Good grief – watch the words you use
“Good grief.”
I heard someone use these words only a few days ago. They made me pause and consider them. Funny how those words had never before made me stop and think (well, not that I can remember). They were spoken as one of our many idioms, expressing surprise or irritation, the normal use and meaning of the expression.
What made me think, however, was the fact that this expression is something of an oxymoron, two words with contradictory meanings. When has grief ever been good? Although, I suppose in the sense that grieving leads to dealing with a loss and moving on with life it could be said to be good for you.
The point I am trying to make is that sometimes we use words in our writing which can convey the wrong ideas, communicating the wrong message to our readers. We need to be careful in the ways we use words and expressions, especially idioms and slang. Of course, the use of idioms and slang, used with discretion, can enhance our portrayal of certain characters in our stories. Overused they can become tedious. Always make every word count and make each word or phrase earn its place in your story.
Interestingly, a web search with the term “good grief” turns up about five million results. At the top of the search I did was an Australian group called “Good Grief“, an organisation dedicated to assisting people dealing with trauma, grief, loss and change.
My message today: choose your words carefully.
Good writing.
Review: Searching for the Secret River
No Comments »6th September, 2010; Category: Authors, Books, Fiction, Non Fiction, Novels, Reviews, Writers, Writing a novel
Cover - Searching for the secret river
I have recently read Kate Grenville‘s historical novel The Secret River. You can read my review here.
Straight after finishing the novel I went on to read her follow up book Searching for the Secret River.
In this second book she goes into great detail about how she researched the novel. The story is based upon the life of her great-great-great grandfather, but she took the facts gleaned from family history and extensive research both in London and in Sydney over a five year period and transformed it into fiction. She has used fact as a broad brush in the hands of her imagination and the finished novel is brilliant. It gives the reader a much clearer view of life in the early years of settlement in the young Australian colony.
Searching for the Secret River is a fascinating expose on the thinking processes of one of our leading authors. Grenville takes us on a journey from the first inklings of an idea for a book through to the finished product. At first she was planning a non fiction book but she struck so many obstacles along the way that she changed tack completely, fictionalising it and letting her imagination run. I’m pleased she did.
While she does address some of the issues faced by all writers of fiction, this is not a handbook on writing. Sure, she does explain why she changed from first to third person, but generally it was the research that so intrigued her that she recounts in the first part of the book. Throughout she grapples with her attitudes, and those of the settlers, towards the Aboriginal people who would have lived in the Sydney area during the time in which she sets her novel. She was confronted by some very unsavoury discoveries. The reader of the novel is likewise confronted by some of the events of those days. Australian history is not always the clean, lovely accounts I read as a student many years ago.
While she has drawn from actual historical records, her novel is not another version of history. ‘I was shameless in rifling through research for anything I could use,’ she writes, ‘wrenching it out of its place and adapting it for my own purposes… What I was writing wasn’t real, but it was as true as I could make it.‘ (Grenville p. 210) She has been criticised for her (alleged) misuse of history. I think she has achieved what most other writers struggle with – she has made history come alive for the reader.
Reference:
- Grenville, K, 2007, Searching for the Secret River. WF Howes, Leicester.
Walking is an essential writing exercise
No Comments »15th August, 2010; Category: Articles, The Writer's Life, Writer's block, Writers, Writing Hints
I came across an excellent article recently and thought I’d better share it with my readers. It seems that many writers are also walkers. They use taking a walk as an essential part of the writing process. I’ve been advocating this from time to time on this site, especially in those times when you seem not to be making progress with a piece of writing.
The article “On walking and writing” is well worth reading.
Then go out and take a walk.
I would – but I’m writing this post late at night!
Good writing – and walking.
Submitting to publishers
I subscribe to a number of newsletters about writing via email. I don’t always get to read every one of them, but I try to at least glance through most of them. Some are better than others, of course.
I’ve just read one that comes from a writer who lives here in South Australia. His newsletters are always worth reading – every word. In this week’s newsletter he mentions that he checked his submissions spreadsheet only to realise that he was well behind in his goal of 100 rejections. He chastised himself publicly, adding that if his writing was not out there doing the rounds of the publishers, how could he expect to get published. Good point, one I need to take serious note of as it’s been a while since I last submitted anything.
What he meant by his requisite 100 rejections he didn’t explain. Did he mean total rejections, rejections this year or what? It doesn’t really matter. The thrust of many of his newsletters is to encourage his readers to write, write, write and then submit, submit, submit. His theory – and it’s a good one – is that the more you write the better you get at this game. I agree.
The second part of his writing theory is that the more you write, the more material you have to submit to publishers. And the more you submit, the better your chances of being published become. The flip side is: if you submit nothing, that’s exactly how much you’ll get published.
Good writing – and don’t forget to submit something this week!
I am writing a book
A recently over heard conversation went as follows:
“I am writing a book. I’ve made a great start: I’ve numbered all the pages.”
Consider the following:
- Countless people say they are going to write a book.
- Only a few ever begin the actual writing.
- If you have started writing a book you are in rare company.
- If you have actually finished writing your book you are in elite company.
- If you have rewritten and edited your book you are almost unique.
- If you have submitted to a publisher a well written, well edited and professionally presented manuscript, you are very special.
Don’t just say you are going to write that book.
Just get on with it.
Good writing.