#MyBookBuzz

If you have been watching Twitter over the last few days you may have noticed the hashtag

#MyBookBuzz flying around. It has been wonderful and caught a lot of people's imagination. It came from the Book Trust who have a fabulous reading scheme called Book Buzz aimed mainly at Year 7s (the closing date to participate was the today the 21st July). #MyBookBuzz caught people's imagination because they were tagging books that had inspired them to be readers or to become writers when they were young. It was wonderful to see the eclectic mix of books that were appearing on Twitter. It was also really hard. Having only 140 characters to list the books that influenced/inspired you was impossible particularly as everytime you saw someone else's tweet you thought 'Oh yes and that one..two...three.' I am blaming Abigail Tanner for this blog post. She encouraged me to write it when I said I couldn't fit them all in. 

As a child, I was a vociferous reader. At times being known to read a book a day. They were my escape. Despite coming from a very large family - I was the youngest of five - there were some quite large age gaps so I had the privilege of having a large family but also spent quite a while as almost an only child. I was very lucky with my sisters and brother doing amazing things though it did mean I spent quite a lot of time on my own. We were forever moving so I never formed any close friendships bar one with whom I am still friends. The books were my friends. Don't get me wrong my childhood was idyllic. I can remember my parents and my sisters reading to me when I was very small. When I was older my eldest sister, who also happened to be one of my godparents, would buy wonderful books for me. I still have the book of poetry she bought me tucked away. Unfortunately, I can't find an image of the book.

The other thing I can remember vividly is being read to at school. Some wonderful stories such as Clive King's Stig of the Dump, Ian Serraillier's The Silver Sword, Nina Bawden's Carrie's War and

Anne Holm's I am David. We would be sat on the carpet at the end of school absolutely enthralled by the stories, hanging on every word. I have just noticed a pattern in the stories I remember the most there and my own story about to be published by Firefly. There is a distinct World War Two theme going on but then both my parents had both lived through it and, my mother, in particular, would regale me with stories of her time as a WRN.

At home, my stories tended to have more of a familiar theme: horses. I was passionate about them. I kept being told that at the next house we would have a paddock and I could have my own. It never materialised lol. This is where I would really live my dreams through my books. I would read Elyne Mitchell's The Silver Brumby series, Mary O'Hara My Friend Flicka and all the stories by the Pullein-Thompson sisters. I would relive the stories in the garden with our poor dog, Henry, who was my pretend horse. He was made to jump various courses I created. Bless him he was very willing and tolerant. I would also devour Edith Nesbit and The Railway Children, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, and of course, Noel Streatfield with Ballet Shoes. I still dip into it every now and then. 

As I got older I moved on to Daphne Du Maurier. I can also remember vividly reading her book Rule Britannia and taking it into school as my current book. This was before secondary school. Oh so precocious! I then have a confession. I think I at some point I moved onto Jilly Cooper...well she did have horses in it ;-). I adored Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals which I had to study for O'Level (yes I am that old!). It lived with me for a long time.  I was also into D H Lawrence. In the Sixth Form we tormented a poor newly qualified, delicious looking English teacher when we were studying Lawrence's Three Novellas, discussing any potential innuendo in minute detail while we watched him blush. 17-year-olds can be cruel looking back.

Books are a joy. Thinking about this post has brought back so many happy memories. They always say music and smell can take you back to a certain moment in time but I think a book can too. Books can be places of safety to hide in, places to find consolation, to find moments of joy and hope. They are places where you can work out who you are, and just as importantly, who you are not. You can ask questions without being laughed at, seeking and finding the answers time and again without mockery. Books are hugs in a page. They are magical.

How about a little bit of Laura Mvula and 'That's Alright!'

Reading again

I know three posts in quick succession after so few but I had to write this one following reading yet another article where an author boasted about how he never read children's book but loved writing them! Why would you say that? I really don't understand it. Don't get me wrong I don't ONLY read children's literature but I see no shame in it. I love the children's and young adult fiction I read and as I write young adult fiction I feel it is an important part of my life.

As I have said before I also read poetry to get the creative brain going - thank you to Tim Bowler for my latest find as he introduced me to the poet Gunnar Ekelof. I have a book I read in the bath. I have books I read for research and I have a book I read before I go to sleep to relax me. My life is all about reading. (Even more so when you take into the assignments and manuscripts I read) Sometimes I escape into books because I need to, because everything around me is going wrong and I need to get away.  It must be better to go to a book than a bottle surely?

I find it so sad that an author thinks it is appropriate to say things like this in an interview that is basically a bit of PR for his new book which is aimed at young adults. What message does it give those teenagers? 'Oh I might write for you but the stuff I do is not worthy of being read as I don't bother reading the stuff...' It is hard enough to them to read without giving them an excuse not to I would have thought.

