Cornerstones of writing

Over at The View From Here, Mike is running a competition. He's in the process of posting a three-part interview with Helen Corner of Cornerstones Literary Consultancy, and is offering a prize for the best answer to the question: What do you think the four cornerstones of good writing are? This got me thinking and playing around with a few ideas, and of course it's always a challenge to know what to include and what to leave out when you're limited to four observations. How to prioritise? Why choose one thing and not another? Anyway, I had a go, and I've enjoyed the process if only because it's forced me to articulate my thinking about something that's an essential part of who I am. So here they are (rip them apart or suggest alternatives in the Comments box below, but put an entry into the competition at The View From Here too):

ENJOY. Write because you’re passionate about writing and because you get an addictive kick out of shaping ideas and images and stories from the written word ... and from the silences created by the absence of the written word. Hopefully, such passion will sing and dance and grieve and shout from every word that’s written, which in turn will infect and affect the reader. Furthermore, try and discover all the reasons you want to write, and be wary if fame, fortune or revenge appears in any great measure.
READ widely (and wildly). Read everything, from ancient literature to contemporary literature; read the good, the bad and the ugly; read newspapers and graphic novels and poems and plays and telephone directories and bus tickets; read other people and read yourself (and call it observation, if you like); read the weather, read politics, read the critics. And be critical: of what you read and how it’s written, and of what you write or choose not to write, of how people think and communicate and fail to communicate. Read and be critical of language and form and convention, and what works at a given point in time, and what doesn’t work, or no longer works, and why.
SHOW, don’t tell. This may well be an over-stated cornerstone, but it makes it no less true, no less significant. If I were to have anything tattooed on my forehead (in mirror-writing of course) it would be: llet t’nob ,wohS . The most obvious of lessons, but the hardest thing to maintain.
KNOW that there are no new stories, only new ways of interpreting and retelling old ones. I find this a liberating and empowering cornerstone of writing, because instead of struggling to invent a unique sequence of events that will force characters to interact in a unique way, I can focus instead on the telling of the story. I believe it’s important to know that it’s okay to borrow the basic dynamics of an idea from history or folklore or fairytales or whatever, from Shakespeare or Sophocles or whoever, because all storytellers build on borrowed stories. Stories reflect our cultural heritage and, whilst they often seem to end up in similar places (in terms of the resolution of conflict, and the growth of characters, or the view that’s presented of the world we’ve created for ourselves), it’s the adventure and the path we take towards each of these places that should be the most unique, interesting and compelling part of the journey.

PS. In searching for an image of Billy Shakespeare and Smiley Sophocles for this post, it struck me that dear old Will's portrait bore an uncanny resemblance to Marcel Duchamp's 'Mona Lisa with a Beard (L.H.C.O.O.Q.)', which is why she too appears here.

Upcoming Author Events: Watch My Video Central....... Coming soon!

Marley Gibson - Author of Sorority 101

Welcome to “Up Close & Personal.” For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing her views and insights, as well as upcoming literary events around the world.

Today’s interview is with Marley Gibson, writing as Kate Harmon. She's the author of "Sorority 101" a must-read book for everyone who dreams to be in the sorority. "Sorority 101" is about three girls with true friendship and their bond of sisterhood.

EI: Would you share some early insight into who you were as a teenager with your readers? What were you like as a teen? Please tell us more about Marley Gibson -- the woman behind the author.

M. GIBSON: Wow. . . as a teenager, I was a northern-born girl growing up in the deep south. I was your typical band geek, and then, eventually a varsity cheerleader. I was in the Honor Society and Who’s Who and all of that, but I was really into school spirit and participation, event planning and being in every club imaginable. In the summer between my freshman and sophomore year, I was diagnosed with bone cancer, which I was treated for and beat. It certainly changed my outlook on life. . .not that I didn’t appreciate things, but fighting a disease that could possible leave you with only one leg is a lot more eye-opening than who’s dating who and who’s not speaking to what person.

EI: Do you express your inner self in your writing or do the personas you create exist only in your imagination?

M. GIBSON: Good question. The answer is both. That’s not a cop-out, but how can you not express your inner self when you’re opening up emotions and pouring words onto a page? But I do love creating characters and deciding what they’re like, what their challenges are, what they look like, etc. I wrote eleven (11) manuscripts before my sorority series sold and a lot of those characters are very real and 3D to me. I tend to put expressions of myself into my stories, like what I like to eat, drink, music I listen to, etc. Write what you know, right?

