Shouts From Down Under

Waiting for your novel to bake...

An interesting incident occurring during Olympic preparation here...

http://chronicle.pro/russia/olimpiada-v-sochi/olimpijskoe-kladbische.html

And more expansion on the topic of the Olympics in Russia here.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2014/01/18/putin-hopes-sochi-olympics-chee...

A cemetery with a handful of gravestones blocking a major project.

You know, this turned my thoughts to writing and when this happens during your featured scene, that time when you have this thing stuck there, a problem, a pain in the butt. It's perhaps a difficulty convincing people to believe what's happening in your story.
Maybe it's a problem with timing, or a character in two places at once, or an event so clichéd that it's cringe-worthy.

Whatever the reason, it's like a fine splinter that no matter how you rearrange it, how you try and marry the narrative it eludes your most cunning and stealth tactics to fix the thing.

I don't seem to strike this itchy problem that often; I'm just happy to even have some sort of flow to my yarn, or even some words on the page at all is an achievement.

However, there have been times this nickety problem has happened to me. I've stressed about it. For days sometimes.

I learnt long ago not to expound on these difficulties to my wife or childults. Yes Childults is a word. I just made it up. There you go Urban Dictionary. A new word made up by Sparky (Rod)

Huh! Just went to enter it into the dictionary but it's already there! Arrgg.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=childults

Yes, the wife and childults left in our house don't want to know the niggling sillies of novelist brain aches.

But the thing is, often, yes often, I've left the problem for a while, even over a decent meal my wife has cooked; she's a fantastic cook. So I leave the problem to stew in my head.

And every time, if I leave it be, I suddenly get a voilà moment. I see the solution clearly right in front of me. Does this happen to everyone?

These solutions can be interesting. For example, if the problem is the clichéd scene, dialogue or character, then the quick fix can be to reverse something that is said, or happens. Instead of the person unlocking their apartment and going inside, and the scene unfolds but doesn't work just then, have them forgot their keys. They leave in the Taxi that brought them, the driver still fixing up his meter and talking to his radio room about the next client.

Other times the splinter sticking up fair in the middle of a good part of the novel suddenly blends in, fits perfectly, the shapes and some simple changes make it possible just be adding a bit of dialogue, a phone call, someone didn't turn up or was late, or maybe it was a headline in the paper.

There can be a wrong way to do this, for instance, having a coincidence that is hanging, doesn't contain any reason or bearing in the story, and just fades away when you hope that the reader forgets how unlikely it would be.

In life, coincidences happen all the time. We all know how crazy life can be, so bad that nobody would write it as fiction. It's too ridiculous and unpredictable. Humans themselves just make no sense, and let's not even mention computers or help desks. ( I won't even write the word call centre, or the English language)

So yeah, if you come to this toe stubbing, bandicoot hole tripping, low branch head hitting section of writing road, don't despair. Relax.

You might be having trouble, but think of your characters! They have to sit around, twiddling their thumbs, waiting, some chewing on the odd stick of gum, older ones squatting having a quiet smoke together, others standing watching you with their brows furrowed with worry.

Yes. Relax. Don't feel pressured by them, or by the agent or publisher not far into your future who is tapping his fingers, a spider building a web from his hat to his boot as he dozes.

Even the scene in your novel is on pause as your brain sifts through the stuff you've already written, searching for the key that starts up everything again, and brings life to your entire future.

And as for me, your blog author here, writing about you? Well, I've already been through it, so I can just sit here doing what I'm doing, eating a large white crockery bowl of fruit salad.

It contains rock melon, pineapple, watermelon, strawberries, cherries, grapes, banana, ginger syrup and port wine. Don't you wish you had some?

Sparky