Kevin's Watch

[I'm not sure whether this is the right place for this and I'm going to put it here for the moment (the mod can move it if it's not suitable).]

A number of us talked to each other at the E'fest about our writing. There are a fair number of people on the forum who write. I was looking for a way for people to talk in a general way about their work and what they are working on at the moment. The idea is to let people know what we're up to and also to share resources, tips and ideas. It might be a way to support and encourage each other, and sometimes simply having said that we're doing something (or should be doing somethiing ) can provide the necessary motivation to actually do it.

In my own case I've been writing poetry for twenty years (to quote Larkin, 'I have started to say/"A quarter of a century"/Or "thirty years back"/About my own life.' ). I have been fortunate that for the last ten years I have had a really good group of other poets to work with. I am involved in other occasional workshops and we have also organised salon-style poetry readings in each other's houses.

I have a number of projects on the go at the moment. I am working on a poem that has hung around for nearly fifteen years ('I have begun to say....' ). It's a relatively short poem and its proper form continues to elude me. It's called 'Communion' and hopefully by telling you about it it'll finally come together (I'll talk about the other projects as time goes on.)

Let us know what you're at!

u.

I haven't really written recreationally in years. The closest I've come is some recent blog posts and they're only partly recreational. (Ok, mostly, but that's not the point.) Haven't written any poetry since the first Watch anthology.

I write too much at work...write write write...it's almost all I do except read. As far as my brain is concerned, that's ample writing to satisfy its creative urges.

When I did though, I never did any workshops or worked with anybody else. I'm of the "solitary pursuit" school of thought.

--A

I've started (finally) my idea for a fantasy trilogy. I've got the first chapter written and I am now trying to iron out the plot details before moving on.

u., I've posted a copy of it in the Writer's Circle forum, not sure you are a member of it, for review by people and I've started a few threads there about questions specific to the project. Mostly I don't want it getting out to the general public yet if I can avoid it. Can send you the link if you want it.

Right now my issue is not succumbing to the pressure of feeling like it needs to be high in political intrigue or internal exposition like my favorite authors. Just want to arrive at a decent, sensible plot that I can actually execute against.

I write, or I profess to write. My problem is I do not write fantasy or fiction. When I have put things up they are pretty much ignored. I do not take it personally AT ALL. It's a risk you take when the people you trust are scifi or fantasy fans/writers on a site like this. You can't really expect feedback.

My writing is kind of on summer break right now.

Since getting back from E'fest, I've written a couple of short stories for an anthology group I'm in on Facebook. It's the same group that put together "13 Bites" last fall and "Summer Dreams" this spring. We're aiming at releasing three or four anthologies per year. The next one is "13 Bites Vol. 2" (Halloween-themed, but not necessarily horror) and after that will be "Winter Tales". There's been talk of a romance-themed book for Valentine's Day, but our editor hasn't put out a call for that yet. If anyone's interested in participating, let me know -- we're still adding people to the group. I think Alan wants a bigger pool of submissions to draw from than we've had in the past.

I'm also being badgered into writing something for a Halloween anthology with a different Facebook group. I need to contact the woman who issued the call and get some more info...and come up with a story idea. Sigh.

Other than that, I'm mostly turning out blog posts, both for my blog and for Indies Unlimited. And this week I wrote a Fourth-Wall Friday post for my friend Kriss Morton, which should be going live on Friday (assuming I remember to send it to her...). The idea behind Fourth-Wall Friday is that the author "breaks the fourth wall" (as in theater) and talks directly to the characters in his or her book. I think this is the fourth one I've written for her -- they're a lot of fun to do.

But I'm still casting around for an idea for the next novel. The books I've been writing recently have a lot of ideas behind them, but they're not deep or meaningful by any means. I've been thinking about trying magic realism, which is somewhat different than fantasy. I aimed for magic realism with my story for "Summer Dreams", but I don't know whether I hit the mark.

This is long -- sorry. Um, right, feedback and writing groups. I'm in several groups on FB, but none of them are critique groups. Batty and Suzu are my beta readers/editors for the novels, and I beta/edit for Suzu. (I don't read Batty's stuff as a rule. She writes mostly slash fanfiction, and there's only so much a mother really needs to know about her daughter's activities in that regard. )

rdhopeca wrote:u., I've posted a copy of it in the Writer's Circle forum, not sure you are a member of it, for review by people and I've started a few threads there about questions specific to the project. Mostly I don't want it getting out to the general public yet if I can avoid it. Can send you the link if you want it.

I haven't joined the Writer's Circle, so maybe it's time. How do I go about that?

u.

I should know the answer to that, shouldn't I?

I'm in the process of finding out. Stay tuned...

Okay, here's the thread that explains how to do it:

Accessing Private Forums

Spending some time at the moment learning some poems by Yeats. I have very little poetry memorised, so, hopefully by the end of the week I'll know 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree', and 'The Second Coming'.