EI: What is your response to the public perception that writers’ creative insight and energy is frequently the product of personal conflict?

M. GIBSON: I haven’t really experienced that perception yet, but I do know of other writer friends who have run into that. You know, life is full of personal conflict and conflict is what fuels fiction. So, if people want to bring their insight and energies into their writing, I have no problem with it. It’s all in the execution. As a fan of reading, I’m just looking for a compelling story that keeps me turning the pages.

EI: What would you like to say to writers who are reading this interview and wondering if they can keep creating, if they are good enough, if their voices and visions matter enough to share?

M. GIBSON: Well, I say. . . anyone who wants to write and feels they have characters in their head and a story to tell. . . quit talking about it and thinking about it and just sit down and do it! You never know what you’re capable of until you try it. Everyone has a voice and a vision. Some people just express it in writing. Others through song, or dance, or painting, or in working with old people, or taking care of little animals. I believe we’re all creative and have the ability within us. It’s honing so much about honing your craft and practicing and just doing it!

EI: Many writers describe themselves as "character" or "plot" writers. Which are you? And what do you find to be the hardest part of writing?

M. GIBSON: I am a plotter allllllllllll the way. I can’t start writing a story until I can see it in my head, from start to finish, like a movie – from opening to closing credits, complete with full orchestration and soundtrack. Seriously. At that point, I write an outline or synopsis and then just start writing. I type about 100 words per minute, so once I can fully visualize my story, I just get it out of my head as fast as I can and then go back and polish, straighten and tighten to make it better. The hardest part of writing? Well, I think for a lot of people, it’s just giving yourself permission to sit at the computer and do it. I know too many people who are hesitant to write—although they have stories—because they’re afraid of what other people will think. Who cares?! Write for yourself. Write for the pure enjoyment of it. Write because if you don’t, you’ll explode. For me, the hardest part of writing is believing that my ideas are sellable. But then, I plow forward on them anyway.

EI: Are you armed with notebook and pen at all the times? Do you always carry your laptop or PDA with you to write?

M. GIBSON: Oh, you know it! I have about three notebooks of various shapes that I keep with me at all times. When I’m working on a story, I keep my AlphaSmart Neo with me. I have a flash drive that I carry with me everywhere that has everything I’ve ever written on it. You never know when you can pull a scene from a five year old manuscript, spruce it up, and add it to the work in progress. I have to say that I’m constantly thinking of ideas, directions, new characters and am always testing out dialogue in my head. I know. . . I sound like a crazy person!

EI: Do you let anyone read your manuscript, before you send it to your editor or agent?

M. GIBSON: Sure. . . I think you have to. I have a very solid, trustworthy critique partner, whom I’ve known since 2002. We started out on this whole writer’s journey at the same time and experienced some of the same pitfalls and successes. She sold her series a year before I did, but I was just as happy for her than had I sold. And the same thing for her when I sold. We have similar voices and the same warped sense of humor, so we’re able to help each other out. I also have some trusted readers who’ll just read through and give me their overall impressions and not a line-by-line critique. When you work on a manuscript, your eye can become married to it and you can skip over typos, grammatical errors, and missed words. I think it’s essential to have fresh set of eyes on it – especially before submitting to an agent or editor.

EI: Was there anyone who really influenced you to become a writer?

M. GIBSON: I would say my parents encouraged me to be creative. Whether that was playing the piano or trumpet as a teenager or doing advertising campaigns in college or writing marketing and public relation pieces in my professional career, they always stressed that I use the talents given to me to the best of my ability. I always excelled in English and Writing classes, so I think it’s only natural that I fell into writing as a beloved hobby.

EI: Now let’s shift gears here for a second... . tell us what is the premise of your book ‘Sorority Rush Begins?’ which I understand will be published by Puffin Books in summer of 2008? Can you give us a sneak peek?

M. GIBSON: Just a correction on the title. . . “Sorority Rush Begins. . .” is my marketing line for the series. The first four books in The Sisterhood Series are Rush, Pledge Class, Greek Week, and Spring Formal – all with A Sisterhood Novel after the title. The books are set on a fictional college campus in central Florida, steeped in rich, Southern tradition, and are centered on three very different heroines, each going through Sorority Rush for different reasons. Rush and Pledge Class will be released simultaneously in May 2008 in a push for the series.

