Pink Cage Resurrected

Yesterday, I got my book sample for the brand new edition of The Pink Cage. The books are winging their way to me as we speak. Here’s a sample of what you can expect. Bright, durable cover. Print of a generous size. And oh, that parchmenty paper, with the heady smell of freshly-pressed ink. Yes, I know I have issues.

Anyway, check it out.

 

Apostrophic Errors

A fellow apostrophe warrior tipped me off to this tragic case of apostrophe abuse.l Such a misunderstood little mark.

What exactly belongs to this Oreo?

A Year of Two Book Covers

This time last year, I was all excited when my publishers, Book Republic, sent me this cover.

 

A year later, same book, same cover designer, different cover.  And different publisher…me.

Follow me over the next few week, as I document The Pink Cage’s journey back to life.

 

 

The Thick Plottens

I’ve a confession to make. As a character-driven writer, I’ve tended to see plot as a one-dimensional device. As I’ve said before, it’s the match that lights the flame of story. But beyond that, it never occurred to me to pay attention to it.

Recently though, when I was preparing notes for creative writing workshops, I realised that plot is as rich and varied as any other aspects of writing. I began to identify some common plot structures that writers use.

 1. Quest Narrative

The classic plot structure, common to all fairytales and fantasy novels and more subtly present in realist novels. A character must go on a quest to save their civilisation and/or themselves. They usually face a dangerous enemy, or physical challenges. They have a companion to help them, but ultimately, they must carry on alone to complete their quest. But beneath all the heroics, all they want to do is go home to their love.

2. Linear Plot

In this plot, events unfold in a straight line from start to finish. This is the plot most commonly used in thrillers. It carries readers along with it, then puts you down, shaken and exhilarated.

3. Flashback Plot

In this plot, the action moves between past and present, which slows down the pace and builds suspense, as you wait to see what the flashback sequences reveal about the characters. Commonly used in literary and women’s fiction novels.

4. Chinese Box

This structure is less common, but can be intriguing. It’s a story within a story within a story. One story reveals another story, like boxes continually opening. It’s used in a lot of classics, like The Brothers Karamasov by Dostoevsky and it was used to thrilling effect in my favourite short story, The Marvellous Story of Henry Sugar by Roald Dahl.

5. The Humpty Dumpty Plot

 This is a modern version of the quest narrative, except that the journey is internal. A character is broken down by life, or by their destructive actions. They must find a way to redeem themselves, so that they can put themselves together again.

 

6. Character Plot

You can still create an exciting plot without a lot of action, simply through compelling interactions between characters. There are books where nothing happens, but they smoulder with suppressed tension until they catch fire in a spectacular manner.

Time for me now to go off and come up with a cracking plot.

Author Jonathan Franzen said anyone with

Author Jonathan Franzen said anyone with an Internet connection can’t be writing good fiction. So what am I doing here?

Blog Tour: The 10K Record by Christopher Healy

This week, I’m honoured to be part of a blog tour for a unique book, The 10K Record by Christopher Healy, which will be launched on Saturday, May 5th. It’s a tale about a 10K dive in the murky waters of Lough Derg. Christopher Healy is a scuba-diving supremo with his own diving school in Co. Clare. When his only son Stephen developed non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, he reached out to help him in the best way he knew how – by undertaking a record-breaking 10K dive. He decided to do it for Share a Dream, which had been very supportive of Stephen and his family during his illness.

The 10K Record – the tale of an epic dive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the other blogs on this blog tour will tell you of the sacrifice,   courage and determination involved in such a venture. But as far as  I’m concerned, the dive wasn’t Christopher’s only brave deed. It   takes a lot of courage to commit your words to paper, especially if   you’re more used to wielding an underwater pen than a humble biro.

This book beautifully captures the humour, the hardship and the   heroism involved in undertaking a venture like this. The pictures   accompanying the words also tell the story. I salute Christopher, his   wife Trish and his diving colleagues for committing their experiences to paper with such honesty. This is a great story and because of this  book, it will last forever.

That’s why I’d like to encourage all my readers to buy this book. Not only will you feel the warm glow of supporting a charity that changes children’s lives, you’ll get a good story for your money too. You can buy it by clicking on Christopher Healy’s Authors Page, where they’ll be available from Sunday 6th May onwards. If you’re more of an old fashioned creature, you can pre-order your book at Hughes & Hughes bookshop in Ennis.

You can also get your hands on a free signed copy of The 10K Record. Just leave a comment here, or go over to Facebook, like the  Atlantic Diving School Facebook Page and leave your comment there – or leave a comment in both places and double your chances! Your comment must begin with the words Today I’m Diving. It need not have anything to do with water – you can be diving into tea, biscuits or laundry! If you leave your comment before tomorrow, you’ll get a personal message on your book.