I'm also working on an interesting project this week. I am giving some feedback to a friend of mine who is working on a pamphlet of a 'translation' of selections of the writings of the English mystic Julian of Norwich. She wrote in the 14th Century so her writings are in Middle English (similar the Canterbury Tales). He is attempting to create a new text that keeps the feel of the original while also adding a new layer, the way a medieval scribe copying a text added their own touch to it through different spellings, marginalia, errors etc.

Here's a sample in Middle English:

There es a visioun schewed be the goodenes of god to a devoute womann, and hir Name es Julyan that is recluse atte Norwyche and yitt ys onn lyfe. Anno d(omi)ni mill(esi)mo CCCCxiij; In the whilke visyoun er fulle many comfortabylle wordes and gretly styrrande to alle thaye that desyres to be crystes looverse.

Here are a few samples of some of it in modern English:

IN this [moment] suddenly I saw the red blood trickle down from under the Garland hot and freshly and right plenteously, as it were in the time of His Passion when the Garland of thorns was pressed on His blessed head who was both God and Man, the same that suffered thus for me. I conceived truly and mightily that it was Himself shewed it me, without any mean.

Also in this He shewed me a little thing, the quantity of an hazel-nut, in the palm of my hand; and it was as round as a ball. I looked thereupon with eye of my understanding, and thought: What may this be? And it was answered generally thus: It is all that is made. I marvelled how it might last, for methought it might suddenly have fallen to naught for little[ness]. And I was answered in my understanding: It lasteth, and ever shall [last] for that God loveth it. And so All-thing hath the Being by the love of God.

long time with wringing of the nails and weight ofthe body. For I understood that for tenderness of the sweet hands and of the sweet feet, by the greatness, hardness, and grievousness of the nails the wounds waxed wide and the body sagged, for weight by long time hanging. And [therewith was] piercing and pressing of the head, and binding of the Crown all baked with dry blood, with the sweet hair clinging, and the dry flesh, to the thorns, and the thorns to the flesh drying; and in the beginning while the flesh was fresh and bleeding, the continual sitting of the thorns made the wounds wide.

I'll ask him if it is okay to post some of his version here. If it is, I'll start a new thread for it.

u.

That's weird. I was reading a blog post about Lammas this morning that mentioned Julian of Norwich tangentially, and then I see this. Sounds like an interesting project.

I do love The Second Coming. One of my two favourite Yeats poems. (The other being An Irish Airman Foresees His Death.)

--A

ussusimiel wrote:Spending some time at the moment learning some poems by Yeats. I have very little poetry memorised, so, hopefully by the end of the week I'll know 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree', and 'The Second Coming'.

Here's a sample in Middle English:

There es a visioun schewed be the goodenes of god to a devoute womann, and hir Name es Julyan that is recluse atte Norwyche and yitt ys onn lyfe. Anno d(omi)ni mill(esi)mo CCCCxiij; In the whilke visyoun er fulle many comfortabylle wordes and gretly styrrande to alle thaye that desyres to be crystes looverse.

u.

Love it! Not quite on this subject, but nearly, we had a lecture at the seminar at the weekend from George Redmonds, a renowned expert on surname derivation. He said something very interesting (and this isn't a direct quote as my memory is not that good): he used the example of a woman in the 13th century with the by-name "Carbuncle". When trying to work out why she was given that name it is necessary to find out what the word meant at the time it was being used. Nothing to do with boils, but the OED gives "A person or thing resembling a carbuncle in colour, brilliance, or precious quality." A carbuncle being a red or fiery stone. Same thing applies to middle English. Words used then may not mean the same as they do now.

Right up to the 19th century they were still saying "he rescued two cows" instead of "he stole two cows" in quarter sessions cases.

I'm still trying to find out what is meant by "styrrande". Could it be "stirring"? "Schewed" is of course "shown" and "whilke" is "which".

I must read some Chaucer again, a little later than Julian but I should be able to understand it more now than I did when I was at school!

Read the Rime of the Ancient Mariner this week. Some interesting resonances with the Chrons. This part reminded me of the SoulBiter:

And now there came both mist and snow,
And it grew wondrous cold:
And ice, mast-high, came floating by,
As green as emerald.

And through the drifts the snowy clifts
Did send a dismal sheen:
Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken—
The ice was all between.

The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around:

And this the Nicor of the deep:

Beyond the shadow of the ship,
I watched the water-snakes:
They moved in tracks of shining white,
And when they reared, the elfish light
Fell off in hoary flakes.

Within the shadow of the ship
I watched their rich attire:
Blue, glossy green, and velvet black,
They coiled and swam; and every track
Was a flash of golden fire.

