Category: on writing

The problem with “I”

Thoughts on writing in first person

I normally write, and read, novels in the third person. Writing my collaborative writing project in first person was hard. Often I would write a scene in third person then go back to rewrite it in first. Eventually, when I really got into the book and was writing daily, it became habit.

Some books written in first person feel basic; you can’t get away from the voice of the point of view character, it feels like they’re telling you a story and every sentence seems to start with “I”, something I tried very hard to avoid. But when first person perspective is done well, I stop noticing. (Similarly with present tense which I’ve never even attempted to write because it seems almost impossible, but done well is great.)

The way third person perspective is written these days it feels like first person anyway; you follow one character, have access to their thoughts and feelings. Occasionally there are multiple point of view characters (which honestly can get really confusing, so much so that authors put the characters name on each of their chapters).

The way that Austen writes is so complex, so skilled, it’s difficult to pick apart the nuance. In Emma for example, we see things from the title characters perspective but Emma is an unreliable narrator; what she sees is not necessarily the truth – we believe it however, because it’s told to the reader as though it is fact. But somehow little bits of knowledge unknown to Emma creep into the narrative. Mrs Weston and Mr Knightley discuss Emma when she isn’t there so it can’t all be coming from her. The voice of another narrator, the author, may hint what Emma is missing.

Austen is well known for being one of the pioneers (she didn’t create it, but she was an early adopter) of free indirect discourse which is a fancy way of saying first and third person are blended. Austen is still narrating (third person) but she allows us to peek into the minds of her characters (first person), occasionally even the narrator seems to speak in the voice of a character. But, it takes a lot of skill to pull this off and isn’t really accepted in novels these days – you do first or third and that’s it.

Hmm, it appears I’ve wandered off from my original topic of first person narratives and landed in praise of Austen – not like that’s unexpected!

Write for the rubbish bin

First drafts should be “long and incoherent and hideous” according to Anne Lamott (Bird By Bird). She talks about any writers greatest fear is being hit by a bus and leaving an awful draft behind for people to discover. I think her book is also where I learnt the concept of writing for the rubbish bin.

One of my long term writing clients really struggles with the blank page. Once they’ve got words it’s easier. But no words? No way. We recently got to the root of this issue; perfectionism. They want every sentence, every word, they write to be good.

Unfortunately that’s not how writing often goes. Though I do know some people who’s first draft is better than my fifth (you know who you are), it’s rare. We write crap, then we edit or rewrite till it’s better.

Writing for the rubbish bin means to write as though you’re going to throw it out anyway. But then you don’t. When you come back to it later (whenever that is) you may find it wasn’t as terrible as you thought. Some of it may be salvageable, all of it may be salvageable with a little editing or some tweaks.

We are our own worst critics and that stops us from achieving. I’ve met many people who write better than me, first draft or tenth draft, but they don’t allow themselves to finish. They are reaching for the unattainable.

Traditionally published books still have the odd typo; that little fighter than managed to stay there through several edits by the author, editor and publishing house. It happens.

What I’m working on with this writing client (and also a coaching client) is to create something imperfect. Make perfectly messy progress. If we fuck up, that’s how we learn. But if we’re too scared to try then we never learn to walk (or write).

If you’re interested in a writing session with me you can read more here

Bag A Boyfriend

My latest release

Imagine the tackiest dating show; everything is sponsored – even some of the contestants. Instead of a rose each week the bachelor replacement gives out handbags, hence the name Bag a Boyfriend.

Sound terrible? Wait, it gets worse.

The “boyfriend” is so unsure of himself they’ve given him an earpiece to tell him how to act. Each of the contestants is a type: funny, bitchy, beautiful, smart, serious and a party girl.

And the whole thing is compressed into one week of filming.

Add to that you didn’t want to be there in the first place; your mother is literally Mrs Bennet from Pride and Prejudice.

Sound like your kinda book? Check it out

Huia Short Stories 14

This year I entered the Pikihuia short story awards jointly run by Huia Publishers and the Māori Literature Trust. I got long listed and included in the above book which is my first foray into traditional publishing. If you’d like more details, including a list of other authors, go here.

Austen Times

The State of My Life is delayed. I got distracted with a side project and quite brutal with myself about the state of the manuscript. But the side project should be finished soon and I hope to publish by the end of the year.

This has been a busy year with a lot of Austen things going on. I spent two weeks in the UK, speaking at the Jane Austen Society of London, visiting museums, seeing Bath, Jane Austen’s house at Chawton…plus a Harry Potter Studio tour and Harry Potter and The Cursed Child. It was a breath of fresh air from my normal life.

People always ask if I’ve been to Chawton. Part of the reason for my trip was so I could feel “legitimate” running the Austen Society. So I stood in front of an audience in London with a green streak in my hair and managed not to swear. Then I went to Chawton and tried on a pelisse which makes me look like red riding hood. I am a consummate professional.

There have been two Austen meetings since then, and another coming up next month. There’s also been; an Austen play (each novel in 15 minutes!), an Austen afternoon tea (where I was the only one screaming the answers to questions), an Austen movie night with friends, taking a visiting speaking to Te Papa, and a free online Austen course (which I never completed). Upcoming is another night with Austen friends to prepare for the cards meeting next month and I still have a copy of What Kitty Did Next waiting for me to read and review.