EI: Can you share with us some of the challenges you faced to publish this first novel ‘Sorority Rush Begins ?” Is there anything about you that you would do differently, knowing what you do now?

M. GIBSON: My challenges in getting published were before this series idea. I had come close with a couple of chick lit manuscripts and then a romance I had written, but lines went under and it just wasn’t in the cards. Also, I was with my first literary agent and two and a half years into trying to sell. I felt I needed to shake things up a bit, so I signed on with a new agent who thought I should take a stab at the Young Adult market. Again, we came close with a manuscript, but it didn’t sell. In January 2006, a publisher came to my agent (because of her reputation in selling YA) and asked if she had a writer who could write a proposal for them based on three heroines all going through Sorority Rush. My agent knew me and my voice well enough to know that 1) I was in a sorority in college and 2) I could do this quickly and get it back to the editor. I came up with a three-book idea with three heroines and submitted it in early February. By March 16th, we had the deal. What I know now that I’d do differently? I wouldn’t have wasted so much time with an agent relationship that wasn’t working for me. But then again, everything happens for a reason, right?

EI: What was the inspiration for your novel? What is your response to the public perception about your creative insight with your book?

M. GIBSON: As I said, the original concept for the series was my publisher’s. Both of my editors were/are sorority girls and they really wanted something that focused on the sisterhood and philanthropy that the national sororities provide. I, of course, drew upon my own college experiences, but then again, that was a thousand years ago (LOL!), so I talked to some friends who were just out of college and studies their sorority experiences. I hope that I’ve weaved the two together nicely in the books.

EI: How much of your characters is planned out in your head? How do you know where you will go next with them? What was your biggest challenge in creating them?

M. GIBSON: These are common questions, yet not easily answered as it will vary from writer to write and even from story to story. I like to see my characters as 3D figments in my imagination before I start writing. However, as I begin writing, sometimes a character will decide “hey, I want to do fill-in-the-blank” and I realize that might be best for the story. Other times, I know exactly the journey I will take them on. As for how I know where they’ll go next? Let’s just say I have an overactive imagination and love playing “what if.” I’ve always been the type of person that people watches and tries to come up with a back story. Like, the other day, my husband and I were sitting in traffic and this woman walked by us with the gargantuan bucket. The rest of the way home, I had come up with not only what she had in the bucket, but why she had it, where she’d gotten it, where she was going with it and how much she paid for it. Nonsense? Perhaps, but a lot of fun. I honestly have to say I have never had a problem creating characters.

EI: How did you develop these characters? Did you work them out in advance, or did they evolve as you wrote the story?

M. GIBSON: In developing the characters, I knew the publisher wanted three heroines and I thought it would be more realistic to have them from very separate backgrounds. The first girl, Roni, is a Boston Brahman who escapes her Beacon Hill, Harvard-bound life to go to a state school fifteen hundred miles from her hands-off, aristocratic parents. The second girl, Jenna, is a bubbly, fun, cute girl from Atlanta, who grew up in a house full of kids, but she is battling a disease that makes fitting in sometimes difficult. Then, there’s Lora-Leigh, a native of Latimer (my fictitious town), who wants nothing more than to get away to NYC or LA for fashion design school, but because her father is Dean of Students at Latimer, she can’t escape the city limits just yet. I planned these girls out in advance, but, of course, as I’ve been writing, they are evolving. . . just like people evolve as they get older. It’s a lot of fun to see what each girl is going to pull on me! LOL!

EI: What is a typical work day schedule when you are in full writing mode? Would you tell us a little about your process for editing, revising, and novel development? How long did it take you to write ‘Sorority Rush Begins’ including the time it took to research the book?

M. GIBSON: First of all, I have a full-time, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. job. When I’m working on a story, I will bring my AlphaSmart with me and work over my lunch hour and then I’ll go to work in my writing room at home after work. Because of my speed in typing, I can get about 1,500 words done in an hour. So, when I’m in the blood fever of writing, if I can get 1,000 words per day done, then I’m golden. To me, it’s all about staying on schedule and getting things to your publisher (or agent) in a timely manner and when they ask for it. As for writing Rush, I did an initial draft, then a re-write and a round of copyedits. I started working on Rush last year and it took about eight months from first draft to final copyedits. I don’t know if this is typical or not because this is the first book in the series and we really worked hard to make sure it had the right feel and tone to it. Also, it was my first time working with an editor. I researched pretty quickly, but it was mainly reading back copies of my sorority alumnae magazine and talking to my friends fresh out of college. The research on this one really is an example of write what you know. People who went to The University of Alabama (like I did) will definitely recognize the layout of the campus of Latimer University.