I think that for a poet, reading poetry is nearly as important as writing it. I am always aware that I don't read enough. When I am talking with someone who says they write poetry, I'll always ask them who they like and what they are reading. It is often very clear when someone writing poetry isn't reading it. The forms, techniques and craft are best experienced and absorbed through reading, and then, later on, they become available to you when you write.

Someone who hasn't read much poetry is always trying to reinvent the wheel or getting stuck because they don't understand form or aren't aware of the range of techniques available to them. The result is usually poetry that is very samey and narrow. People often claim that they don't want to be influenced, but this is a mistake. Rather than constrain and inhibit, great poetry expands and enables.

u.

ussusimiel wrote: Someone who hasn't read much poetry is always trying to reinvent the wheel or getting stuck because they don't understand form or aren't aware of the range of techniques available to them. The result is usually poetry that is very samey and narrow. People often claim that they don't want to be influenced, but this is a mistake. Rather than constrain and inhibit, great poetry expands and enables.

u.

I haven't read much poetry, and I would be one of those that would (and have) written poetry from a narrow point of view. It is definitely a learned skill. I took a class in college called Methods of Critical Analysis and it opened up a world of understanding for me. But I have always felt that a certain kind of person writes poetry, and I wasn't that kind of person. Patient people write poetry.

ussusimiel wrote:Read the Rime of the Ancient Mariner this week. Some interesting resonances with the Chrons. This part reminded me of the SoulBiter:

And now there came both mist and snow,
And it grew wondrous cold:
And ice, mast-high, came floating by,
As green as emerald.

And through the drifts the snowy clifts
Did send a dismal sheen:
Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken—
The ice was all between.

The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around:

And this the Nicor of the deep:

Beyond the shadow of the ship,
I watched the water-snakes:
They moved in tracks of shining white,
And when they reared, the elfish light
Fell off in hoary flakes.

Within the shadow of the ship
I watched their rich attire:
Blue, glossy green, and velvet black,
They coiled and swam; and every track
Was a flash of golden fire.

I think that for a poet, reading poetry is nearly as important as writing it. I am always aware that I don't read enough. When I am talking with someone who says they write poetry, I'll always ask them who they like and what they are reading. It is often very clear when someone writing poetry isn't reading it. The forms, techniques and craft are best experienced and absorbed through reading, and then, later on, they become available to you when you write.

Someone who hasn't read much poetry is always trying to reinvent the wheel or getting stuck because they don't understand form or aren't aware of the range of techniques available to them. The result is usually poetry that is very samey and narrow. People often claim that they don't want to be influenced, but this is a mistake. Rather than constrain and inhibit, great poetry expands and enables.

u.

That's true of fiction writing, as well. I'm forever grateful that I read a lot of classics as a kid. I got a basis in writing technique without even realizing it.

And I've heard fiction writers, too, say they don't want to read anything while they're writing, because they're afraid they'll start to copy the style in their own work. Um, yeah, you might -- but that's part of learning your own voice.

I've run into one guy in a writing forum on Facebook who says he's never been a big reader, but he believes he can write because he's always been a storyteller. Well, okay -- storytelling pre-dates the written word, certainly. But even oral storytellers (and I'm not talking books on tape here) use certain devices to bring their listeners along with them on the journey. You do need to study that stuff in order to hone your craft. And writing stories down adds a whole 'nother layer to it. (I've been too chicken to read his book....)

u., am I wrong, or did Coleridge break his meter in the last line of your Nicor quote?

aliantha wrote:u., am I wrong, or did Coleridge break his meter in the last line of your Nicor quote?

I'd be slow to criticise a master, and it may be that he has used an anapest (was/ a/ flash//) instead of an iamb (of/ gold//) (den/ fire//). It changes the rhythm of the line without damaging the scansion, I think.

u.

[EDIT: to change 'trochee' to 'anapest'. I'd mixed them up ]

Right. What you said.

I was just surprised when I noticed it. I guess it's one of those things where you need to know the rules before you can break 'em.

Speaking of Yeats:

here's a song from my favorite human.

aliantha wrote:I was just surprised when I noticed it. I guess it's one of those things where you need to know the rules before you can break 'em.

We'll get you in on this poetry thing yet, ali!

Cagliostro wrote:Speaking of Yeats:

here's a song from my favorite human.

How about 'Joyce with a voice':

'Among the Wicklow Hills' by Pierce Turner

u.

ussusimiel wrote:

aliantha wrote:u., am I wrong, or did Coleridge break his meter in the last line of your Nicor quote?

I'd be slow to criticise a master, and it may be that he has used an anapest (was/ a/ flash//) instead of an iamb (of/ gold//) (den/ fire//). It changes the rhythm of the line without damaging the scansion, I think.

u.

[EDIT: to change 'trochee' to 'anapest'. I'd mixed them up ]

He should have just dropped the leading "Was". Same meaning, better flow. IMNSHO.