Trevor's Writing

Television writers acknowledged

No Comments »3rd May, 2010; Category: Movies, Writers

I don’t normally watch awards programs shown on television. They tend to be long-winded, drawn out and frankly boring affairs. Of course, if I was in the running for an award of some sort, they’d be as exciting as.

I didn’t watch all of Australian television’s Logies Awards presentation last night but did catch the last half hour or so. I should have gone to bed as I was very tired, but kept putting off the effort of doing so.

What I did see pleased me. Not one but several of the award winning actors paid tribute to the excellent writers of various television series. Writers are far too often overlooked in such events, but where would they be without the writers first having the ideas for the story lines, and then doing the hard work of putting the plot, characters and setting and all the other elements of a good story together? Without writers – good writers – we’d have no television drama, no comedy series, no films and little entertainment.

I know it’s not an Australian series, but I’ve recently become a fan of the American crime series called Castle. In an interesting twist, the main character is a crime writer called Castle who helps a detective and the police solve everyday crimes. I also enjoy the gentle humour incorporated in the scripts.

Enough from me: I’d like to acknowledge the fine skills of the many wonderful television and film writers out there. Well done.

Lest we forget

1 Comment »25th April, 2010; Category: Events, Poetry

Lest we forget.

Today is ANZAC Day, a very special day on the calendar in both Australia and New Zealand. On this day we remember our war heroes, those who served – and continue to serve – our country on the battlefields of the world.

I wrote a special tribute to the ANZACs a few years ago. It can be read here: Poem: Anzac Cove.

The words of this poem have been set to music by New Zealand composer Andrew Baldwin and the song is being performed as a part of the ANZAC Day celebrations in Ypres, Belgium.

We will remember them.

Mt Macedon War Memorial

Book review: Himalayan Adventures

4 Comments »15th April, 2010; Category: Books, Christian, Fiction, Master of Arts course, Reviews, Writing for Children

My supervising lecturer recently gave me this book to read. She thought it could be of some use in the writing of my children’s novel which is also set in Nepal. Himalayan Adventures written by Penny Reeve is a charming little book (of only 96 pages) which deals with various aspects of life in Nepal. Each chapter is a self contained story about an animal, bird or some commonplace aspect of village life. There is little connection between each chapter.

The stories are short and written in a narrative style with minimal dialogue. Each is an object lesson in living the Christian life as seen by the author who served as a health professional with a mission organisation in Nepal. While each story is charming in its own way, I would like to have seen some connection between each chapter, such as the same children appearing in each story. This would have allowed more use of dialogue which would also have improved the book.

This book has not been of much value in writing my own children’s book about Nepal because it is so different from what I am trying to do with my story.

Reference:

Reeve, Penny 2005, Himalayan Adventures, Christian Focus Publications, Ross-shire, Great Britain.

Do, or do not.

2 Comments »13th April, 2010; Category: Books, Goal setting, Quotes

Today’s quote:

“Do, or do not. There is no try.”

Yoda in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

Fact: Many people would like to write a book.

Fact: Few people actually start writing a book.

Fact: Very few people actually finish writing a book.

Fact: Of those that finish writing a book, very few get published.

Like Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, people have a go. They try to write a book, not realising the long journey on which they have embarked. When the going gets tough, they give up. So many give up so easily.

You cannot “try” to write a book. You must do it, or not. If you don’t have the persistence, don’t even start.

Harsh words, yes, but that is the reality.

Good writing.

Further reading:

A writer’s virtues: patience and persistence

Welcome to the dark side

No Comments »11th April, 2010; Category: Fiction, Quotes

Today’s quote:

“Everyone is a moon and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.”

Mark Twain

Mark Twain has touched on the very essence of what it is to be human. Yes, we do all have a ‘dark side’ – that part of our nature that rarely, if ever, sees the light of day. We may well be acutely aware of this flaw but most of us are clever actors able to hide this face from public view. Jesus, in his criticism of the religious leaders of his day, called them hypocrites because they appeared as white-washed tombs which look okay on outside, but are actually full of dead men’s bones on the inside.

As writers we can tap into this deep well of darkness. We can let the protagonist have a flaw which other characters know nothing about. This dark side can be either a motivator stirring his resolve, or it can be a burden, an obstacle preventing success.

This character flaw can be shown in various ways: through actions, through internal thoughts, through uncharacteristic responses to other characters, through subtle hints which other characters do not understand and so on.

Possibly one of the best known example is that of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars stories. All the way through the last three movies he battles his fear. On many occasions he is urged to give in to the dark side, to allow his fears to breed hatred.

It is certainly worth digging deep within this rich vein of conflict within the nature of your main character, exploring it and then exploiting it for all its worth.

Good writing.