Writers Abroad

After the Harry Potter block-buster, many writers will have mumbled, "Hmm, I could do that. Can't be that difficult to write for children."

But what do children find equally riveting now they've put down Harry Potter 7? For inspiration and to further my own chances of being able to cast Colin Firth in something I whipped up in the corner of a café, I leafed through some childrens` books of my mum's from the 1920s. Surely what excited children then would excite them now too, wouldn't it? Or would it...

Here`s one complete story from "The Big Book for Tinies" (late 1920s):

"One morning when Betty woke, the snow was falling, falling. She went to the window. The streets were all white. The milk girl was coming along, and she was all white.

"You must get dressed quickly, Betty," said her mother. "It is cold."

Betty remembered something. It was Jenny's birthday, and she was to go to the party. Jenny lived across the common.

"Oh dear!" said Betty and she wished the snow would stop.

All morning the snow fell. At dinnertime it stopped. Harry came in from school, and he said, "I am afraid Betty will not be able to go to the party, Mummy. The snow is very deep."

"Oh dear!" said Betty, and she sat in the window seat and looked at the snow, and wished it would go away.

After dinner Betty said, "Please, Mummy, if I cannot go to the party, what can I do?"

"I'll tell you what," said Harry. "Mummy, suppose I take Betty on my back to Jenny's house, on the way to school?"

When Betty was ready Harry took her on his back and carried her over the common to Jenny's house.

"Well, I never!" said Jenny's mother. "That is very clever of you, Harry."

Gosh. That was thrilling.

Nothing like some good old stereotypes: a helpless heroine, a strong hero and a doting mum. Oh, and an absent father.

Well, actually that`s quite a good basis for a modern story: Dad`s in prison, Jenny`s a partying chav, Harry (Colin) could encounter a monster whilst crossing the common and then have his evil way with the milk girl. Yes, I can feel a good YA novel coming on. But Betty is not Hermione. Any ideas?  

Vesna has written this week`s blog, entitled "Time to Stand and Stare", about how to cope with things/people who get in the way of writing, and how ruthless to be to them. Something we can all relate to.

Paola has given us some very interesting muses, combining the use of situations and key words. A real challenge, so let`s get musing.

Vanessa and Nicola have completed their required Nano word count and are ploughing on above and beyond the call of duty. Well done!

Take a break from Christmas preparations to do the December Challenge, either our own Christmas Competition (50 words) or 400 words for "Words for the Wounded".

Nicola is on the Bragging Stool, with a publication date set for the 11 th December for her new novel "Bittersweet Blood" and Dianne is expecting delivery of 500 copies of her local anthology. Good luck to both with the sales! Alyson has also scored again with her Five Minute Fiction.

Paola will be doing a book launch for our anthology "Foreign Encounters" on 1 st December in Dhaka. Over 300 sold already!

Our next informal meeting is on Sunday, 23 rd December at 11 a.m. CET.

Happy Writing and may the Muse be with you!

We often talk here about the advantages of writing outside our comfort zones. Of trying to cobble together a short story instead of non-fiction, or of trying a different genre, such as sci-fi or horror instead of Womag fiction. This should also apply to one`s reading, but until now I`ve always drifted back to the classics, humour, biography or travel, with the occasional best-seller novel thrown in, always carefully avoiding horror and vampires.

But I recently I read a book which was not only an excellent read, but also opened a can of worms in my mind. I`m referring to "Conversations with S. Teri O`Type" (available at amazon), by Writers Abroad member Christopher Allen, whose blog I Must Be Off! I often dip into for his quirky travel writing and dry humour. His book however, is about being gay and how to define "gayness".
 
I grew up in a time when the word "gay" meant "light-hearted, happy, cheerful" and didn`t have the connotation it has today. I`ve had some experience of working with gay colleagues and found them to be charming, creative people.  But I never had an inkling of the conflicts and self-torment that these people go through. Nether of the pressures they endure trying to define their gayness, nor of the way they suffer under the clichés that society imposes on them.

Chris Allen`s book, although tackling these problems in a humorous way, had me lying awake at night pondering why we expect gay men to be "feminine", wear pink and display "camp" behaviour. It also had me cringing at the memory of some of the jokes I used to make at their expense as a teenager and I thought about how I would have reacted if my son had told me he was gay. In short, this book made me examine how I felt about a subject I had never given very much thought.

It was a journey into unknown territory and I`m glad I made it. Maybe I should give vampires a try after all.