Trevor's Writing

What I am reading: photographic books about Nepal

2 Comments »8th October, 2009; Category: Books, Fiction, Reading, Reviews, Writing a novel, Writing for Children

Ama Dablam, Nepal

Writing a novel: a writer’s journal part 25

What I am reading: photographic books on Nepal.

As a part of my research for background information for my children’s novel, I have been on a few visits to my local public library. Their collection of titles on Nepal is not great, but I did find several interesting titles. Two of these I mention here. Both could be categorised as coffee table style photographic essays. Both had minimal text which was more than compensated for by the brilliant photography. Most people would have found them extremely interesting just from a pictorial point of view. All of the photographs would have found a very comfortable home in publications such as National Geographic.

As an armchair traveller I enjoy the intriguing journeys of Michael Palin. He has an eye-probably two of them actually-for the bizarre, the amusing, the absurd and the downright confronting. This comes through in the various television travel series he has anchored over the years. Inside Himalaya is the spin-off book version of his television series Himalaya. The text in the book is sparse and as such was not of much help to me in my research. Despite that, I still enjoyed the sheer beauty of the photographs.

Pierre Toutain’s book Nepal is very similar. A little more than half the size of the Palin book, it matches it in the beauty of the photography. Palin’s book covers Pakistan, Tibet, Bhutan and Bangladesh in addition to Nepal, while Toutain’s book is totally focused on Nepal and as such, was more useful to me. It also has much more in the way of text (written by Michel Gotin). The text was far more informative and useful for my purposes.

My reading of these two beautiful books had one unfortunate side effect: I have a heightened desire to return someday soon the enigmatic and beautiful roof of the world, Nepal. I must get my novel finished, off to a publisher, accepted, published and then return on the proceeds from my writing. (I can dream, can’t I?)

References:

Palin, M, Pao, B 2004, Inside Himalaya, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London.
Toutain, P, Gotin, M 1986, Nepal, Merehurst Press, London.

Further reading:

My travels in Nepal – archive from my travel blog
Writing a novel – more articles in the series about how I went about writing a novel.

Scene from our lodge in Monjo, Nepal

What I am reading: ‘Breath’ by Tim Winton

1 Comment »7th October, 2009; Category: Authors, Books, Fiction, Novels, Reviews, Writing a novel

Writing a novel – a writer’s journal part 24

Breath by Tim Winton

What I am reading: Breath by Tim Winton.

I must sadly admit that I have not read a great deal of Winton’s work-yet. It’s something I intend correcting in the coming months and years. I had previously seen a stage version of Cloudstreet which I found not only fascinating but also a test of endurance. (From memory the play goes for about five hours, plus two meal breaks.) I have also read an extract from The turning. I had heard so much said about Breath when it was first published, and again when Winton won the Miles Franklin Literary Award this year. This is the fourth time he has won the award, making him arguably Australia’s leading novelist. So it was with a heightened level of expectation I came to his latest novel.

I was not disappointed. Winton’s lyrical style oozes from the text throughout, particularly when he is describing the surfing scenes-which these are frequent-and when he refers to the West Australian landscape. Layer upon this an intriguing account of the coming-of-age experiences of two teenagers and the brooding atmosphere of the setting in both time and place, and you have the elements of a great story.

As I delved deeper into the novel I was mesmerized by the accounts of the ocean and of surfing. I’m not a surfer, nor do I enjoy swimming at the beach, but Winton’s narrative sucked me in like the incredible pull that waves and water must have on those who are obsessively compulsive surfers. I was spellbound by the simple yet profound words of a master storyteller.

There are two technical aspects I wish to highlight. There is an absence of speech marks throughout the text. I thought that this might lead to confusion on the part of the reader, but after several pages I became adjusted to this technique and read without difficulty. Mind you, I’m not about to change my writing style and copy Winton in this, not until I can also boast a string of award-winning novels to my credit-and can get away with it. Besides, I mainly write for young children and almost all publishers would frown upon this technique for children’s books.

The other technical aspect is a short comment on point-of-view. I have struggled with changing point-of-view with my work in progress. Various readers have pointed out my inconsistencies, something I will attend to on the rewrite I’m about to do. Imagine my delight when I discovered that even award winning Winton has an unexpected-but brief-shift in point-of-view. It was so obvious to me that it jarred. It is so easy to do and is something I need to be constantly vigilant about.

Despite my small criticisms, this is a novel which is destined to be held in high regard as belonging firmly in the vanguard of great Australian literary works. In fact, it will deservedly take its place amongst the great works written in English.

