Think of all the novels you've enjoyed, and I'll bet that a number of them are defined by a sense of place – not just defined, but enhanced. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking any one of the Brontë novels, anything by Thomas Hardy, The French Lieutenant's Woman (wonderful for John Fowles' evocation of Lyme Regis, amongst many other things), Sherlock Holmes (Baker Street), Motherless Brooklyn (New York), I could go on and on.
With publication so competitive at the moment, anything you can do to give your work the edge can only be a benefit, so don't allow the setting of your story to be incidental. Try and track down a place that will resonate with your reader and may provide a useful selling point when it comes to publicity. Although it will involve you in a little more research in the interests of accuracy, setting your story in a specific site rather than somewhere generic you have conjured up from your imagination might work hugely in your favour. And you might have a great deal of fun scouting for locations...
Showing posts with label Thomas Hardy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thomas Hardy. Show all posts
Tuesday, 16 July 2013
Wednesday, 2 January 2013
On the Eighth Day of Christmas My True Love Sent to Me...
...Eight Maids A-Milking... that's to say, eight young women doing something typical of their daily lives. When you're writing fiction and about to introduce your hero or heroine, it's important to show them in action. There are two reasons for this: firstly, it will make the picture you paint of them more vital and alive. You should avoid at all costs the cliche of having a character contemplating their reflection in a mirror, or a shop window, or wherever - it's been done to death and will reveal little of them other than their basic appearance. Far better to show them in dynamic mode, having a blazing row, or an achingly solitary drink, or walking away from someone that they love. Immediately you have parachuted your reader into the middle of a situation which, if you are skilful enough in developing it, will fire up their curiosity to know more.
As well as showing your main character in an engagingly vibrant fashion, it is also helpful if they are doing something which is typical of them: you want to encapsulate the ordinary world they inhabit in a way that contrasts with, yet at the same time anticipates (nobody said it was easy) the drama of the story which is about to unfold. In terms of maids a-milking, think Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy's novel opens with the local parson telling Tess's hopeless old father that he has discovered the family is descended from a noble line, information which sets in train a series of events leading to Tess's encounter with Alec D'Urberville, who turns out to be her nemesis. Tess herself is first seen at the Mayday dance, dressed all in white to symbolise her purity, though she is the only girl wearing a red ribbon, anticipating the bloodshed that comes later in the story. In the opening scenes, Hardy provides us with a lens through which to view the story as a whole.
As well as showing your main character in an engagingly vibrant fashion, it is also helpful if they are doing something which is typical of them: you want to encapsulate the ordinary world they inhabit in a way that contrasts with, yet at the same time anticipates (nobody said it was easy) the drama of the story which is about to unfold. In terms of maids a-milking, think Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy's novel opens with the local parson telling Tess's hopeless old father that he has discovered the family is descended from a noble line, information which sets in train a series of events leading to Tess's encounter with Alec D'Urberville, who turns out to be her nemesis. Tess herself is first seen at the Mayday dance, dressed all in white to symbolise her purity, though she is the only girl wearing a red ribbon, anticipating the bloodshed that comes later in the story. In the opening scenes, Hardy provides us with a lens through which to view the story as a whole.
Monday, 5 November 2012
Help from Your Favourite Heroines
What is it that makes a character in a novel memorable? Perhaps it would help to answer this question by asking it in a different way: who are the characters you most remember? If you can come up with the who, it might lead you to the why and that in turn might be of help when you are conjuring your own protagonists out of that thin, thin air.
In terms of heroines, my younger self would probably say Scarlet O'Hara from Gone with the Wind, but more mature contenders would be Anna Karenina, Nana, the heroine from the Zola's book of the same name, and Tess of the D'Urbevilles
Why Scarlett O'Hara? Because she is so flawed and so beautiful– she behaves badly, has no moral compass and no self-knowledge. Because she is punished for all of these things and remains indomitable.
Why Anna Karenina? Why Nana? Both of them find themselves on the outside of society, one as an adulteress, the other as a prostitute. They're not conventional, nor are they seen as ideals of womanhood. They are compromised and unhappy and the dilemmas they face seem real. Anna ends by hitting the self-destruct button, Nana ruins every man she comes into contact with. The terrible workings of cause and effect in both their lives are plain to see. The same is true of Tess, whose unfortunate seduction by Alec is her social and moral and doing. She is both victim and avenger.
