Review: Nights in the asylum
No Comments »22nd June, 2010; Category: Authors, Books, Fiction, Master of Arts course, Novels, Reviews, Writers, Writing a novel
Nights in the asylum
Book review: Nights in the asylum by Carol Lefevre
It was suggested by my supervising lecturer that I read this novel. Last week we had the author as the guest speaker at our regular fortnightly seminar. These are usually critiquing sessions where we try to help each other with the novels we are each writing for our Masters of Arts. Carol, a quietly spoken author talked to us for nearly two hours, going into details of how she went about the writing of this and her subsequent novel. I found her discussion on the inspiration of each work to be very interesting, and a major work can stem from a simple thing such as a photograph. Interestingly, my own idea for my current novel came from a photograph.
The word “asylum” in the title has great significance. All three main characters in the story are seeking a different form of asylum, mirroring the differing meanings of the word. Miri, the main character, is seeking sanctuary from the turmoil of a failed marriage and the death of a teenage daughter. Aziz, on the run after escaping from a detention centre, is seeking political asylum. Suzette and her baby are seeking refuge from an abusive, violent husband. All three are thrown together by circumstances into the same house in an unnamed mining town in outback Australia.
One of the most intriguing elements of this novel is the constantly shifting point of view. Each section or chapter (some are short, others quite long) is headed with a name of one of the characters, mostly the major three (but sometimes even minor characters for a few pages). Each section has the story told from the point of view of the character named in the title of the section. It sounds like a complicated way of writing, but it is wonderfully effective. By dipping into the heads of each character in depth like this we get a much deeper understanding of the particular mental turmoil and physical torments faced by that character. We also gain a greater understanding of and appreciation for how they perceive other characters in the story. A very clever technique and masterfully handled by the author. It is a technique I initially grappled with and rejected when writing my novel. I knew the pitfalls and knew my skills were not equal to the task. (Read more here.)
Another major element of the story worth mentioning here is a device known as the flashback. Many writers love this technique and it can be overused and used poorly. This author has used flashback to great effect, filling in details from the past and helping the reader to more fully understand each character’s strengths and weaknesses.
There are many other wonderful aspects of this novel and I can only touch on some briefly.
- The powerful mining town mentality of the townspeople comes through strongly.
- It is worth reading just for the beautiful use of language.
- The sense of isolation for all three main characters is a brooding presence throughout.
- A sense of the inevitability of the ending carries the reader along – not wanting it to happen, but resigned to the fact that it must end that way.
Overall, a brilliantly written work, told with compassion and finesse. And it’s an entertaining read as well.
Reference:
Lefevre, Carol, 2007, Nights in the asylum, Random House Australia, North Sydney
Journal Writing
1 Comment »18th May, 2010; Category: Articles, Journal Writing, The Writer's Life, Writing a novel, Young Readers
Some writers do not understand the power of regularly writing in a personal journal.
Journal writing is an excellent way of honing many writing skills that are essential to the writing process. It doesn’t matter much whether you write fiction, non-fiction, articles or blogs, regular writing practice is essential. If possible, I’d encourage all writers, especially beginner writers, to write every day, even if in the first few months or years journal writing is all you do.
I’ve kept a personal journal since July 1990. That means the 20th anniversary is coming up very soon; I must remember to celebrate it here on this blog. I write about anything that comes to mind about events and people in my life. I filled several hand written volumes at first but in recent years I have tended to use my computer. One day I might get around to printing it all out and binding the pages into booklets.
More recently I have also been keeping a writing journal. In this I have recorded the processes I have gone through in writing my stories, especially my recent novels. The journals include details of my ideas, sources of inspiration, research findings and the decisions I had to make along the way. In part you can read how I went about ‘Writing a Novel’ here.
When I was a classroom teacher I used Journal Writing as an integral part of encouraging children to write. The skills developed in my programme had some amazing results, not just with writing. I wrote about it in this article: The Power of Journal Writing – a Story of Hope.
This article relates the experience I had with one of my former students. I bring it to your attention now – especially for my many new readers who may have missed it at the time.
Good writing.
I would love to write a book
Today’s quote:
“I would love to write a book, but unfortunately, I don’t have a pen.” (Unknown source – it came to me from a Facebook friend)
We might laugh at a saying like this, but for some people, any simple excuse is enough to stop them from writing. Some common excuses are:
- I don’t have enough time.
- The timing is wrong – I’ll wait until I retire.
- I don’t have a good computer.
- I don’t know what to write about.
- I’m too busy.
- I’m too tired after a day at work.
- I have nowhere where I can write.
- I don’t have a pen.
You get the drift?
Excuses. Excuses. Excuses.
If you want to write a book, you actually have to start putting words down on paper – or at least in the hard-drive of your computer. There is no other way. Books will not write themselves. (Someone reading this in my archives in 50 years time might be able to argue that point, but I won’t be around to defend myself.)
So you want to write a book?
Good. Now stop reading this – and start writing (but don’t forget to come back here tomorrow; I’ll be waiting for you).
Good writing.
Related articles:
- Writing a novel – articles outlining how I went about writing a novel.
- A writer’s virtues: patience and persistence
Updating my blogs
Over Easter I’m having a short break from writing my novel. This weekend I’ve concentrating on writing numerous posts for my various blogs (see the links on the sidebar). I’m writing these now and dating them to appear on a daily basis for the next few weeks. I often do this as it helps me with my writing.
Once Easter is over I will be very busy on two other projects: finishing the final draft of my novel and preparing to present four sessions at our church camp. I won’t have much time for blogging so I like to get the posts written and have them appearing regularly without having to bother about them. I often do this when I know I’m going to be away for a length of time, especially those times when I might only have limited internet access, for example, when travelling.
There is another benefit. Writing a dozen or more blog posts in one day builds momentum, and before I know it I’ve written five or ten or more. You get in the groove and get very productive. I like that. You can do the same with writing a novel, editing some stories or doing that horrible administrative stuff that writers have to attend to from time to time – like submitting work to publishers.
Must get back to blogging.
Good writing.
Writing critique groups
No Comments »2nd April, 2010; Category: Master of Arts course, Novels, The Writer's Life, Writing a novel
Over recent days I have been working hard on editing and rewriting my novel for children. I am going over every word and sentence, making each one earn its place in the finished work. Some words were deleted. Some were added to make the text flow or to add to the meaning.
Yesterday I presented the totally reworked first three chapters to my critique group at university where I am doing my Master of Arts. I thought I almost had these chapters licked, though I did admit I wasn’t entirely happy with the opening chapter. Three of the group had never before read any part of the manuscript, others had read some or all of the earlier drafts. Even after working on the 7th draft, readers still found little things to comment on, and many valuable suggestions for improvement. Is there no end to this process?
That last statement seems very negative. One of the important lessons I have learned during my course and while writing this novel is that I needed to change. I was threatened by the scary prospect of sharing my writing with others. Strange as that idea appears, many writers have this fear. We want our words to be read – but we are often too scared to show them to anyone!
I have learned to welcome my words being read and critiqued by other writers. My precious writing can be scrutinized by others whose eyes are not rose coloured. They can see the good parts and the parts which need improvement, changing or even eliminating. All in a pleasant, constructive way, of course.
Belonging to a writers’ group is an excellent way of improving your writing skills – and your chances of getting published.
Related articles:
- The importance of a writers’ group
- Writing a novel – how I went about writing a novel