Related articles:

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

Reference:

Winton, T 2008, Breath, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York

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.

What I am reading: ‘Braver than the Gurkhas’

No Comments »5th October, 2009; Category: Books, Christian, Fiction, Novels, Reviews, Writing a novel

Writing a novel: a writer’s journal part 22

What I am reading: “Braver than the Gurkhas” by Sikhar

I chose to read this little know book as background reading for the writing of my novel for children. Like my novel, this book is set in Nepal. It is based on true events but is written as fiction.

On the cover it states that this story is an account of ‘heroism of an oppressed minority fighting for survival.’ It is not an understatement. In the dedication it says it has been written in memory of Bir Bahadur Rai, the first known Nepali martyr for ‘Yesu.’

Nepal in the 1980s was still emerging into the modern world. Christian missionaries had been working in the country since the early 1950s, predominantly as medical staff in clinics and hospitals set up in a range of towns and villages. Nepalis throughout the country were slow to embrace the Christian faith and in the 1980s there was an open government policy forbidding conversion to Christianity. Converts were not only ostracized by their families and the wider community, they were usually imprisoned. Many were tortured for their faith in ‘Yesu’ (Jesus) and some were killed.

This novel traces the fortunes of one family who suffer as a result of these policies. The father of the family is a drunken, wife beating, lazy farmer who actually bashes up the local Christian pastor. One night, while drunk yet again, he decides to burn down the church in his village. Instead of being successful in his aim, he overhears several of the Christians praying for him. This leads to his conversion as a follower of Yesu. His life is quickly transformed from his drunkenness. His daughter notices the change in his life and she too becomes a Christian. Things turn nasty only minutes after her father’s baptism in the local river. He is arrested, tried and later tortured in prison.

This is a fast moving, intriguing story with strongly drawn characters. The plot moves forward with the inevitable ending. The simple village life permeates the story. The attitudes of the villagers are shown clearly, contrasting well with the changes Christianity brings to their culture. Although the ending is sad, there is also hope for the future. The Christian church has continued to grow and estimates are that now about 2% of the population claim to be Christian. Although imprisonment is no longer government policy, in practice there is still widespread opposition and persecution of Christians.

While there are only a few references to faith in my novel, my two main characters show a friendship between a Hindu Nepali boy and the son of an Australian missionary doctor. I have set my story in 2006, a time of great political unrest and turmoil in Nepal. While my reading of Braver than the Gurkhas does not have a direct bearing on my story, I found the reading of this novel gave me a greater understanding of the way the Nepali people think.

Reference:

Sikhar, 1990, Braver than the Gurkhars, Word Publishing, Milton Keynes.

Further reading:

Writing a novel: more articles in this series outling how I went about writing my novel for children.

I am grieving over my novel

4 Comments »29th September, 2009; Category: Fiction, Novels, Writing a novel

Writing a novel – a writer’s journal: part 21

I strangely find myself grieving.

I am grieving over my finished novel. That may seem a somewhat strange reaction to finishing my novel for children last Tuesday, but that is exactly how I feel. For almost nine months this story has been growing within me-and I didn’t plan the gestation period to be nine months, but that has an oddly significant synchronicity to it.

Much of my planning and thinking over the last nine months has centred on the novel and its characters. In particular, the last two months has seen me totally focused on getting the first draft done. I worked long hours on the story during that time and finally the first draft has come to an end. To carry the analogy even further, I almost feel like I’m going through some form of post-natal depression. Weird.

I was so caught up in the creative process of the developing story that the ending came with a real let down. It’s finished. What was going to happen to my characters now? They had come to life on the pages of my printed out manuscript-and now their lives have been cut short.

Now comes the messy part. Just as a new mother has to deal with a new born baby and the messy bits-the muck of excreta, the insistent demands to be fed, the restlessness of sleeping and waking-so too the new born novel screams out for attention. Before my novel can emerge into the wild, imposing, critical world for all to see, it demands my total attention again, and again, and again.

It needs a firm, disciplined and yet loving hand to mold it into shape. It has flaws that need correcting. It has errors that need elimination. It has aspects missing that need to be inserted. It has inconsistencies that need righting. Above all, it needs daily attention and assistance until it has reached maturity and I can wave it goodbye and send it off to a publisher.

Oh dear-I can see another day of tears looming, the day my baby leaves home for good.

I think I’d better go and get pregnant with another story.

Related articles:

Writing a novel – an archive of articles detailing how I went about writing a novel.