OK here is a challenge for you. I believe that it is impossible for a writer to have a favourite book. Having a favourite book means a) you have not read that many books and b) you have not changed over time. Both fatal flaws in writers.
I have literally (sic) thousands of books in my house, nearly all of which I have read, and which I am keeping because I think I might want to read them again. Then there are many, many books which I have read and not kept because I did not like them, more still which were lent to me or borrowed from the library. How could I choose just one of these and say it is my favourite? My favourite is probably the last one I read and enjoyed. My favourites from 10 years ago are completely different to those I enjoy now.
In my teens and 20s I was addicted to SciFi and to a lesser extent, fantasy. I picked up a Robert Heinlein the other day and had to put it down - it was so dated! I read every Doris Lessing and Fay Weldon going in the 1980s - don't really like their more recent stuff.
So I have not listed favourite books on my profile; my favourites are fluid. The best reads I have read in the last few months are: Time Traveller's Wife, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox - Maggie O'Farrell (incidentally I left her off yesterday's post, she is an Edinburgh writer too), Human Traces - Sebastian Faulkes. Can I also have Maggie O'Farrell's After You'd Gone even though I read it more than a year ago?
Hey if you are into lists of books then don't miss Nick Hornby's the Polysyllabic Spree - a list of all the books he has bought in the last year. A great read if like me you are depressed by the number of books left in the world that you have not yet read, and the number of days left to you in which to read them.
Please don't recommend any books to me (unless they are exactly like the ones above and therefore you are sure I will love them) simply becuase it will make my list of books I must read before I die much longer and more impossible than it is now.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Why is Edinburgh so great for writing?
hey this blogging is seriously addictive, especially after 1/2 bottle of red wine.
Well has anyone considered why Edinburgh is full of excellent writers at the moment? Is it something in the water? Perhaps we should all go there and inhale deeply. I have to tell you, having been a student there for four years, inhaling deeply between the months of October and February will probably result in a lung transplant. The air is seriously cold. Having grown up in the far north of Scotland, a good 150 miles further north, I tell you this was tropical compared to Edinburgh. The wind howls off the N sea and funnels down these grand Georgian boulevards straight into your ears. I put a wooly hat on in October and didn't take it off again till the spring. And on the subject of those beautful Georgian buildings and being a student; when you can't afford to heat them, and when the university only supplies meagre two bar fires whose measly heat shoots straight up 20 feet to heat the ceiling - well.. no wonder we spent so much time in the pub.
One student flat had overseas students from N Africa - they took to bed in November and did not get up again, they could not bear it. Come spring they went home, or perhaps went to England - Edinburgh is not for those who are used to heat.
I assume these writers have central heating becuase I personally can't bear writing in the cold. I have to have lots of jumpers on, thick socks, and preferably a heater blazing close enough to give me mild burns. A couple of cats are useful, but mine will insist on sitting on the keyboard. Apart from the somewhat erratic spelling that ensues, I hate the cat hairs between the keys.
I think though, the reason there are so many fabulous writers in Edinburgh right now is that it is a heartstoppingly beautiful place. If you have never visited, then make it the top of the list of "places I must see before I die." Actually scrub that - aren't those books a seriously depressing idea even if they are stonkingly commerical? I don't want to see Prague and croak it, really I don't. I want to see Prague and then witter on about it to all my thousands of descendants until they pull their own ears off in despair, "Oh Great-granny, not Prague reminiscences again, please!" If you get through one of those lists, I am sure you are tempting fate. Someone up there is going to say, ok you've done it, now here is your well deserved rest. A tip: keep at least two, fairly uninteresting ones back to wave under the nose of the Grim Reaper and perhaps you can stave off the inevitable.
So back to Edinburgh and its beauties, and inspirations for writers. I'd like to know what other writers feel is the ideal environment for writing. For me, it is actually sitting looking at a great view, preferably Scottish mountains. I am so fortunate at the moment that my desk is in front of a big picture window which looks straight down the Great Glen. An added bonus is that this is where the prevailing weather comes from, so I can also see when the washing is going to need to be taken in.
When we moved here we created two studies - one for me and one for my other half.He refuses to share a study with me any more - says I am too noisy. Imagine! A writer who is noisy. Presumably it is the sound of rusty cogs. The choice was this one with the great view, or the other one which looks out into the small back garden and the dog kennel. So I get to muse the mountains, and he gets the dog staring solefully at him all day saying, "please walk me now, please walk me now, please walk me now..... "
I used to live in Rotherhithe in London and all I wrote was seriously bad, depressing poetry. I think vista matters. My ideal environment would be small croft (with 21st century heating) in remote glen with views of mountains and sea, and not a soul within a hundred odd miles, but some good delivery services, ideally from Sainsburys. Anyone know of such a place?
