Write What You Know

I have found people need to relate writing to something they know but have been unsuccessful in deliberate attempts to write in a particular genre. So far, I pick one when I am ready.

Maybe I am haphazard in my approach, but I’m not a crime writer or any such specialist. I get an idea and go with the flow. It gives me more creative freedom. When you have spelling issues to contend with, you need that.

The only advice I follow is…

Write What You Know!

There’s no point writing about places and situations you’ve never been through. People who have that knowledge who will be glad to point out any deficiencies.

If you are writing about an imagined land and creatures of your own making, that’s fine. There’s nothing to compare it to.

When I say write about what you know, I mean in the way Graham Greene wrote suspense.

As a journalist, he experienced political tension and the life of a spy, travelling to faraway places and relaying details back to MI6.

He had probably lived in paranoia long before his ties with MI6. Since his school days, he had a disorder comparable with Bipolar.

His paranoia and Catholicism contributed to the authenticity of Brighton Rock and The Power and the Glory.

He used what he knew to build a scene. He made the landscapes and cities he passed through his backdrop, his endless restlessness and infidelity to write about guilt.

If Greene had been an atheist monogamist who had stayed in the home-counties, would we have any of his writing?

It’s possible, descriptions of the mundane can bring brilliance.

In terms of writing what you know, I remember being baffled when I found out the writer of Shirley Valentine was a man! I then thought about the fact Shirley spoke to a wall. That made more sense.

I often talk to myself and try characters on for size. When I looked at it that way, it was easy see how Willy Russel came up with the one female character play.

“Hello wall.”

Writers must use memories. Knowing makes a story convincing. I have met mature writers in internet chat rooms who say they couldn’t have written well in their twenties because their younger self hadn’t done much.

If you are a young aspiring writer, don’t let the last comment put you off. Keep practising your writing skills but remember this…

Twenty-seven years ago a neighbour gave me the best example of writing badly through lack of knowledge.

I asked her to look at a piece of writing. She had been reluctant. Having read my short story, she repented and told me why she had been so horrified by my request.

Someone had asked her to read their work before and it had proved embarrassing.

Over all, the gentleman’s writing was good but the dialogue between a husband and wife was awkward and stilted.

When she worked up the nerve to tell him it ruined his work, he said he hadn’t ever really had a long-term relationship.

This is why I make

Avatars

I prefer to make avatars based people I know. I may change their appearance, but use their voice, speech patterns and general mannerisms. If you’re not good at remembering what colour eyes you chose for a character, this method works just as well in reverse.

Graham Greene’s character, Wormald, did this in Our Man in Havana.

He didn’t have the nerve to spy but knew verifiable facts would be needed, if he were to convince MI6 he had completed missions and had contacts.

He looked for people in phone books and at his Country Club, studied their activities and built stories around them.

Greene knew Wormald would have to create avatars to tell a convincing tale.

That is what writers do. They soak up their surroundings, people and activities and pour it into their imagination until it flows onto a page.

Research Could Save You.

Even when you know your subject inside out, you’ll still have to approach with caution. Check every detail if you have the slightest doubt.

I wrote a book using a mispronunciation, which was allowed by Bengali relatives in my childhood and was never corrected. Thankfully, it was discovered during an edit by a professional.

It was a cringe worthy experience. As a result, I write with my phone next to me and check everything I can.

Google search what you ‘know’ and you find hidden meanings. You may find you didn’t know it at all.

My mother was a good technical writer but was embarrassed to find she had always spelt veranda incorrectly in her published travel journals. She was also inconsistent with her spelling of Lungi.

After copy typing her South East Asia work, I wasn’t sure which of her multiple spellings were correct. It made me realise another important fact.

If you have decided how to spell a foreign word with uncertainty, use the same spelling throughout. If it’s wrong, it will be easier to find all and replace.

Back on subject…

Gerald Durrell wrote My Family and Other Animals with ease because he was the boy in the book who kept scorpions in a match box.

By the same token James Herriot had hands on experience putting his arm in places most of us wouldn’t dream of going. He changed the name of his eccentric employer, in a Yorkshire veterinary practice, and spoke his hilarious truth, tinged with genuine misgivings about the approach of WW2.

Often we forget, knowing can lead to genius which changes cultures.

Many authors think of Jack Kerouac as a cliqued example. Time has moved us on and so did Kerouac when he used his service pension to travel after his return from WW2.

