Storytelling in the contemporary world

This quote from Walter Benjamin came to mind this week 'Familiar though his name may be to us, the storyteller in his living immediacy is by no means a present force. He has already become something remote from us and something that is getting even more distant.' He wrote this in 1936 a time well before the Internet when books still ruled the world to a certain extent. It came to mind because Charlie Redmayne, the UK boss of Harper Collins, stated that publishers have to take storytelling back from their digital rivals in an article in the Guardian last week. His argument is that they need to think in terms of content for games players, tablets and other devices. But is this really new and something that needs to be discussed? The publishers that I have been in communication with over the last few years have been thinking in terms of this for a very long time and it is not just the start-ups that I am talking about. But maybe it is just another indication of how children's publishing is ahead of mainstream (adult) publishing.

Story is one of the most important part of children's writing. Publishers want a good strong story that has a great concept behind it. A child or teenager is not as tolerant or forgiving as adults of books that take a long time to get going and are full of flowery language and description. (How many of you actually got to the end of Captain Corelli's Mandolin?) Children and young adults want action and a story that moves fast. Could this also be why so many adults are turning to young adult fiction rather than their own? We live in a world of micro moments wanting almost immediate gratification.

I don't think the storyteller has become as remote as Benjamin suggests - however, we may not always know their name these days - instead the storyteller is coming in a multitude of formats. All of which are readily embraced and so they should be. When writing you need to think in terms of multi-platforms and be open to the idea. The book (whether ebook or hard copy) is still important but there are elements that need to go along side.

Computer games, apps, comics, magazines, TV and films all have narratives. They are all embedded within story telling that is because we are homo fabulus, we have to tell (and listen to) stories. This may be around the dining table, over a drink in the bar, in the school playground, wherever, we will tell stories about the events in our lives. In the same way if someone is talking to us about their own experience we will often counter with our exploits.

When writing you are creating vicarious experiences, opening up those opportunities for a reader to enjoy the world you have created. We need to be aware that many will now expect that enjoyment to be enhanced by the opportunity to engage with it on a multitude of levels, so next time your writing, think how many ways you could tell your story...

And here is a bit of Regina Spektor to make IC smile ;-)

Authors For The Philippines

On Monday 11th YAF author Keris Stainton put up a post on Facebook saying that fellow YAF author,  Keren David, had suggested that she ran an auction again for the people in The Philippines who were suffering so much following Typhoon Haiyan. Keris had previously done this when Japan was hit by tsunami and had raised £13,000.

For many of us the Philippines had become very familiar to us due to the ever bouncing and inspirational Candy Gourlay and her book Tall Story, which was partly based in the Philippines and where she originates from. This seemed personal now and suddenly masses of children's authors were offering whatever they could. Candy was our friend and her country was in trouble.

It is now the 14th November and at the time of writing there are 206 items on the auction list with still more being added all the time. There are gifts from authors of signed books, manuscripts (Meg Rosoff), the opportunity to name a character, school visits, meet down the pub (Anthony McGowan and Andy Stanton) to name a few. There are agents and publishers offering a chance to have your MS looked at. At Golden Egg we felt we wanted to do something so I contacted Keris and she kindly agreed that we could offer a place on one of our workshops

I cannot imagine that Keris had any idea how huge this was going to get again.  Even the likes of Armistead Maupin, who offered an advanced copy of his latest book, are getting involved. And according to her latest status still more people are contacting her.

Thank you Keris for doing this.

These Days by Jackson Browne just as a reminder of all those things we have forgotten to do.

YAF and contentious issues...again

I am writing this evening with one eye shut - the joys of yet another migraine but it is something I wanted to write. My good friend Nicky Schmidt wrote a fascinating blog post the other day entitled YA Fiction - a safe haven for teens. Those who know me are aware that this is a bit of a soap box for me. There is always going to be a need for books that deal with contentious issues. Places for teens to escape and explore as I have previously spoken about (some might argue ad nauseum).

There are two things I would like to say here. Firstly, it is important to also understand that not EVERY teen book has to deal with issues such as sex, drugs and alcohol  (Twilight for example is a prime example of that) - not that Nicky is suggesting that. But sometimes teens don't want to be faced with those issues, or equally see so much of it they don't want to read about it. YAF should be all about the story and not about the issues it deals with. In the same way if you are an aspiring writer and you don't want to write realist, gritty, teen fiction that deals with lots of issues. You don't have to, as long as your story is good enough. We all just need to write lots of different stories, gritty or otherwise, that teens can escape into when they need to.

