith

One more time: a novel

The children’s novel I am writing is set in Nepal. Until the last few weeks I was unaware of any novels written by Australians which were set in that fascinating part of the world. By searching the internet I have found several novels with this setting written by non-Australians. More recently I have discovered one written for teenagers by a Tasmanian writer. I have purchased this one and look forward to reading it. I also came across several picture books by local Nepali authors. There seem to be very few-perhaps none at all-written by Australian authors for younger readers. It could well be that mine is the first.

I did manage to get hold of a copy of a novel for adults which is set in Nepal. Author Damien Leith was born in Ireland but became an Australian citizen in 2007. His novel One more time covers a similar era to my story. The protagonist Sean is an Irishman trekking through Nepal at about the same time as my story is set (2006) during the political turmoil which destabilized Nepal over the decade leading up to that point in its history.

Sean has constant thoughts of home and family in Ireland, a place he left suddenly. He is covering up a deep secret and his difficult and challenging trek through the Annapurna Mountains in Nepal mirrors the deep spiritual and emotional journey he is struggling with in his mind. There is a very real threat from the Maoist guerrillas who demand ‘donations’ to their cause. Sean befriends several erratic people who do little to stabilize the turmoil of his life. Both his inner life and the external events around him threaten to totally derail his life, but somehow he finds the fortitude to deal with his obsessive secret.

I found this novel to be an enjoyable read but not a great deal of use in helping me with the writing of my novel. That’s not a problem; mine is a totally different story.

For anyone reading this review, the author Damien Leith is the same person who won television’s Australian Idol 2006. I wonder if this novel would have been published if a non celebrity had written it. Sorry-I sometimes get a little cynical about these things. It’s still a good read, but won’t ever be regarded as great literature. (Update: one of my Twitter readers suggested that his novel was with the publishers before he entered Australian Idol. The fact remains that he signed the contract 4 months after winning Idol. I rest my case.)

P.S. I believe he is writing another novel. [sigh]

UPDATE: The Wikipedia article on him states that his new book will be released in 2010.

Related articles:

Writing a novel – more articles in this series about how I went about writing my novel.

Reference:

Leith, D 2007, One more time: a novel, Harper Collins Publishers, Sydney.

The importance of Writing Classes

1 Comment »23rd August, 2009; Category: Authors, Fiction, Master of Arts course, The Writer's Life, Writers

Salisbury Writers’ Festival 2009 #2

Tom Keneally (Schindler’s Ark) was the keynote speaker on the morning I attended this year’s Salisbury Writers’ Festival. He was to speak on the topic ‘Telling a good story’ but like a many storytellers he meandered all over the place, colouring his address with some wonderful anecdotes about the writer’s life and in particular his own life as a writer.

Writing classes

Tom spoke briefly about writing classes. It sounded like he is not all that keen about writers attending such classes even though he has taught some of them himself over the years. He said that you don’t have to attend writing classes to be a writer. His main emphasis was on the importance of writing every day. Regular writing, he maintained, was the key to becoming a good writer. While I agree with him on this latter point, I still feel that attending writing classes can be very useful.

Before I commenced my studies for my Master of Arts in Creative Writing I was a disciplined writer keen to be successful. I was writing every day sometimes 4 to 5 hours daily. I had written over a million words-give or take a few tens of thousands-and had some publishing success. My studies, however, have taken my writing to a whole new level of competence.

In workshops I have had to present drafts of my writing on a regular basis. I received immediate feedback and critical analysis from both lecturers and fellow students. One quickly learns the craft of writing when your writing is constantly under scrutiny in this way. At first it was confronting, sure, but as the months rolled by I learned to welcome these critiques-provided they were honest and constructive. And all the time I could see the quality of my writing improve far beyond what I had been able to achieve previously. The quantity of my writing also improved-an added bonus.

While it may not be for everyone, I would encourage all writers-and especially beginning writers-to seek out a writing class or critique group near where they live.

Good writing.