EI: What about writing for young adult & teens appealed to you?

M. GIBSON: I think there are a lot of opportunities in writing for teens that you don’t necessarily have when you’re writing for adults. Teens are growing and developing and always learning, so it’s easier to have a naïve character that needs to go on a personal journey towards a particular goal. Not that you don’t do that in adult writing, but I find the innocence of my YA characters to be a lot more fun and challenging in terms of crafting and forming them. I still read and write adult stuff and would love—one day—to publish some of my adult fiction. We’ll see!

EI: Do you feel more pressure, feel insecurities or are you able to separate all that from your own creative process?

M. GIBSON: I’ve never really felt pressure in my writing. From day one of writing, I put myself on a very strict schedule, always giving myself a “deadline,” so that when that magical day came that I got an editor, I would be able to produce on time for them. The only pressure I have is on me to get it done. I believe every writing goes through insecure phases, especially when you’ve been through a few years of knocks, pings, and rejection from the publishing industry. But you have to remind yourself that it’s a business and it’s not against you personally. You have to get back on that horse and go to the next project. Insecurities will creep into you head if you allow the elves of self doubt to tell you stupid crap and you listen to them. That’s why you have your close circle of trusted friends you can go to when those insecurities hit. You share them with those people, let them build you back up, and hand you tissues to dry your tears. You don’t blog about it or shout it out to the universe. . . you just deal with and then get back to work. It’s like that in any career you have, especially where you’re putting yourself out there in such a creative manner.

EI: What's next for your fans?

M. GIBSON: Oooo. . . I have fans? Exccccccccccellllllllllent!!! In 2008, there are four books in The Sisterhood Series. I hope people who read the first couple will not only love them, but will buy the following ones and then request more books in the series from my publisher. I would love to be able to write these characters all the way through their college graduation. How fun would that be?!?! People are welcome to visit me online at my website at http://www.marleygibson.com, where they can e-mail me, or visit my group blog that I do with six other amazingly talented YA authors, http://www.booksboysbuzz.com.

EI: Ms. Gibson, thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know you, and your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers?

M. GIBSON: My tip is if you really want to write and create and express yourself, then don’t talk about it, do it! Thanks for letting me do this! 

http://www.marleygibson.com/
http://www.marleygibson.com/home.htm

GOVERNMENT HEALTH WARNING: This Post Almost Becomes Political

There are days in the summer, during January and February, when the thermometer sizzles past 43, 44 degrees Celsius, and there's little that can be done except wilt and wait. These are days to shut the windows and blinds, to prevent as much heat from breaking into the house as possible, to attempt anchoring shade cloth around the garden or watch hopelessly as tree fruit and vine fruit is scorched to useless. These are days when the clamour of the fire siren makes everyone draw a deep breath and peer towards the horizon for that tell-tale belt of smoke.

Whether at work or home, there's little that can be done except dream about paddling along the beach and splashing through the surf, and maybe swimming or snorkelling for an hour or two ... once the northerly has dropped, once the fierceness of the heat no longer prickles your skin and makes you feel you might spontaneously combust if you stay out too long. There's little that can be done except sit still and drink iced water and wait.

We wait for the doctor. We wait for the change. And we learn to listen for it, to know when it's arrived.

Some people call it 'the doctor', some people call it 'the change', but we're lucky here, along our stretch of coast, that we can almost rely on this most delicious respite at the end of such days. Invariably, with late afternoon or early evening, the hot desert winds from the north will abruptly pause, turn and meekly surrender to a fresher, cooling breeze that skips across the Southern Ocean from the south-west. And people start calling out: "The change has arrived," or "The doctor's here," and strangers smile at one another again. It's time to open the blinds and the windows, to grab a chair and sit outside with a cold beer or white wine (or vodka and ice with a twist of lemon), and chat and breathe again. Later, couples and families might be seen wandering along the beach in the dark, splashing through the surf, playing ...