The other idea I wanted to briefly highlight with regard though not specific to YAF is a cultural one. This is something we sometimes seem to forget and also something I have discussed with Nicky quite extensively as she is from South Africa and is currently writing a story based there. It was highlighted to me recently the cultural implications of where a story is written. I have reviewed some Canadian books which contain drugs themes. Often the drug of use portrayed within has been crystal meth. This is not something I ever really came across when I was doing my research into British contemporary YAF. When I explored this further I realised it came down to culture. Canada has a slightly greater issue with crystal meth than we do in the UK (currently that is - who knows what the Breaking Bad influence will have, if any). I could no more tell the Canadian authors not to write about crystal meth than they could ask us not to write about cannabis or cocaine in the way we do. Obviously there are a lot of generic themes which cause no cultural problems but it is just sometimes worth taking a breath and thinking about how your story might be perceived elsewhere.

So many things to think about here and all things I am mulling over for the commissioned book. I have just briefly touched on both of the ideas really.

Those who follow this blog know I am an academic. I have just had a article published which has taken me down a different route. It is a critical/creative combination and was co-authored with Prof Jen Webb of the University of Canberra. If you are interested you can find it here http://www.textjournal.com.au/speciss/issue24/Webb&Harbour.pdf

Also some of you may know that my PhD was a creative writing one. If you are interested in the creative arts and doctoral studies you will find this Special Edition of Text a fascinating read.  http://www.textjournal.com.au/speciss/issue24/content.htm

And here is a bit of Jane Taylor with All Things Change because let's be honest they do...Thanks IC for the intro to Jane

A Perfect Day....

Not smiling at the moment

This is a short post and off topic but I couldn't let it go by unrecognised. The death of Lou Reed, at the age of 71, has just been announced. Please excuse this indulgence.

His song Perfect Day has got me through some very difficult times. Even now the song can bring tears to my eyes as I remember. It was one of the songs that is part of the soundtrack of my life. Some happy moments, some angry, some desperately and painfully sad.

It was a song my mother loved too. She always said there were so many perfect days in her life and how lucky she was. She was right, I also have had many perfect days in my life and many things to celebrate. Who've thought I'd be doing what I am now? Certainly not me.

Perfect Song is obviously not Lou's only success. He was a hugely influential and successful song writer and guitarist. My thoughts are with his family.

Children's books are how culture is made? Discuss

The joy of reading together

The title of this blog came from a quote used in a recent article, which was actually discussing an exhibition in New York. But it started me thinking about the idea. Culture, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, is the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society. On this basis are children's books how culture is made? I have to be honest I have no answers just thoughts as I mull this idea over.

Many of the Children's Literature researchers look at children's books and suggest what they mean. For example you can find information on how Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows (1908) is a commentary on the social mores of the time, a response to the society of the early 20th Century and Grahame's dislike of women. The weasels and stoats were believed to be representative of the emerging working class. The question for me, as a writer, is did Grahame really actually plan all that? More likely it has been decided by academics at a later date when the Fin de Siècle and all that is happening within society at that time were considered alongside the book.

I do think that we cannot but help when writing to reflect the current mores and values of our contemporary society but I think it is an unconscious thing. We create that culture by accident not by design. That doesn't mean we won't necessarily be rebellious with what what create. When writing, as with reading, you bring into play your cultural moment. For example, how you grew up, your interests including political and your experiences. As a brief sample of what I mean, a friend read something I wrote ages ago and commented upon the religious themes that were running throughout. This was a total surprise I had not consciously put in anything religious, or so I thought, but when I looked again I could see what she meant. She was a very religious person and I think that that is perhaps why she saw these motifs. She wanted to see them as they appealed to her experiences.

This brings me on to the reader. As I mentioned above the reader doesn't come to any text in innocence, even as a child, they bring all their ow experiences (however brief) with them and it is on that basis that they will interpret the story. (Andrew Melrose expands on this idea in his book) Leaving the text with more knowledge and increased experiences. But as a child reader do they look for cultural mores and values - no, they are looking for a great story that they give believe in and vicariously experience.