Salisbury Writers’ Festival 2009

No Comments »22nd August, 2009; Category: Authors, Events, Fiction, Writers

Salisbury Writers’ Festival

Today I attended the Salisbury Writers’ Festival in Adelaide. This was my first time at this festival, now in its fifth year. I wasn’t able to attend last night’s session, nor will I be able to attend tomorrow and Tuesday. Although it involved 3 hours of travel today it was certainly well worth the effort.

The keynote speaker in the morning was Tom Keneally. Probably his best known book is Schindler’s Ark, the inspiration for the well known movie Schindler’s List. Tom said that it was always hard to get published, even when he was starting out as a young man over 40 years ago. He went on to say that in those days fiction was king, whereas today non fiction is predominant in the publishing world. Despite that, the novel survives, and he was confident it will continue to survive.

He also made the interesting observation that men mostly read non fiction. I wasn’t aware of that. It would be interesting to see statistics to back up his claim.

An interesting observation I made was even before the proceedings began for the day. The attendance was about 100-120 people, a fair figure for the community from which it was drawing attendees. Of those attending, the average age was in excess of 55 with only a sprinkling of those in their 20s and 30s. Furthermore, about 80% of attendees were female. I’m not sure what these facts are saying; it’s just an interesting observation on my part. Being a Saturday, were all the men at sporting events? (It is nearing the end of the football season.)

Good writing.

Are you a Writer – or an Author?

1 Comment »17th April, 2009; Category: Authors, The Writer's Life, Writers

From early on in my life I wanted to be a writer. I’m not sure where that desire came from seeing many of my family members were – and still are – farmers. Somehow I took a wrong turn and ended up in a classroom for 35 years. That was only ever my second choice of career. It happens. Now in “retirement” – or should I say – now that I’ve resigned from teaching little children – I’m finally writing full time. (I’m also studying full time doing my MA in Creative writing – that’s another story.)

I’ve always called myself a writer.

I’m now starting to reconsider that title, all because of a blog post I read this morning.

George, over at Tumblemoose Writing Services has posted a thought provoking article. He poses the question: “Are you a writer or an author?” In part he says:

“… in the eyes of the general populous, a writer is different from an author and the two are on completely different levels. I think that to some extent, it’s picking nits, but remember that (and I hate this, even though it’s true) reality is not what matters – it’s people’s perception of reality that is the ultimate criteria.”

I tend to use the term writer most of the time. However, being a published author of 6 books, numerous stories, poems and articles, plays that have been performed and several thousand blog posts, I feel I’ve been short changing myself all these years.

When actually in the act of writing – I am a Writer.

When I’m published – be that in a magazine, book form, e-zine or blog post – I am definitely an Author.

Time to raise the stakes, methinks.

And hopefully get some respect. After all, I’ve worked hard for it.

Good writing.

Australian Children’s author Ivan Southall

No Comments »2nd February, 2009; Category: Authors, Novels, Writing for Children, Young Readers

One of the most influential and respected authors in Australia is Ivan Southall. He was a prolific writer whose main works, mostly for children and teenagers, were published in the 1960s and 70s. He had a profound influence upon me as a teacher and writer. I think I’ve read most of his books; it’s about time I revisit the best of them as I haven’t read any of them in many years, despite taking up space on my bookshelves.

I was saddened to hear late last year that Ivan Southall had died, aged 87 after a short battle with cancer. He is best known for his novels Hills End, Ash Road, Josh and To the Wild Sky. He wrote 30 novels and many other books, some for adults. He was a four time winner of the Australian Children’s Book of the Year Award, just four of many awards in his lifetime. His works have been translated into at least 20 languages.

Southall’s writing was exciting and he often put his characters in difficult and dangerous situations, often without adult help. I found his writing to be very lyrical, pushing the boundaries of what many regarded as good literature for children.

Before his writing career began he was a pilot in the RAAF during WW2, winning the Distinguished Flying Cross in the process. His early books draw heavily on his war time experiences.

Vale Ivan Southall, 1921 – 2008.