Having slummed it across conservative America, actively involving himself with poets and writers of the Beat Generation, Kerouac wrote On the Road in two weeks! He knew exactly where he had been and where it was going.

He was open about his use of unregulated drugs for this purpose. I wouldn’t recommend that route and, if you are considering it, would remind you of the fate of certain actresses of that era.

The best I managed, consuming vats of coffee, was two months. I admit to it being sloppy. Editing it took four months but it was something which was in me and had to come out.

If you’ve never been through life shattering events, I would still say what you know is the best route. It doesn’t have to be Fiction but base it on something from your reality.

If your specialist subject is DIY, share your knowledge. When you conquer a phobia, tell the world how you did.

You may think your choice of topic is of no interest to others. I can assure you that anyone struggling to crochet a chain would be glad of a diagram.

Who knows what really interests others? The shame some might feel about uncontrollable anger could work brilliantly in a horror story or family drama.

Writing is like going for a new job. It’s not going to happen if you decide to rip up the application form before anyone can judge your ability. You have do it and let someone else decide?

Like anything you’ll ever do, you will have to prove relative experience, or gain it, but make sure you know the answers to any possible questions.

 

Not knowing something is only a sin when you try to pretend you do.

I know a very good novelist who last week, on Facebook, asked if people had washing machines in their bathroom or kitchen and if they had a tumble dryer. He also asked which country they were living in.

He writes detective stories and is a very thorough person. He knows you can’t wallpaper over wide cracks and expect it to stick.

Less perfect souls, like myself, are tempted to gloss over defects with good reason. Research is hard work and often results in gathering conflicting information.

This week I began a new piece of work. The idea was simple enough. The setting was a place in France, which I knew in my youth.

What happened next led to two whole days of tiring research.

I had to find out how the Police in France operate.

There turned out to be three different Police forces involved in my story and I had to work out which of them would be responsible for my case. I didn’t know if questions could be answered with a phone call or if my Detective would have to make a six hour journey to conduct an interview. I haven’t got there yet. It’s only a small part of the story but it is necessary to know.

It is going to take me an age to understand the difference between the French Police and the British.

Judges, it seems, are involved in simple murder investigations in France. In some cases they manage the later part of the investigation before it gets anywhere near trial.

Fortunately, I have a friend who knows why the legal system in France has evolved to its present state. I have a lot more reading to do!

The same well learned friend asked a question in jest, when I called her for help and inspiration.

“How is your French, Rachel?”

“Fffing superb at the moment.”  How we rire’d.

To top it all, the French town I knew had a dog poo problem when I was there. The jury is still out about whether it exists today but I am working on it (Yes, it is relevant.)

I also had to look up statistics about Police working with psychics, only to find they don’t.

More mind boggling than that, there have been studies into how the Police should approach and act upon information provided by the psychics they don’t use.

Stranger still, research papers say the Police should not pay psychics but must provide their travel expenses, lunch etc. when they don’t use them. Help!

Sometimes there is no definite answer but, as Rommel use to say, time spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted. You will learn something new or perhaps find information which will inspire future work.

If you are here for more cleaning tips and a recipe, please see below.

Happy writing. Rachel

Recipe

 May I start with an apology. I know my friends were expecting a Beef and Cauliflower Curry recipe but I had a change of plan, and then some.

During a very brief ‘heat wave’ in the UK, I had been working on some light salad recipes and accompaniments to entice you. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be.

Instead, as the heavens opened, I baked bread to warm the house and had another change of heart on the salad front.

The recipe I decided on was one I used to make when I worked as a baker in Auntie’s Tea Shop in Cambridge.

It’s a quick easy and comforting dish, good for a light lunch or Starter for dinner party guests.

As Auntie’s Tea Shop has long since closed, it’s nice to think we can carry on using some of the wonderful dishes which once drew in cold tourists, office staff and market traders.

I have no desire to return to baking 150 scones + fresh cakes, which would have to be prepared repeatedly, as queues of Graduates and their proud families formed outside the shop, but have many fond memories of the clatter of tea trays and waiting staff banter.

The tea shop was taken over by one of the owner’s sons when she retired and is now The Senate Bar and Bistro.