In a lecture on Monday we were considering Wolfgang Iser and readers. We were discussing when, and if, we consider our readers when we wrote. A student came up with an intriguing idea - they write for themselves and edit for their audience. Is this something we all do I wonder?

By the way the little chap in the photo is just a little bit bigger but loves his books just as much.

This piece is by Salif Keita and entitled Folon. I used it as part of an exercise with my first year students and it inspired some wonderful pieces of writing so I thought I would share in case you needed a bit of inspiration.



Then I hope you enjoy this (with thanks to Cathy Cassidy for introducing me to it) a bit of Kacey Musgraves as we all sit on our Merry Go Round.

All change

Happy Day!

This week sees the beginning of October. The trees are beginning to change into a glorious cornucopia of gold and amber. And I feel like a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

What this means for me is time to write. I will have two whole days each week to work on two projects I have. One fiction and one non fiction. Both of which need to be written by 2015. Seems a long time away. I can assure you it is not! Or certainly not when you have to do so much research and the projects are so different.

Yes, part of me is feeling pretty daunted at the moment. I have been working on them both or rather dabbling for the last few months but now it is time to be focused and get those words on the page.

My world has changed so much in the last year and I am trying hard to embrace those changes and move forward. These projects are wonderful as they give me something to focus on. Last week was the first of the semester and it was a timely reminder of how much I enjoy lecturing. My students are enthusiastic and insightful and therefore a joy to work with. While at Golden Egg, with Imogen Cooper, Beverley Birch, Bella Pearson and Chrissie O'Brien, continues to grow and thrive. I have the privilege of working with and mentoring some fantastic aspiring writers through GE as well as developing some new and very exciting projects. Watch this space for news on those at some point.

I know I have mentioned this before but I will be using my blog to test out my research ideas for the academic book I am writing. Please bear with me if I got off at tangents at times but I hope you enjoy my thoughts as I bounce my ideas around.

This is a brief Sunday blog and I felt the need for a bit of Joni because sometimes clouds get in my way too.

Narrative

I have been a bit quiet on this blog recently because I have been very tied up in a momentous event, for me anyway, my daughter got married to a wonderful man. The whole event got me thinking about the layers of narrative in our lives.

The photo is one of many that were taken in a shutterbooth which caused a great deal of hilarity for many people at the wedding. This picture in itself has so many layers of narrative to it. A photo of 3 women who happen to sisters who all have stories to tell. It is a narrative of happiness and laughter but also missing and loss partly embodied by the white rabbit.

I love using photos as triggers for writing as you know (I have previously spoken about how Trafficking was inspired by a photo). You look at a picture and you take in what you see but also what you don't. What are these people thinking? What do they do? Where is their family? But also you spend your life creating narratives as you tell the stories of your day to those who care. Or retelling a funny/sad story you have heard. It is all about spreading those narratives.

When writing you have to understand narrative too. Your story should have multiple layers creating depth to bring the story alive. Narrative allows you to create links between events and cultural moments that are part of a developing story. You cannot have a story without a narrative, it is naturally integral. In the same way narrative is not only confined to 'realist' writing. It may not be immediately obvious but all stories in whatever format will have an embedded narrative.

There will be a narrative within each scene, chapter and complete story. As you develop your characters they will develop their own narrative in the same way that any setting will also have a narrative behind it. Not necessarily always obvious but there to inform your writing. Having an understanding of all these narratives will help you add the required depth to your story. For the reader this embedded narrative gives them the tools to decipher and make the connections between the various clues that when linked create the story and those pictures in their mind. But the cause and effect within a narrative can also be used to confuse the reader. This is reliant on the reader wanting to impose a narrative on certain sequential events. It is up to the writer then to turn this narrative on its head and prove the reader wrong, as in all great thrillers/crime stories, where you are certain you know 'who did it' only to proven totally wrong by the end of the book.

Look at the world around you and explore the narrative you are in. When reading think about the multiple layers of narrative involved and this awareness will be reflected in your own writing. Have fun with it.

I would like to introduce you to the very talented Caitlin Gilligan singing her own song Moon Child. I just love the imagery and narrative she uses here. I'd rather be putting the stars in your eyes and painting the sky with you too. Check out Caitlin''s page https://www.facebook.com/caitlingilliganmusic