Best of luck to Christopher and his team for the launch tomorrow at Hughes & Hughes bookstore in Ennis. Enjoy it – it’s an exciting time.  This is the second last stop on the tour. Be sure to read the verdicts of my fellow bloggers, all excellent writers. There’s Marie Ennis O’Connor of Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer, Catherine A. Connors, the brains behind the blog tour, at De-Stress 4 Life and Derry O’Donnell at Life and Fitness Mag. Christina Giliberi will round things off at  CG Online Marketing

.

 

 

The Story Cottage

This coming Tuesday, I’m doing a talk and a reading for a local active retirement group. I’ll be telling them where the idea for my novel, The Pink Cage, came from. And I will tell them it all began in a cottage in Co. Clare, Ireland. A white stone cottage, with a hob by the fire.

Where Stories Begin

I arrived there fresh from a Masters in Journalism which hadn’t proved quite the golden career ticket I’d originally imagined. I’d dutifully sent out my CVs and Cormac McConnell, an old-school journalist, was one of the few to reply. He was Head of News at a local radio station and invited me down for a week’s trial. When I asked what accommodation was available, he told me I could stay with himself and his wife, at the aforementioned cottage.

Cormac met me at the bus station, a glorious stereotype of a journalist: white beard, cigarette in hand, coffee at the ready. In true journalistic style, he shot straight from the hip. Within minutes, he told me he couldn’t give me a job, because he needed someone who could see well enough to chase ambulances around the back roads of Co. Clare. But during that week, he taught me how to tell my own story and I still think of that week as one of the greatest in my life.

As a seasoned journalist, Cormac had a keen eye for an angle. Over chats by the roaring fire and cups of ‘sleepy tea,’ we explored the angles my own life offered for stories. It turned out that my poor eyesight, the thing that had prevented me from getting the job, yielded a rich seam of ideas that I could mine. My family’s links with the countryside and country sports could also prove fruitful.

Hearing Stories

During the day, I went with Cormac to the radio station, which I helped the news team gather stories. Cormac’s style of journalism is folksy, rooted in the countryside and local stories. He had a programme where local people could ring and tell him whatever was in their heads. He was an empathic host, skilled at getting them to open up.

On my last day, a man rang in with some trifling complaint about traffic. In the course of his chat, he let slip that he was a cycling postman. Cormac seized on this gem and tapped into a story about a way of life that’s now almost extinct. The man’s father had been a cycling postman and his grandfather had been a walking postman. The man painted a vivid portrait of men braving all weathers to bring people a link to the outside world. That was when I felt the true power of story: simple, beautiful, eloquent.

The Story Goes On

In the coming years, I panned the mine of ideas Cormac had helped me tap into. I wrote about assistive technology for people with disabilities, skiing trips, the Countryside Alliance, Macra na Feirme and research into eye conditions. But I found that journalism didn’t quite give me the freedom I needed to say the things I wanted to say about what it’s like to be visually impaired.  As the bottom began to fall out of feature writing, the novel began to take shape. When it was published, I made sure to send Cormac a copy.

How to Sell Yourself Without Selling Out

Throughout history, artists have always had a special place in society. It was recognised that their contribution to society went beyond the financial and people were willing to support them so that they would have the space to create their masterpieces. Let’s face it, it made the rich patrons feel good to have an artist around, so they could show all their friends they weren’t just about the money. And if an artist was dirt poor and had no financial support, it didn’t matter – they were an artist.

Unfortunately, or so it seems to me at least, that mentality is now gone. Artists are expected to fit in with society. That means they usually have to do another job with their art to make ends meet. Grants are getting scarcer and scarcer. When an artist finishes a piece of art, they’re is expected to treat their work as a product and promote it. In other words, they have to sell themselves, a concept that fills many of them with curdling resentment.

Shouldn’t an artist’s work speak for itself? Well yes, but only if there are people to listen. The world is increasingly fragmented and people’s attention is getting harder and harder to hold. If you want them to know about your work, you have to tell them about it. That’s the secret to selling work as an artist – selling by telling.

You don’t need a fancy campaign. You don’t need to spend a lot of money. You don’t need to be in people’s faces. You just tell them about your work, the thing you are most passionate about.

When you’re finished your work, the ink or paint is dry, the last note written, the last line learned, have a brainstorm with yourself. Think about what inspired you to create the work, what process you went through to finish it, what message you wanted it to portray. In other words, tell the story of your work.

When you’ve done that, there are some wonderful free tools you can use to tell your story. You’ll be familiar with these already. The social media tools: Facebook, Twitter, blogs. Then the good old traditional media. Your local newspaper or radio station will be your greatest champion. Make sure you accompany your words with good pictures. That’s what’ll really speak to people.

You’ve worked hard to get to this point.  Wouldn’t it be a shame if that work went unrecognised. This is where artists have lessons to learn from the business community. Business people aren’t afraid to put a value on their work. If artists do the same, their status will rise and they will get the following they deserve.

 

Today in camp, the children created char

Today in camp, the children created characters and brought them to life, with some hilarious acting. And I got an extra student.

A happy, writerly Easter to all my frien

A happy, writerly Easter to all my friends, followers and fans. Talk to you soon.