Perhaps there's a bit of the theme emerging here. The women I have chosen all have tragic stature because their fall from grace is so vertiginous. With the exception of Anna, these women fight back, they show resilience. Their behaviour is extreme and in some ways subversive, and three out of four of them end by dying, something which makes the stakes of their respective stories extremely high. They are passionate, risk-taking and rebellious, and yet beneath this we glimpse their vulnerability, qualities which form a combustible mix.
When you are thinking about your next project, it might be helpful to conduct a brief survey of the heroines you admire. If you can work out what it is that attracts you to them, you are halfway to being able to endow your own protagonist with their feistiness, or their fragile glamour, or whatever it was that drew you to them in the first place.
In terms of heroines, my younger self would probably say Scarlet O'Hara from Gone with the Wind, but more mature contenders would be Anna Karenina, Nana, the heroine from the Zola's book of the same name, and Tess of the D'Urbevilles
Why Scarlett O'Hara? Because she is so flawed and so beautiful– she behaves badly, has no moral compass and no self-knowledge. Because she is punished for all of these things and remains indomitable.
Why Anna Karenina? Why Nana? Both of them find themselves on the outside of society, one as an adulteress, the other as a prostitute. They're not conventional, nor are they seen as ideals of womanhood. They are compromised and unhappy and the dilemmas they face seem real. Anna ends by hitting the self-destruct button, Nana ruins every man she comes into contact with. The terrible workings of cause and effect in both their lives are plain to see. The same is true of Tess, whose unfortunate seduction by Alec is her social and moral and doing. She is both victim and avenger.
Perhaps there's a bit of the theme emerging here. The women I have chosen all have tragic stature because their fall from grace is so vertiginous. With the exception of Anna, these women fight back, they show resilience. Their behaviour is extreme and in some ways subversive, and three out of four of them end by dying, something which makes the stakes of their respective stories extremely high. They are passionate, risk-taking and rebellious, and yet beneath this we glimpse their vulnerability, qualities which form a combustible mix.
When you are thinking about your next project, it might be helpful to conduct a brief survey of the heroines you admire. If you can work out what it is that attracts you to them, you are halfway to being able to endow your own protagonist with their feistiness, or their fragile glamour, or whatever it was that drew you to them in the first place.
Friday, 17 August 2012
An Alphabet of Better Writing # S
S is for...Setting
The setting of a story can be crucial. It's certainly never incidental and you shouldn't underestimate the importance of it. Apparently writer Catherine Czerkawska discovered to her dismay that publishers wouldn't take a gamble on her lovely novel The Amber Heart in spite of her established track record because it was set in Poland!
When you are framing a story in your head, don't consider the setting in purely commercial terms, either. A well-handled location can add immeasurably to a reader's enjoyment of a book: would we remember Wuthering Heights if it weren't for the wild beauty of the Yorkshire moors? Would Thomas Hardy's Wessex Novels be so memorable without -- well -- Wessex? You should give setting at least as much importance as a minor character in your story.
When you are working on place, it is important to be authentic and accurate -- even if the location exists only in your head, you need to be consistent. As with the use of any kind of detail, less is more, so aim for quality rather than quantity when you are bringing the landscape of your narrative to life -- brevity is the soul of everything, not just wit.
If you want some practice - a little writing exercise - try describing the picture below.
Think about colour, texture, geology, the weather, the smell, the silence, the history of the place, what it means to your protagonist and what dramatic potential it might have. When you have written your piece, cut twenty percent of it and see what you are left with.
On your marks, get set...
The setting of a story can be crucial. It's certainly never incidental and you shouldn't underestimate the importance of it. Apparently writer Catherine Czerkawska discovered to her dismay that publishers wouldn't take a gamble on her lovely novel The Amber Heart in spite of her established track record because it was set in Poland!
When you are framing a story in your head, don't consider the setting in purely commercial terms, either. A well-handled location can add immeasurably to a reader's enjoyment of a book: would we remember Wuthering Heights if it weren't for the wild beauty of the Yorkshire moors? Would Thomas Hardy's Wessex Novels be so memorable without -- well -- Wessex? You should give setting at least as much importance as a minor character in your story.
When you are working on place, it is important to be authentic and accurate -- even if the location exists only in your head, you need to be consistent. As with the use of any kind of detail, less is more, so aim for quality rather than quantity when you are bringing the landscape of your narrative to life -- brevity is the soul of everything, not just wit.
If you want some practice - a little writing exercise - try describing the picture below.
On your marks, get set...
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