I am not a party-political creature, but this is the way I felt last night when the federal election result was announced.A federal election affects the national psyche, creates a state of tension, anticipation, anxiety. But the change has arrived---it's over---and everyone can get on with their lives again. Phew! Relief!

S. A. Harazin - Author Of "BLOOD BROTHERS"

In lieu of a personal photo, S.A. Harazin has supplied us the book cover of “Blood Brother” instead.

Welcome to “Up Close & Personal.” For every interview I will be introducing a literary personality discussing his views and insights, as well as upcoming literary events around the world.

Today’s interview is with S.A. Harazin, author of Blood Brothers. The author lives in Georgia and worked as a nurse in a hospital for many years. S.A. Harazin has written a page turner novel of friendship, family and the world of teenage parties and drug use. It is a compelling stories told in diary entries.

EI: Would you share some early insight into who you were as a teenager with your readers? What were you like as a teen? Please tell us more about S.A. HARAZIN -- the woman behind the author.

S.A. Harazin: I was assistant editor for the school newspaper, and the historian for the Future Teachers of America. I had an after school job at the hospital as a nursing assistant. If I had time during breaks, I would do my homework. My grades were average. I did not read much. I did not have time between working and school.

EI: Do you express your inner self in your writing or do the personas you create exist only in your imagination?

S.A. Harazin: The personas I create exist mostly in my imagination, but a small part of them comes from my inner self. My main character, Clay, in ‘Blood Brothers,’ works as an orderly in a hospital and does things I would never have done—like sneak into a treatment room to see what is going on or pretend to be a doctor so he can get lab results. Of course, the stakes are high for him so he has the motivation to do these things.

EI: What is your response to the public perception that writers’ creative insight and energy is frequently the product of personal conflict?

S.A. Harazin: I think this is true for me. I write about subjects I care about and from life experience.

EI: What would you like to say to writers who are reading this interview and wondering if they can keep creating, if they are good enough, if their voices and visions matter enough to share?

S.A. Harazin: If you keep writing, you get better and better. You develop a voice and a style. You can get into the writing zone and sound fresh and unique. It takes time for most of us to develop our craft and our voices.

EI: Many writers describe themselves as "character" or "plot" writers. Which are you? And what do you find to be the hardest part of writing?

S.A. Harazin: I am character driven. In the first draft of Blood Brothers, my two characters were entirely different but became best friends because they loved to bike and were planning a cross-country trip. The plot developed as the characters made their choices.

The hardest part of writing for me is facing the blank page—getting the first draft written. I also have a problem with focusing. I easily get off track with a story and write in the wrong direction.

EI: Are you armed with notebook and pen at all the times? Do you always carry your laptop or PDA with you to write?

S.A. Harazin: I have a paper and pen with me at all times. I do not carry my laptop with me.

EI: Do you let anyone read your manuscript, before you send it to your editor or agent?

S.A. Harazin: I share a manuscript with two or three trusted writer friends before I submit it to my agent.

EI: Was there anyone who really influenced you to become a writer?

S.A. Harazin: Writing is part of who I am—even though I spent years and years in another career. A writer friend, Ronder Thomas Young, actually convinced me to submit my first novel manuscript when she referred me to an editor. I probably would never have submitted without the push.

EI: Now let’s shift gears here for a second... . tell us what is the premise of your book ‘Blood Brothers?’

S.A. Harazin: After a hard day at the hospital, Clay goes to Joey’s house and finds him hallucinating. They fight, and Joey hits his head. Joey is admitted to the hospital, and it seems as if he is all right until he lapses into a coma twenty-four hours later—before he has a chance to tell what happened before Clay arrived. Clay tries to find answers.

EI: Can you share with us some of the challenges you faced to publish this first ‘Blood Brother?” Is there anything about you that you would do differently, knowing what you do now?

S.A. Harazin: The challenges were mostly with the revisions—trying to find the emotional core of the story and understanding why characters acted the way they did.

I am not sure what I could have done differently. I needed time for the story to grow, and I think I needed more life experience. I do wish I had more formal training as a writer.

EI: What was the inspiration for your novel? What is your response to the public perception about your creative insight with your book?

S.A. Harazin: My initial inspiration came many years before I wrote the first word. I was at work one night in ICU taking care of a kid who was in very critical condition. I would watch his family and friends visit. I never knew anything about the kid, but I could feel the pain of his parents and friends. I never forgot.