Here it is, adapted from the original recipe by Yvonne Prevett, founder of Aunties Tea Shop, Saint Mary’s Passage, Cambridge.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

300g Baby Chestnut Mushrooms

(Most white button varieties will do)

1 Small White Onion

1 Stock Cube, Vegetable or Chicken

(I sometimes use half of each, usually Knorr)

½ tspn English Mustard

1 Pint of Milk

½ Pint of boiling water

½ Small Potato

Fresh Nutmeg

Fresh Parsley (Finely Chopped)

Butter + Vegetable Oil

Ground Black Pepper + Table Salt (Rock Salt is too overpowering for the delicate flavour)

Method

1)      Wash the Mushroom. Some prefer to wipe them clean with kitchen towel but these mushrooms are going to be cooked in Milk and Stock, so don’t worry if this is what you usually do.

2)      Chop the onion fairly small. Don’t worry too much, this soup is going to be liquidised or smoothed with a blending wand.

3)      Place a knob of Butter, with a small amount of Vegetable Oil, in a large pan and melt over a low heat and add the Onion and Mushrooms (Do not brown them, it will affect the colour and flavour of this delicate soup)

4)      Add the Milk, boiling water, English Mustard and crumble in the Stock Cube. (Do not substitute English Mustard with French Mustard. English Mustard becomes mild when heated but French Mustard becomes overpowering and hot)

5)      Grate the ½ Potato into the pan and gently boil for 20 – 30 minutes while you chop a small handful of Parsley.

6)      Grate a small amount of Nutmeg into the soup and taste after a couple of minutes, to see if you would like to add more. (The Nutmeg should not be overpowering. It is added to enhance the flavour of the Mushrooms)

7)      When you are sure the Potato has dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool a little before blending it to a smooth, creamy consistency.

8)      Stir in a little of the fresh parsley and season to taste before serving with a fresh bread of your choice.

August Cleaning Tips

Cats, Do We Really Need Them?

Summer time and the living isn’t easy if you have a cat. You’ve usually got over them losing their winter coat by the time the heat kicks in and they have another heavy moult.

There seems to be no end to the hoovering and regular flea treatments. If you, like me, have a small cluttered cottage, you may be feeling overwhelmed by August, so here are a few of my top tips to help you through the fluffy season.

Yes, hoovering and grooming really are the two best answers but there are ways to stop the continuous toil.

I put cat blankets over most of my furniture. I buy small light fleecy ones so I can have a cheap mountain of them to swap and wash when they are covered in fur. I favour blankets because they save your furniture when your cute friend heaves up a fur ball.

Line drying will get rid of most of the hair but you could try the following.

·         Put a washing up sponge, with a scourer on one side, in the wash with the blankets/clothes. I know I’m always saying this but please make sure it’s a white dish scourer. This works better than some of the rubbery best sellers, which don’t seem to work at all when you use fabric conditioner.

·         If you have velvet furnishings, use a wet washing up glove to wipe the fur off. It’s really affective and saves you dragging the hoover again.

·         Sticky tape is old but gold. If you are wearing black and your cat sits on you, roll it round your hand, sticky side up, and dab them pesky hairs off. A well rung out clean fibre cloth is good too!

·         Get a hand held steamer with a brush attachment. They are especially good at getting rid of fur on woollens. What’s more, they don’t stretch and mark pullovers the way a traditional iron would. Just put your garment on a coat hanger, good results within minutes.

If you find hoovering is the only solution, its a good idea to get a cylinder vacuum which has a spinning brush head.

Henry Hoovers are good, I’ve used them in the work place, they have a large capacity. I use a Miele Cat & Dog. It is superb on carpets and rugs and cuts my hoovering time by half (Miele Cat & Dogs come in several sizes. The smaller ones work as well as the largest and take up less cupboard space) The bags can be expensive but I have found generic versions which work.

One of my cats is good at over-grooming and coughing up fur balls. If you have this problem and it’s ruining the way you feel about your carpets, I recommend a Vax Compact Power, Lightweight Upright Carpet Cleaner.

I had a Bissell Proheat for years. It had hand attachments, which were good for upholstery. It could cover wide floors without being refilled every five minutes but was heavy. The Vax is for floors only but I am happy with it.

(I may cover carpet cleaners in more detail at another time)

I have ordered a silicon roller with a brush from a well-known online store. It comes with a smaller roller, for removing lint and fur from clothes (this looks good, as it is pocket sized and has a closing lid)

The larger of the two devices is a silicon roller with a brush on it, to gather hair without it floating onto other surfaces. The instructional video claimed you could brush your cat with it, if it consented.

Best of all, you run it under a tap to clean!

If it is any good I will reveal the maker in next month’s post.