Tuesday 24 December 2013

My biographical bit: Part 2

Last time I brought you to where I got a lousy start at school.

The best I could do was get my head down and learn. But there were some kids I remember in particular - Catherine Geall, the oldest girl in the class; Gerard Howson and Mario Coggins, who were good at running like me, and Narinder Kaila, a young Asian lad. And I remember some teachers, too. There was Mrs Banks who lived next door to us (what could be worse, eh?) and Miss Brown (later Mrs Brewin) who was a right b*tch and told me to 'Take the plum out of my mouth' just because I spoke differently, and also once said the word 'crap' in front of a class of six and seven year olds.

The way the schools were near me back then meant I had to go the nearby Mayflower Junior School when I was seven. The head was a guy called Fred Oram and he was OK. It was the dreadful Miss Kettleband that put the wind up everyone. She was obsessed with your school tie even though it was invisible under the school jumper, and woe betide you if you didn't have it on. The sour faced old bag taught dancing amongst other things (fear, mostly) and I've had three left feet ever since. I did excel at maths and what passed for science, though. And there was a girl back then, too. Gail, her name was. A chubby blonde thing that I liked. I was right mug there and it preceded seven years of girl-free education.

You see, little did I know that at the age of eleven there was a test called the 11+, basically an IQ test where you had to score over 112 to go to a grammar school, which were single sex, and avoid the hideous Crown Hills Secondary Modern School. I achieved this, one of 39 to do so that year (1971). I went to Wyggeston Boys' Grammar School (now Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College), and one of a choice of four, where my uncle John had gone thirteen years before me. The most famous alumni are David and Richard Attenborough, by the way.

More in a later blog!

Jack Orchison, December 24, 2013.

Sunday 15 December 2013

My biographical bit: Part 1

It is a fact that some readers are more interested in the writer than the writing, so here goes part one of my biographical bit.

I was born in Whitehaven in January 1960 (followed by a sister in November 1961), although we soon moved to the Cumbrian village of Drigg - probably best know for its nuclear waste dump. My mum was a homemaker and my dad worked at the Sellafield site, not in Sector 7G like Homer Simpson, but as part of the maintenance crew. He was a painter and decorator by trade, and died last year at the age of seventy eight.

Back then there were very few children to play with. One was a little girl called Karen, but I didn't like going round there because I was scared of one of her soft toys, and another was a boy called Andrew where he and I ended up throwing coloured wooden building blocks at each other (I think mine were bigger than his and he was jealous). So that was that, really.

After some bad winters, the Cuban missile crisis, and the Kennedy assassination (I remember them) and an episode where the cows in the neighbouring field decided they wanted to consume the contents of our garden, the time loomed when I would have to go to school. That was not practical as it was twenty miles away in Millom! So we moved house - to Leicester, where my dad got another job (with the painting firm TJ Cundy) and we bought my mum parents' house for the princely sum of £2500 (4 bedrooms, detached!). I had never seen so many people in all my life, and it was here that I first met black and Asian people, too.

Then came the school (Evington Valley Infants) - and the dreaded headmistress, the evil white-haired Miss Spanton. Worse still was the experience of being shoved into a classroom with forty-one other kids, all of whom knew each other. I was the instant outsider. Not from there, someone who spoke differently, too. Not a good start.

Jack Orchison, December 15, 2013.

Thursday 12 December 2013

A Novel's Parting Shot

How should you end a novel?

The ending should be satisfying to the reader and shouldn't drag. It must be logical (or possible, given what went before - there can be no conveniently placed gun or magic wand that wins the day without any effort from your hero and their mates), tie up most loose ends, and conclude the journey of the hero/heroine - and this character must come away wiser, stronger, and often to have grown emotionally, too. It helps if the end is upbeat, but not everyone gets the girl, characters do die or get injured, and love can be lost. The ending must never place the main character back where they started.

A lot of thought should be given to your ending, because this is the place to set up a sequel (or trilogy) by deliberately not tying up all the loose ends and giving little pointers into the future - the uneasy truce, opposition to a mixed-race (or same-sex) marriage, the threatened career, an escaped bad guy etc - that can set up a new scenario because forces still exist to mess up your main character's life again.