Blood Brothers started as a short story told from the viewpoint of the nurse. This was published in Mediphors, A Journal of Health Care Professionals. Later, I rewrote the short story as a novel and told the story from the viewpoint of a seventeen year old.

I have been happy with reviewers’ response to the book. I hope that teens will relate to the characters.

EI: How much of Clay & Joey is planned out in your head? How do you know where you will go next with their characters? What was your biggest challenge in creating them?

S.A. Harazin: I knew their main characteristics, but I did not really know them until I had written a couple of drafts. I never knew where I was going next with the characters—they took over the story. There were scenes I did not want to write. There were things I did not want my characters to do or say, but I finally gave in.
The biggest challenge was understanding the female character, Michelle. I did not really like her. It took me a while to develop her. Originally, I tried to keep her off stage for most of the novel, but that was not working. She was needed.

EI: How did you develop these characters? Did you work them out in advance, or did they evolve as you wrote the story?

S.A. Harazin: They evolved as I wrote the story.

EI: What is a typical work day schedule when you are in full writing mode? Would you tell us a little about your process for editing, revising, and novel development? How long did it take you to write ‘Blood Brothers?’ including the time it took to research the book?

S.A. Harazin: I write everyday whenever I have a chance and late at night. During the day, I help my husband run his business.

I wrote the first draft of ‘Blood Brothers’ in fourteen days during the summer of 1999. It took me years to revise the novel. I would some times put the novel away for a while and work on something else. I did not need to research, but I verified some things with medical and police experts.

I received an offer on the book in June of 2005. I did two large revisions for the editor and three more minor ones. Most of these revisions involved clarifying the plot and developing some of the secondary characters through the flashbacks.

EI: What about writing for young adult & teens appealed to you?

S.A. Harazin: I love reading young adult books , and I am around teens a lot. It feels natural to write for teens.

EI: Do you feel more pressure, feel insecurities or are you able to separate all that from your own creative process?

S.A. Harazin: I feel pressure because I am a slow writer. I wish I could create faster.

EI: What's next for your fans?

S.A. Harazin: I have another novel under contract from Delacorte. It is still in the first draft stage.

EI: Thank you for contributing to my blog. It has been a pleasure for me to get to know you, and your work a little better. Would you like to end your interview with a writing tip or advice for young aspiring writers?

S.A. Harazin: Thank you!

My advice is to keep reading, writing, and rewriting. Take the time to develop your voice and style. Write something unique, something you feel passionate about. Write something only you could write.

To learn more about S.A. Harazin, please visit:
http://www.saharazin.com/
http://classof2k7
.com/authors/sa_harazin.php
http://classof2k7.com/interviews/authors/sa_harazin/
http://medwriter.livejournal.com/

Following the Pied Piper

Although these posts pop up at casual, weekly intervals, there's a been a fair bit happening in Blogdom recently. It might seem quiet and relaxed here, but it ain't quiet out there. Busy, busy, busy. And that's not a whinge, because it's all good stuff. Good, busy stuff. The net is working overtime at networking.

Following the Grand Opening of my website (see last post), I was delighted by the number of links made to it and sing THANKS to everyone who created a connection. I must say a particular "Thank you" to Mike French, who very generously not only posted a comment about it on Go! Smell the flowers, which attracts a phenomenal 15,000 hits a month, but also (having received a good deal of recognition and a number of awards for his own blog The View From Here) gave this PaperBooks blog a Be The Blog award. Thank you, merci beaucoup, gracias & diolch yn fawr.

None of this, however, leads me into what I'd originally intended posting about this week. But, in acknowledging that, I'm lead (through an interesting obversion) into what I'd intended posting about this week: The Pied Piper of Hamelin and Black Juice.

The Pied Piper was one of my favourite stories when I was a kid, and I recall having 'rewritten' it on a couple of occasions (in what might have been a juvenile recognition that there are few new stories, only new ways of telling old ones). The notion of someone playing a music so powerful that every living thing might follow, coupled with the idea of good triumphing over bad, were concepts I found appealing. Along with the touch of magic, and innocence masking wisdom, arrogance masking greed ... all that and more. In some versions the piper returned the children to Hamelin once he'd received payment for ridding the town of its rats, and in some versions he didn't: his revenge was absolute. These are the ingredients of folk tales and sometimes appear in stories I enjoy reading as an adult.