So who are these great Edinburgh writers? Well of course apart from our dear JKR, there is Alexander McCall Smith (who spoke in Inverness a while ago and was very entertaining; recommended) Ian Rankin of course (who overlapped with me at Edinburgh - does this make me famous by proxy??) Irvine Walsh (I think) Christopher Brookmyre - any others? Apart from of course all the oldies like Walter Scott etc. And if you are a great writer in Edinburgh and stand still long enough, they'll put a statue of you up. Edinburgh was the first city I lived in and I thought all cities had statues and banks on every corner. Couldn't understand when I went to London and couldn't find a bank or statue within a few yards of my first digs.
So Edinburgh - go for it. But take your woolies.
Caroline
Well has anyone considered why Edinburgh is full of excellent writers at the moment? Is it something in the water? Perhaps we should all go there and inhale deeply. I have to tell you, having been a student there for four years, inhaling deeply between the months of October and February will probably result in a lung transplant. The air is seriously cold. Having grown up in the far north of Scotland, a good 150 miles further north, I tell you this was tropical compared to Edinburgh. The wind howls off the N sea and funnels down these grand Georgian boulevards straight into your ears. I put a wooly hat on in October and didn't take it off again till the spring. And on the subject of those beautful Georgian buildings and being a student; when you can't afford to heat them, and when the university only supplies meagre two bar fires whose measly heat shoots straight up 20 feet to heat the ceiling - well.. no wonder we spent so much time in the pub.
One student flat had overseas students from N Africa - they took to bed in November and did not get up again, they could not bear it. Come spring they went home, or perhaps went to England - Edinburgh is not for those who are used to heat.
I assume these writers have central heating becuase I personally can't bear writing in the cold. I have to have lots of jumpers on, thick socks, and preferably a heater blazing close enough to give me mild burns. A couple of cats are useful, but mine will insist on sitting on the keyboard. Apart from the somewhat erratic spelling that ensues, I hate the cat hairs between the keys.
I think though, the reason there are so many fabulous writers in Edinburgh right now is that it is a heartstoppingly beautiful place. If you have never visited, then make it the top of the list of "places I must see before I die." Actually scrub that - aren't those books a seriously depressing idea even if they are stonkingly commerical? I don't want to see Prague and croak it, really I don't. I want to see Prague and then witter on about it to all my thousands of descendants until they pull their own ears off in despair, "Oh Great-granny, not Prague reminiscences again, please!" If you get through one of those lists, I am sure you are tempting fate. Someone up there is going to say, ok you've done it, now here is your well deserved rest. A tip: keep at least two, fairly uninteresting ones back to wave under the nose of the Grim Reaper and perhaps you can stave off the inevitable.
So back to Edinburgh and its beauties, and inspirations for writers. I'd like to know what other writers feel is the ideal environment for writing. For me, it is actually sitting looking at a great view, preferably Scottish mountains. I am so fortunate at the moment that my desk is in front of a big picture window which looks straight down the Great Glen. An added bonus is that this is where the prevailing weather comes from, so I can also see when the washing is going to need to be taken in.
When we moved here we created two studies - one for me and one for my other half.He refuses to share a study with me any more - says I am too noisy. Imagine! A writer who is noisy. Presumably it is the sound of rusty cogs. The choice was this one with the great view, or the other one which looks out into the small back garden and the dog kennel. So I get to muse the mountains, and he gets the dog staring solefully at him all day saying, "please walk me now, please walk me now, please walk me now..... "
I used to live in Rotherhithe in London and all I wrote was seriously bad, depressing poetry. I think vista matters. My ideal environment would be small croft (with 21st century heating) in remote glen with views of mountains and sea, and not a soul within a hundred odd miles, but some good delivery services, ideally from Sainsburys. Anyone know of such a place?
So who are these great Edinburgh writers? Well of course apart from our dear JKR, there is Alexander McCall Smith (who spoke in Inverness a while ago and was very entertaining; recommended) Ian Rankin of course (who overlapped with me at Edinburgh - does this make me famous by proxy??) Irvine Walsh (I think) Christopher Brookmyre - any others? Apart from of course all the oldies like Walter Scott etc. And if you are a great writer in Edinburgh and stand still long enough, they'll put a statue of you up. Edinburgh was the first city I lived in and I thought all cities had statues and banks on every corner. Couldn't understand when I went to London and couldn't find a bank or statue within a few yards of my first digs.
So Edinburgh - go for it. But take your woolies.
Caroline
To blog or not to blog..
Well I have just joined the 21st century by attempting to join the hordes of bloggers. No idea why. Yes I do know why actually. I am a writer; I spend all day sitting at a PC writing, so why not spend yet more time here ruining my eyes, getting repetitive strain injury in my spare time?
I am hoping to link up with other writers I guess, and to hear about your trials and tribulations (cliche noted).
I've been writing as a freelancer for, well I guess about 12 years now, and make a reasonable living at it, but hey, how many of you out there have noticed that pay has not gone up in recent years, and editors want more stuff for nothing? Like using your articles for ever on websites, or keeping rates the same year in year out? And advances on books - way down.
Anyway I don't believe anyone sits writing all day because they seriously want to make money. Why do we write? Probably an over inflated ego and sense of own importance. There is a great kick in knowing that someone somewhere is reading my words of wisdom. Perhaps it is about connecting with other people - which brings me back to this blog I guess.