I find it almost impossible to look aspiring writers in the face when they say to me that they don't read or they can't remember the last time they read a children's book or piece of young adult fiction when that is exactly what hey are writing. These sort of comments don't help that either. You cannot write if you don't read....well that's not true obviously you can write but you will probably be a better writer if you read. I thought I ought to add that caveat in there before someone hauls me up on a technicality.

I know I only wrote about reading in February I think but this irritated me so much I couldn't just ignore it. Please if you are a writer or an aspiring writer READ! You will be better for it.

And just because here's Lars Eriksson - The Lonely Journey Called Life

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.

The importance of reading as a writer

I recently read an excellent blog post by Anne Rooney entitled 'Can you teach creative writing?' to which Mary Hoffman made a very pertinent comment when she said that she asks students what books do they like reading? And this got me thinking about the importance of reading when you are a writer.

I mentioned in a couple of posts ago how I use poetry to get my creative juices flowing again. Most recently it has been Ian Wedde's work (thank you JW for the introduction) but it has also been Okri, Rilke and Milosz amongst others in the recent past. I am a poet trollope. I find one I love. Read everything by them then abandon them recklessly when I have found someone new, irrespective of their feelings. (I do return to them eventually so hope they forgive me). That is only one small part of how important reading is to me as a writer.

I think it is important to read books in the genre that you write in but I also believe that you should challenge yourself and read things that are outside your comfort zone. I have previously said when I started my writing career I had a very definite idea of what sort of writer I was. It was only having the opportunity, during my BA and then MA, to try on lots of different styles of writing and voices that I actually found out what sort of writer I was. Interestingly it wasn't even close to the one I thought I was! I now find myself writing thrillers - I didn't even read thrillers before but it was only by challenging myself that I found out. (A distinct advantage of doing a CW degree)

If you write for children, as I do, you also need to read in and around your age group so you have an understanding of what works and what is appropriate for the age. It is good to keep an eye on what is being successful and winning prizes but don't be afraid to write your own stuff. Don't think you have to copy, in fact, it is important that you don't (obviously copyright helps with this!) Of course, it is almost impossible to predict what is going to be the next 'big thing.' (Or we would all be very rich if we could). Just write what you want to but understand the market place.

Go back and read the classics, read adult books as well as children's, in other words, read vociferously because as Mary Hoffman, quite correctly in my opinion, suggests it will give you a solid base of understanding what is possible. Going back to the quote I mentioned in the previous post from Scorsese it helps with working out what you like and what you don't like, what works for you and what doesn't.

I have heard some people say they can't read whilst writing as they are afraid of  it influencing their work, which I can partly understand, but also have to be honest, it has never happened to me instead I find it inspirational. However you approach reading and whatever you read, it doesn't matter as long as you do. I have a 'to read' pile which is probably as tall as me (admittedly I am quite short) but I keep dipping into it and satisfying the reader and the writer in me. I hope you do too...

Thanks to Imogen Cooper for this, such a wonderfully gentle song: Jonny Kearney & Lucy Farrell singing 'Hares on the Mountain'

Voices and reading

Today is more about characterisation and voice. I was recently advised to read a certain book because it had a good example of the type of voice I was trying to create. I took the advice and read the book waiting for my epiphany. Unfortunately, it didn't come, or rather it did but not in a way I expected. This strong voice that was recommended to me I found to be weak and predictable. Admittedly they were not the main character but even so minor characters have got to be able to stand up for themselves. Make you aware they are there and why. My epiphany was more of a reminder of how much reading is actually subjective. Any reader, whether adult or child does not come to a story empty handed. They arrive full of their past experiences and knowledge ready to take away new knowledge and interpretation for dissemination when they share a good tale.

As reading is subjective I would suggest that as a writer sometimes you just need to follow your gut instinct. Be strong and believe in yourself. You will know if it is not working. Trust that inner voice. Just because one agent or publisher happens to like one style doesn't mean that your style is wrong. It may just not be right for them. Try others. You have to believe in what you are writing and stand by it. If you have doubts then the reader definitely will too.

Equally as important as listening to that inner voice is ensuring you read, and read copiously. Not just books that are within your comfort zone. Challenge yourself. As I mentioned above, about the reader, you will take away from all books you read a bit more knowledge about writing. It might be a style you don't like or a style you love. Words they may have used could inspire you. The more you read the more informed you become as a writer and therefore can have even more faith in that inner voice.

This song is because I love it and Joni plus maybe because  it is time to skate away ready for a new year

Something old, something new, something borrowed....