This perhaps is the reason I enjoy Margo Lanagan's short stories. I posted a comment a few weeks back about her Red Spikes anthology, and have followed this up by reading the superbly titled Black Juice. This time, though, I thought I should try and articulate a little more fully what it is about her writing that appeals. (Maybe, through recognising what we like in someone else's writing, it's possible to begin recognising what shapes our own writing.)

For sure, there are elements in some of her stories that might ordinarily turn me off, and it's probably because of this that I'm keen to identify what it is that makes me carry on reading. They can, at times, appear abstract to the point of making me feel obtuse, but, in part, it's the slightly disjointed feel that she creates when she positions the cosily familiar into these abstract scenarios that engenders their enchanting dream-like or nightmarish quality. Thus, in Singing My Sister Down, we have many of the trappings of a family picnic and a holiday outing set within the macabre situation of the narrator's sister being gently sung to her death as she sinks into a tar-pit---the punishment she meekly accepts for a crime she's committed. Because I often think visually, Lanagan's stories put me in mind of Chagall's paintings (where lovers are depicted floating through the air and houses may have eyes), or those of Hieronymus Bosch.

One of the interesting elements in both anthologies of stories is the sense that the reader's expectations are being challenged in every respect, from use of language to conventions of genre. Whilst it's easy to pull out labels like 'fantasy' or 'speculative fiction', this would be unwise with many of these pieces, for the author seems to delight in leading you towards one place and then letting you discover you're somewhere else, less comfortable, altogether ... like being in the middle of a tar-pit. And I love that about her work. However, like the best poetry, it's the way she uses and plays with language that really hooks my attention and leads me along. The thread which holds all these stories together and unfies them in their respective anthologies is the delight that Margo Lanagan obviously takes in naming things: objects, emotions, places, people, experiences. We discover accordions known as the House of the Three and the House of the Many, monsters by the name of yowlinins, an elephant called Booroondoonhooroboom. And even here, her etymology straddles the familiar and the unexpected, so we're left, as readers, feeling haunted at times by some of her word choices, sometimes guessing what the words suggest, but definitely taking notice of the music of the sounds and definitely being lead on by the tune of each story. Like good poetry, this writing makes me feel that, whilst I might not always be absolutely sure where I've ended up, the journey is always interesting.

Update: I am Back!

Since my last entry in August and being offline for several months I have received numerous emails from readers and authors who wondered if I dropped of the face of the planet or... if I had given up on my commitment to my readers.

Well... It is always good to be missed! Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement, and for taking such an interest. Knowing that what I do matters to someone else is important to me.

A lot of things took place when I was offline. Now... I still got tons of emails to read and comments to moderate and I have not even started.

Well... at the risk of sounding cliché the business of life sometimes interferes with the pursuit of living! But I am back now. Truthfully, I get a jolt from being a conduit for authors’ to express themselves through media more freely and unfiltered than a critic might be able to do. I’d like to give my authors the opportunity to connect more directly to their audience which makes a difference.

Hopefully this approach offers a different and maybe fresher perspective. I sincerely hope that my recent sabbatical has not disrupted that evolving process. I truly want my readers to know that I do value their participation, and that I eager to reestablishing contact.

At the end of the day the reader wants to know more about the person being interviewed, and less about a critic’s opinion. These days everyone thinks he’s a critic with something to say…

To all of you, who have been engaged in the process -- thank you. It has been a pleasure to have exchanged ideas with you. You have been a great source of inspiration. My sabbatical has given me newfound enthusiasm and commitment for broadcasting your creative accomplishments and insights. Going forward I am determined to see Myspace.com/eijohnson, Up Close & Personal, Totally YA and A View from the Top continue to evolve. I like to think that it serves our community of authors and readers in a unique way

Please check in to see the next installment of my interviews, which will be posted starting November 5th, 2007.

GRAND OPENING: www.paulburman.net

"So there I was, having scrambled over a couple of razor-capped fences to get into the ftp site, standing next to cgi bin (whatever that is) with a folder of html under my arm and my pockets spilling jpeg and gif images all over the place, when I felt this megabyte hit into my software ..."

Didn't think it was going to happen. It very nearly didn't. But it has.
The website is finished and uploaded: http://www.paulburman.net/

Talk about blood, sweat and tears, it took more than a megabyte of sanity, that's for sure. But it's there.