What am I writing? Well I am struggling to finish a book which is due with the publishers end of November (any excuse for procrastination - sorry I missed the deadline, I needed to write a blog). Non-fiction parenting books, that's me.
However... I do want to write fiction too, and have just finished my first novel - or at least ground to a halt with it. It's with my agent and so we'll see. It was one of the hardest things I've done actually. When I started, I thought, this will be easy! No research, no fact checking, all the stuff that takes ages in non-fiction. The first 20,000 words were easy, but then it was like hitting the wall in the marathon. All those little gremlins popped up, "what self-indulgence! What makes you think you could write! this is utter crap!"
Perhaps it is utter crap, but in the end it was satisfying to write, and after another few thousand words, the characters wouldn't let me give up anyway.
Since I've finished, I've been asked what the novel is about. I've now realised that I really cannot write good synopses, and everything I've read about themes etc has really thrown me. I have no idea what it is about really. It just is. Everytime I've tried to describe it, the person who I am describing it to has glazed over after a few seconds - not a good sign methinks. Anyone else had that problem? Or is it always obvious what it is about. Actually when I think of some of the books I have enjoyed, not sure I could really say what they are "about". Unless there is a really clever idea in there; like the Time Travellers Wife (do read if you have not done so - yes I know the first few pages are confusing, but stick with it) - ok that is about what happens if you can time travel - but is it? Really it is a love story first and foremost, and about how love moulds you to fit. Time travel is just the landscape of the novel.
Another great book I've read recently "The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox" (if you have not yet read Maggie O'Farrell then you have not yet lived) - you could say that it is about mental hospitals but doesn't that sound boring and depressing? That is its again its landscape - it is about family secrets I guess.
Hey this is great, writing all this stream of consciousness has really helped.For anyone who is still reading (for god's sake don't you have anything better to do?), to describe your novel, try to differentiate between the landscape or setting, and the theme. Ok so my theme is relationships between men and women and how power affects this (I guess - might change my mind on this...)
Back to the beginning. To blog or not to blog. Yes it is useful to pour out a stream of consciousness like this. If anyone reads it and has something to say, even better.
Caroline
I am hoping to link up with other writers I guess, and to hear about your trials and tribulations (cliche noted).
I've been writing as a freelancer for, well I guess about 12 years now, and make a reasonable living at it, but hey, how many of you out there have noticed that pay has not gone up in recent years, and editors want more stuff for nothing? Like using your articles for ever on websites, or keeping rates the same year in year out? And advances on books - way down.
Anyway I don't believe anyone sits writing all day because they seriously want to make money. Why do we write? Probably an over inflated ego and sense of own importance. There is a great kick in knowing that someone somewhere is reading my words of wisdom. Perhaps it is about connecting with other people - which brings me back to this blog I guess.
What am I writing? Well I am struggling to finish a book which is due with the publishers end of November (any excuse for procrastination - sorry I missed the deadline, I needed to write a blog). Non-fiction parenting books, that's me.
However... I do want to write fiction too, and have just finished my first novel - or at least ground to a halt with it. It's with my agent and so we'll see. It was one of the hardest things I've done actually. When I started, I thought, this will be easy! No research, no fact checking, all the stuff that takes ages in non-fiction. The first 20,000 words were easy, but then it was like hitting the wall in the marathon. All those little gremlins popped up, "what self-indulgence! What makes you think you could write! this is utter crap!"
Perhaps it is utter crap, but in the end it was satisfying to write, and after another few thousand words, the characters wouldn't let me give up anyway.
Since I've finished, I've been asked what the novel is about. I've now realised that I really cannot write good synopses, and everything I've read about themes etc has really thrown me. I have no idea what it is about really. It just is. Everytime I've tried to describe it, the person who I am describing it to has glazed over after a few seconds - not a good sign methinks. Anyone else had that problem? Or is it always obvious what it is about. Actually when I think of some of the books I have enjoyed, not sure I could really say what they are "about". Unless there is a really clever idea in there; like the Time Travellers Wife (do read if you have not done so - yes I know the first few pages are confusing, but stick with it) - ok that is about what happens if you can time travel - but is it? Really it is a love story first and foremost, and about how love moulds you to fit. Time travel is just the landscape of the novel.
Another great book I've read recently "The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox" (if you have not yet read Maggie O'Farrell then you have not yet lived) - you could say that it is about mental hospitals but doesn't that sound boring and depressing? That is its again its landscape - it is about family secrets I guess.
Hey this is great, writing all this stream of consciousness has really helped.For anyone who is still reading (for god's sake don't you have anything better to do?), to describe your novel, try to differentiate between the landscape or setting, and the theme. Ok so my theme is relationships between men and women and how power affects this (I guess - might change my mind on this...)
Back to the beginning. To blog or not to blog. Yes it is useful to pour out a stream of consciousness like this. If anyone reads it and has something to say, even better.
Caroline
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