My plan is to blog a bit about my life for a while, then, hopefully, I can get down to giving some examples in the future of what I've been talking about.

Jack Orchison, December 12, 2013.

Wednesday 11 December 2013

'If I were you, I wouldn't start from here'

This sounds like the punchline of an old joke. Stories have a beginning, middle and end - surely you start at the beginning? Perhaps, but the beginning of what, exactly? These days, readers want action and to get to it straightaway. You have to choose something that pulls in the reader, be it a secret meeting, a whispered conversation, a discovery, a murder, a realisation, a confession. Although it often is, this start need not be the start of the time span on your story. The initial piece could be near the middle or even the end, the narrative returning to the start to show how it all came about. Often there is a lot of back story to fill in by flasbacks or dialogue because characters are not newly-synthesised one-dimensional beings: they have pasts, friends, family, relationships etc.

You may find yourself trying different places to start. This is OK - go with the version you feel happiest with, because there's nothing worse than having to ditch a story halfway through. The same thing applies to viewpoint characters - choose the wrong ones and the story seems flat and uninspiring.

Pull in the reader with something that quickly introduces a main character, possibly a some crisis point, that allows the reader to ask who, what, when, where, why, and how. Keep them asking questions, and they'll read the whole book!

Jack Orchison, December 11, 2013

Saturday 7 December 2013

Finding a Hero

Imagine the evil influence in your horror novel is a demon-worshipping cult. We've all seen the films: we need a macho man like Arnold Schwarzenegger and/or a priest played by Gabriel Byrne, don't we? Wrong! This is all too predictable. It is far more exciting to have a reluctant hero or heroine, someone who knows nothing of the task ahead and who has to grow into it. Make him or her unlikely to succeed, then it is all the more satisfying when they do - and through their own wit of course.

The case above is the situation for one of my novels in progress. So what was my hero like? Young, inexperienced, small, slight, female, gentle, rich, sheltered, adopted (so she didn't know her genetic past), an only child (to increase the risk of loss) and with a powerful double connection to the bad guys (which, initially, she knows nothing about). Of course I had to give her some useful enemy-fighting attributes: she is bright, very determined, a great planner and organiser, and has a knack of surrounding herself with people willing to help, protect - and fight.

As a result of all this, someone stepped up to the plate. That's how I found the pretty, waif-like, seventeen year old Shauni Kelleher, a talented musician and composer with every privilege you can think of. Yet it is she who wins. One day you will see how.

Jack Orchison, December 7, 2013.

Tuesday 3 December 2013

Where and when do you write?

Greetings again. This is another commonly asked question and the answer is probably much less glamorous than you might think. Anyone aspiring to be a writer must write everyday, even when you don't feel like it, you feel ill or the muse has deserted you. Never wait to be inspired. Battle through the lethargy - it's the only way to get the words on the paper. Or, put another way, it takes regular application. Most people who write are amateurs and hobbyists with full time jobs (or full time mums) and they don't have the luxury of a particular place or time to write. You have to take the chance when you can: when you get up, on the bed, eating your sandwich at lunchtime, waiting in the car, when your partner is out, the kitchen worktop... Always have a story or notebook with you so that you can get on with it or make notes and observations. You will be surprised how this builds up a body of work. We all only have 24 hours in a day, but as writers we must carve out little chunks of it for ourselves. Why waste it in front of the TV? Jack Orchison, December 3, 2013.

Sunday 1 December 2013

To plan or not to plan?

Hello again. When it comes to novel writing, should you plan in detail or just get on with it the moment an idea strikes? The latter rarely works - if you ever get to the end it will be an overblown incoherent mass the best use for which is to warn yourself never to not plan again! Many writing experts advise all writers, and especially those starting out, to plan in some detail, but too much detail and you will end up taking for ever to write some weighty outline you will never stick to, or you will get bored of the story before you ever write it. The best way is to find a happy medium. the way I try to operate is to make sure I know my characters, their relationships and motivations, and when, where and how the story starts. You also have to have your ending. An ending, not necessarily the ending - at least have something to work towards. Also, make sure you have a few events (encounters, disasters, arguments etc) that get in the way of you viewpoint characters and that must occur in the story. That way, your end is connected to your beginning by a series of milestones, but what goes in between is up to you. It is not pre-cast. The journey will be an exciting adventure for character and author alike, but the result will be far more coherent than having no plan at all. Jack Orchison, December 1, 2013.