My primary school principal, who I visited recently, asked if I had any hobbies or played any sports. His wife admonished him, “wasn’t she the kid you always found reading in the hallway?” Yeah, I haven’t changed that much.

I drove straight through my childhood town on my way to research New Plymouth for The State of My Life but I did stop at Cobb & Co with my road trip companions. We had a great time then the baby threw up on himself but still he managed to smile through the spew in his eye.

All I remember of New Plymouth, as a kid, was the mall. I somehow missed that it’s amazingly beautiful. When I was younger I wanted to get out, live somewhere else. But now I found myself drawn back, I like the pace of life.

My editor, and best friend, Cassie, drove me around telling about the city. Places have their own personalities and I want to capture that. She showed me a park, looking over the sea, I’m going to set a scene right here:

The State of My Life

“Here I am, the early hours of the morning in a strange apartment with a girl I barely know and I can’t sleep. When you factor in all the big unknowns; Sophie, Fred, New York, the state of my life, I suppose it’s not surprising that I can’t sleep.”

I’m pleased to announce my next project; The State of My Life. It’s currently in draft, I’m planning to publish in September.

You might have picked up that it’s set in America, at least part of it, but the main character is a kiwi. Austen influences this time are Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.

Once I have a confirmed release date I’ll let you know.

Am I pretty enough to win the crown?

Remember how I published a book last year?

 Yeah that one.

If you liked it (and I hope you did) you can now nominate it for a Sir Julius Vogel Award.

Alternately if you like the cover (it is so fucking pretty) you can nominate my cover artist Kate Strawbridge. (You can read my post about creating the cover.)

You can nominate here

Nomination details:

Title of Work or Name of Person: Beautiful Abomination

Author/Artist: Frances Duncan (or Kate Strawbridge)

Category: Best Novella (or best Artwork)

Publisher: Independent

Contact information for nominee: frances@francesduncanwrites.com

Other information: http://www.francesduncanwrites.com (or https://www.dwelldesignpress.com/)

Cover story

BA - Mockup 1There’s an old maxim to not judge a book by its cover. But let’s be honest, we do.

My cover designer, Kate, talked about my latest cover at Lexicon. She used it to illustrate the journey from original cover (left – her design) to final cover (right – a collaborative effort).

The original is gorgeous but not really my style. I wanted something a little dark, a vampire that looked human, and an element to represent the earthquake.

You’ll notice the text remains, in fact the formatting for my name is the same as on my previous book giving a nice continuity (despite the very different genres).

Beautiful Abomination_ECover v2

The image on the left is one I took of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament when I was in Christchurch for Word Christchurch last year. The cathedral appears in the book as a sanctuary so I wanted to include an image of its ruins.

The image on the right is one Kate found. It looks much more human than a similar image I found, especially when we removed the red eyes. I loved it so much I rewrote a couple of scenes to make reference to the pouty lips of the model/character.

This cover is perfect for my book and a great example of what you can create when you work together. (If you like the original, contact Kate, she intends to sell it as a pre-made.)

 

Word Christchurch

It would have been great to write about Word Christchurch while it was still fresh in my mind but I had a busy week. After a full weekend away I had a lot to catch up on, plus I had a bit of a cold, then I met someone wonderful, and I had work, and other work, and life in general. So here is my post on Word Christchurch a week later.

My motivator for attending Word Christchurch was to see Caitlin Doughty who, through her web series Ask a Mortician, changed the way I view death. I made an idiot of myself when I met her (as you do when you meet someone you admire) but she was great about it. The sold out Ask a Mortician could have been better if they’d just given Caitlin the floor. The speakers at the Embracing Death session shared a pro choice (if I can borrow the abortion term) stance on the option of assisted dying. I had expected some debate but was pleasantly surprised.

The finalists for the  Ngaio Marsh crime writing awards gave us little glimpses into their works. It’s an experience to hear a story from the mouth of the writer. The Great Divide (between intellectualism and pop culture) didn’t impress but I went into it with the mindset that it would be about pretentious writers – one did actually use that word to identify himself. My favourite session was The Nerd Degree. Two ladies (one of them Caitlin) faced off against two men and completely trounced them. The men sadly embodied the socially awkward nerds whereas the women were articulate. I won’t spoil it any further as the pod cast is coming out soon. Several people came away from the festival with a crush on Ivan Coyote; I wish I had attended one of their talks.

Sunday morning I interviewed former National Librarian Penny Carnaby (completely unrelated to the festival). She is an amazing individual. The topics ranged from politics, her work at the National Library and life advice (apparently I should go towards the things I’m afraid of – I have been doing a lot of that lately).

Christchurch is a beautiful city I am so grateful to have visited. There was beauty in the ruins. If I had a job, friends, or family there I’d move. I went for wander to get a feel for the city and do research for my current book. It’s given me a lot of ideas so I can get back to writing.

Progress and letting go

My own darling child* has been out in the world for a month now. I thought it would be difficult to let Alison go as she lived in my head for year. But once she/it was published she was gone. I think there may even come a time when I read Alison and am surprised at what I find. I’ve been letting go of a lot of things this year. It’s difficult but it’s making me a better writer and a better person.

Continue reading Progress and letting go