I have had a week of forced recuperation following surgery. I had promised my children, and many friends, that this time I would let the body heal rather than my normal “I’m fine!” approach where I never actually stop to take a breath regardless of what has been done to me. It also felt like a full stop ending a period in my life. It was a brief moment to take breath before starting the next phase and whatever that might bring. I had planned to write but the brain wasn’t willing. I think the final ultra-stressful last few weeks of intense writing and re-writing in the lead up to submitting my PhD left me with, and as Meg Rosoff has recently highlighted, a writing hangover. So instead of sitting looking at a blinking cursor on an empty screen I decided to read. For the first time for nearly nine years of study and enforced reading (BA, MA and submitting a PhD) I could read anything I wanted to.

So firstly, ‘something old,’ I read Elizabeth Goudge’s The Little White Horse first published in 1946 and also the Carnegie Medal winner for that year. It was one of those books which give no clue to the delight to come when you start with a dark journey across what appears to be a gloomy moor. It is a quest story where the delightful Maria Merryweather with the help of numerous animals helps to make amends for the past misdemeanours of her long dead relatives that lead her into all sorts of dangerous escapades and adventures. As a reader you are taken through the rock tunnel to a sumptuous story that is full of colour. It draws you in then wraps its pages around you like a hug. It is a ‘Pollyanna’ of a book. But don’t get me wrong it is not a sentimental book even though every plot and subplot is neatly tied up by the end of story like every perfect ‘shoelace’ aka plotline should be. It is gentle yet thrilling; romantic yet scary. The characters are a delight and fully rounded. In particular, I fell in love with Marmaduke Scarlet and his ability to cook and his insistence on using the longest words possible in every conversation. On that note I should point out it is a ‘wordy’ book but that is one of the reasons I loved it. It is also one of those books I wished I could have written.

Continuing on the note of past misdemeanours the second book, ‘something new’, is one which deals with some very difficult issues. It is Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace, also a prize winner, but this time it won the Costa Children’s Book Award for 2010. It is a good but truly uncomfortable read as it takes us back to Zimbabwe in the 1980s. It is a school story but a school story like no other I have ever read. It is certainly not Malory Towers. The main character, Robert Jacklin, is from England but has to go to Zimbabwe following his Dad’s new job and is sent to a boarding school there. The war for independence is over and Robert Mugabe has come to power. And I think as an adult maybe it is that fact that meant I found it an uncomfortable read knowing what has since happened to Zimbabwe. You know there must have been people like the characters in this book but it doesn’t make it easier to read, it is not one, unlike the previous book, to wrap itself round you. It is a tense book where you often find yourself holding your breath reading rapidly to see what is going to happen next. There is a rawness to the narrative which I believe relates to the subject matter and the author, Jason Wallace’s ability to use language so economically yet so powerfully. It is just as good a read as The Little White Horse but in a different way. It leaves you with many questions and a definite feeling of ‘what if?’

And finally, ‘something borrowed’ or rather something recommend, which I think is like borrowed as it is like this great friend gave it to me to read when she suggested it. The book is a collection of stories by Alice Munro entitled Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage which was first published in 2001 and is a book for adults – things I have not read a lot of in the last four years! Alice Munro won the 2009 Man Booker International Prize for her lifetime of work. She is an outstanding short story writer and like Wallace her economic use of language just holds you tight and leads you through her short stories, each one of which is like a compact novel. It is something you can dip in and out of when you have a spare moment. It was a delight to read. One of my favourites in the collection, possibly in a slightly macabre way, is ‘Comfort’ where we hear how Nina deals with the suicide of her partner ‘Lewis’. It is a story on so many layers that leaves you feeling quite sated yet frustrated by the end. Her ability with words and her tightness of narrative was inspiring and something I will experiment with in my own writing.

Though I have spent the week reading there has been a lot of pre-writing going on, mulling over things, considering changes I want to make to The Book Protectors’ Daughter. I will not be touching Ham & Jam for a while. It is too painful for me at the moment (fear of finding a mistake) plus it is currently with a publisher at the moment who expressed an interest and wanted to see it when it was PhD ready. ‘Expressed an interest’ was a lovely and secure feeling to be able to say but now it is at risk because at any moment there could be that email that says ‘no thanks’ and you are left trying to work out what to do with it next. I am trying not to think about that bit and it is so difficult to type with your fingers crossed all the time.

I have another week of recuperation before back to work and lecturing so will take the chance to read some more and maybe the hangover will be over and I can start writing again.

