Costa Blanca News’ weekly feature supporting local writers, in conjunction with Writers' Ink
WELCOME to our Writers’ Ink group’s weekly words. We provide news, views, tips and examples of writing by authors and poets, local and beyond.
Founded in 2010 by WordPlay, our purpose is to encourage writers to write and get them published and read. Keep writing! Warm greetings,
EVERY week, it seems, some writer will upset another writer from the way they – well... write!
As taste often comes into the equation, it is natural in the scheme of things. To use, or not to use, a Foreword is one beef; writing in different tenses now and then comes under the microscope, and recently, the use of too many flashbacks has featured.
Most mature, well-known authors – when asked how to write a book - usually advise ‘there are no hard and fast rules’ and, unless you write a load of gobbledegook, I reckon that's about right. It all comes down to taste. Naturally, new writers want to produce a bestseller, or at least a tome that sells more than a few copies and then dies.
But, let's go back to flashbacks. It is a fact of life, that we all experience them. Those few bars of a long-forgotten song which appear in your head at 03.00, or 'seeing' an old friend on your retina, seemingly out of the blue which leaves you bewildered... It is a fact that our brains store a mind-blowing amount of old information and memories, so it's hardly surprising that it gets a bit crowded in there and some snippets emerge for a breath of air now and then. Surely, when writing about life, it is only natural to include such memories sparingly.
Overuse is obviously not a good idea. The key, surely, is to weave in a few here and there, but do make them as seamless as possible. After all, if included, subtly, in a murder story, an unusual flashback memory could solve the case!
Always fascinated by people's habits, and aware of the huge differences in their tastes and life-styles, I came across a few notable exceptions to the norm – although what ‘the norm’ itself constitutes, is in itself, debatable. Take Hunter S. Thompson. On reading about his almost daily habits, how he ever wrote a sensible sentence, beggars belief! His habits were way over the top of anyone's imagination. He admits to a daily habit of drinking vast quantities of wine and many other liquid substances, in between taking regular amounts of cocaine and weed. And he didn't seem to care what he ate either. Lots of fried food was mentioned… One wonders if he had a death wish!
In stark contrast, Philip Larkin worked most days, hardly ever ventured out and enjoyed the 'sameness' of his existence. Proving just how different we all are. Anton Chekhov loved idleness and dreamt of a 'plump young girl' as his ideal… and fully enjoyed an idle life. Then again, Patricia Highsmith enjoyed a stiff drink before writing and, almost every day, tucked into fried eggs and bacon to 'keep me happy while writing'. A writer I am not familiar with: Djuna Barnes, lived alone in almost silence, for 40 years, although an earlier friend stated that, when she visited Djuna, she talked so much it gave her a headache.
Even despite certain differences, visibly, many of us look similar, but when it comes to our characteristics, habits, etc., they are vast and fascinating. What a gift for wordsmiths!
In these troubling, uncertain times, keep well. Onwards and upwards.
Sincerely,
Joy Lennick
Ink Spot E-zine ks2rescue@gmail.com
joylennick@gmail.com