Friday 29 November 2013

How do you get writing feedback?

When I first started writing I knew little about it and decided I needed some instruction. I tried a distance learning course, which I didn't get on with: I soon found what I wanted to do (novel writing) and the assignments were at odds. Something had to go and it was the course, but I wasn't wrong about needing feedback. I went along to a local writing group and tried that for a while, but that didn't do the trick either. You will find writing groups are filled with would-be poets and people who think they can write flash fiction and short stories, and again there is little place for useful comment on any extended piece of work. However, the guy who ran the group, someone who is a published novelist and who works as a freelance editor, told me about another group he ran - this time just for novelists. It is a quarterly workshop where each person present reads out a part of their work in progress which is then suitably interrupted, criticised and commented upon. You need a thick skin for this, of course, but everyone is in the same boat and it really does work. Best of all it's free!
Jack Orchison, November 29, 2013.

Thursday 28 November 2013

What's your writing background?

Many writers are brought up with words and the love of books and many come to work in the area in some capacity, and others have qualifications in English (language or literature). Yet many do not. I'm a scientist, and know other scientists who write - strangely this is rarely sci-fi, which has the most knowledgeable and discerning readerhip of any genre. I started writing short stories ten years ago and encouraged the rest of the family to do the same; it was a scheme to get my sons writing. In the end only I stuck at it. I realised my stories were getting longer and darker. They were heading towards the horror novel, which is my main interest now. In case you wondered, I'm the only Jack Orchison in the UK. I'm the one on Google+, with a picture on Picasa, and I'm the inventor with published patents, the scientist with published papers, and the guy with the chemistry PhD thesis. And my two blogs, of course. Plus, I don't have anything to do with that social network beginning with F. Jack Orchison, November 28, 2013.

Friday 22 November 2013

Deep, dark dread

Hello again. Today I'm looking at story genre, the type of story I like to write and how to get into the right mindset.

I can (and do) write in different genres as ideas strike me (adventure, mystery, serial killer, fantasy, sci-fi) but the one I like the most is the horror/chiller type.

So, as a scientist (a chemist in the manufacturing industry), why should I be so interested in scaring myself and others? Well, when you deal with hard facts all day I think it is exciting to consider the unknown, the unknowable, the unproven and even the unthinkable. This is what I like to call the deep, dark dread. There I am, poised over the keyboard (or, quite often, with pen and paper - low tech is good too), a quiet mild-mannered person; how do I conjure up the requiaite backdrop populated by some hideous evil?

Apart from gods and demons, vampires, werewolves, monsters of folklore (or those invented by HP Lovecraft, for instance), ghosts, aliens and elusive creatures (crypto-organisms), you need to think of your ultimate alter-ego: all the things you are not. And you will soon get the idea, especially when your foul character exists just a whisker away from real life.

Imagine what you could have, could be: murderer, psychopath, robber, rapist, thief, conman, fraudster, imposter, embezzler, assassin, gang leader, drug pusher, arsonist, kidnapper, terrorist...the list is very long. And if some of these don't sound scary enough, imagine the blackness they can paint over a victim's life. Indeed, horror and terror don't need to be caused by monsters: what someone will do to their fellow man or woman can be quite enough.

And remember this: any one of these horrors could exist where you live. They could even be round the next corner. Or standing next to you. Or in a book repository with a gun.

Jack Orchison, November 22, 2013.



Sunday 17 November 2013

Favour fo a Friend

It can be easy for people to get jealous when someone they know brings a new book out. But I'm not like that - I want to congratulate everyone whose hard work has come to fruition. Which is why I am so pleased that, after eight years, my friend Christine Johnson, who writes as CJ Harter, has finally published her first novel, Rowan's Well. It is a well-crafted psychological family drama set in the north-east of England. She is working hard to promote it with newspaper interviews and an agreement with a bookshop. Please visit her facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/cjharterbooks ,  and also don’t forget to visit  the sites where you can buy the book at http://www.feedaread.com/books/Rowans-Well-9781782999317.aspx  and http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/363464  : and here is the link for  Kindles http://tinyurl.com/oxfk2fc  

Sunday 10 November 2013

Where do you get your ideas from?