But finally to complete the saying....'something blue' Here are The Beatles singing 'For You Blue': http://youtu.be/vcQ0YaAlnww (Youtube is not allowing you to embed things today so am afraid it is a case of using the link and clicking on it - hopefully)

Bakhtin and Mavis Staples

I was reading a piece in the Guardian about the Coalition closing libraries and am aware of the cut in teaching grants for the humanities. It seems to me that obviously the Government is short-sighted enough not to realise that all the scientists, engineers, doctors, they want and are throwing funds at, all need to learn how to read and write. They need access to books and people to write them. They need people to remember our heritage which can be added to by numerous people within Humanities. I could go on but unfortunately it would achieve nothing. This Magritte is how I envisage this current Coalition - something I did not vote for - raining on our parade, taking away our choices and leaving the fat cat bankers still as gloating fat cat bankers.

I have been reading an essay by Bakhtin entitled 'Discourse in the Novel' in which he talks about heteroglossia meaning that language has multiple layers. I was thinking about this in relation to my PhD and realised that the words I use within the thesis cannot help but be influenced by who I am and my cultural experiences. I come at it as an academic, a writer, a female and a mother. Not just a mother though a mother who experienced some fairly difficult times with her sons when they were teenagers which cannot help but influence my writing both academically and creatively. I then thought about the reader. When you a purchase a book you are likely to have no in depth knowledge of the author. It is the cover and the potential that makes you buy probably. However, if someone reads the work of someone they know they must come at it from an informed position. They are going to know and understand some of the layers involved. But this goes further in that I think they will understand what is being said but what is not necessarily on the page. They have insight. Does this make the reading more interesting? I can't decide.

I worked late last night on my PhD (I have a date for submission - 1st April!) consequently my brain was buzzing and wouldn't shut down. I found on the television there was a repeat of Jools Holland's programme. I let the music wrap a blanket round me and soothe my buzzing head. In particular, Mavis Staples, I was introduced to her recently by a good friend who gave me a copy of her CD, which I love. It was the panacea I needed.I am writing this on Sunday but will post it on Monday from the office as that is where I can add music as I would like you to share Mavis's song you are not alone.

Understanding the past helps create the future

This is a painting by the Iranian artist Hasti Akhavan and is entitled 'Past and Future'(and is reproduced with her kind permission).I love the merging of colours which I see as reflecting the merging of the past and future to become one - the present maybe? But what it also reflects is how the past can and does influence the future. Martin Scorsese spoke about this in an interview in the BBC Culture Show this week. He suggested that you have to know the films of the past in order to decide what 'to accept, reject, complain about, hate, love, whatever'...so that you can create the new. I suggested to my students yesterday that this is not just applicable to films it applies to any creative endeavour. An understanding of what comes before you allows/encourages you to become a better writer.

It ties in with the idea that every book you read is going to influence you and that all words have a past. Consequently the better reader you are the better writer you will become as writing is a craft that needs to be mastered/honed through practice and understanding. As Elmore Leonard suggested in the same programme 'Writing is re-writing.' I would be a very rich woman if I had received a pound for every time I have had to defend my creative writing PhD or even lecturing on the said subject. 'But you're just writing, everyone can do that.' If that was the case every one of us would be published and all the books would be identical. There would be no joy in dipping into the glorious words of Kundera or Calvino, or, exploring the worlds of Pratchett and Pullman who take you away from the norm - but only just, whilst tackling Kafka and Dostoevsky - making your mind do somersaults as it comes to terms with some of the images.

Elmore Leonard is right writing is re-writing but not just that it is reading and re-reading. And I am off for a luxurious weekend of doing all that.

This is Paul McCartney singing Ever Present Past with a great video. I can't embed it but worth going to the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCMAV5BEKxk

Readings

A migraine has pounced at least it waited to totally incapacitate me until after I had done my reading. Today all the lecturers on the textual intervention module (which includes me) were asked to read their own work and talk about any TI involved. Seems like a fairly simple thing doesn't it? Until you try and decide which piece of work you are going to read. My PhD novel is in no fit state having just restarted it, a previous novel I have written called Disjointed, about cannabis psychosis, just wouldn't work when read out as I can't do a psychotic voice and it looked better on the page. This left me with a soft fantasy I am writing for 9-12 year olds, called The Book Protectors' Daughter. It is a novel I was loving writing as it was so far removed from my PhD. It was true escapism, but I hadn't shared it with anyone yet and I wasn't sure it was ready. Reading it this morning confirmed that, it was like giving birth to a premature baby and I am now not sure it is going to survive. I may actually have killed it off by showing it too early. It ws gut wrenching.

It made me start wondering if it is only writers that feel like this or do all creative artists in the broadest sense have the same problems. Does a painting stagnate if exposed before its time? Is a piece of music shocked into silence if not ready? Do we prepare our students for these feelings or do we all pretend that we and our work are infallabile? Perhpas they need to know the truth and the reality of being a writer. It is not always an easy ride though in the long run the good outweighs the bad if you truly love writing as I do. Maybe I will get TBPD out of intensive care eventually but until then it is on a life support machine - a usb stick in a drawer...