Hello again, and special greetings to my readers in the USA, Germany and the Ukraine, as well as those in the UK. Today I will look at another commonly encountered writing phrase: 'Where do you get your ideas from?' It's the question most asked of writers, both professional and amateur, published and unpublished. It's a good question, too. Stephen King, in his book 'On Writing,' likens creating a story to carefully excavating a fossil - in other words, the story is already there for us to get if we are determined enough. The story idea is thus the exposed weathered bone or footprint which leads us on to discover the rest. For our stories we must ask ourselves: What if? What could that mean? What is that person's past? How old is that building? Look at everyday things in a new way. Connect them, find a link. The story, complete with genre, will suggest itself. So, how does this all work in practice? Here's an example. A while ago I saw a calendar photograph and wondered where it was. It turned out the picturesque whitewashed cottage next to the winding river was in a village in Norfolk, England. I began to wonder who lived there. Then I saw a sad little news item in a paper - a little girl, due to compete in a horse-riding comtpetion, was kicked to death by another horse in the same field. The man in the cottage became her father. I soon had him losing everything - a widower with no children and whose business was going to the wall in the harsh economic climate. And the only thing he had left to keep him going was his faith. Then, as I looked at the history of the area (you must always do your research), the parish church and ecclesiastical things generally became prominent and I found a centuries-old scandal. I needed to somehow connect the present day with the past. But how? I had the main character be a builder and make an archaelogical discovery as his team dug the foundation for a kitchen extension - work he was doing for a woman who becomes his new love. A woman who has a little girl. The answer to his prayers. And together they solve the past mystery. The component parts of a story rarely come fully formed - sometimes the connections are made over months or years - but there is no great mystery. No real secret that writers know and the rest do not. No Ideas Store Inc. What you need is scattered around and absolutely free. You just need to see the possibility in the mundane, and once you do it's like floodgates have opened. Suddenly, those disarticulated bones assemble into Stephen King's fully-fledged dinosaur and there's no stopping you. Jack Orchison 8 November, 2013

Write what you know

Many people may know me as a chemist who works in the manufacturing industry (indeed, I have papers and patents with my name on them), but not many will realise I am a writer (a would-be novelist)in my spare time. Yes, the guilty secret is out! For a moment I want you to consider the title of this post. It is a commonly given piece of advice, but what does it really mean? You cannot take it at face value, otherwise all writing would be about everybody's boring jobs and mundane lives. Not many of us have careers like Clive Cussler! No - it means you should use your imagination, do your research, read, listen and observe. In other words, write what you can find out. But there is more to it than this. The foregoing will only get you so far, such as your fictional landscape, a few scene ideas and a wooden character or two. What you really need are the aspects that generate the important bits - character motivation and conflict. These bring the story to life, add layers and complexity, make the characters seem like real people, and make the reader keep turning the pages. A story is an emotional journey for the main character(s)and the writer alike. You have to be there, crying, laughing and loving right there with them. This is where we come to the fundamental truth behind the lie on the phrase 'write what you know.' Paradoxically, it really is within all of us, for who has not experienced the joy of (or longing for) love, the destructiveness of envy and jealousy, the loss and tragedy of death, the euphoria of achievement, the embittering effect of failure or rejection, loneliness - the list goes on. And it is these that drive our stories and characters. And I have found something else, too. You may find you gravitate towards certain topics or issues an find it hard to see why - the sort of thing Freud would have got excited about. For a long time I wondered why I wrote about young characters and why the main character in my first novel-in-progress was an only child. Then it hit me: I was at primary school with a girl called Julie who later died of a brain tumour. She was an only child. And a mere fourteen years old. Her face is burned on my mind and you, dear reader, are the first to know this - forty years on. Jack Orchison, 30 October 2013