Round Robin – Emotion and all That

How emotionally involved are you in writing some scenes is the question posed for this month’s round robin.

Well, it’s a biggie. I think the emotion I personally find hardest to deal with is disappointment. I’m writing this on the 24th June 2016, so many in the UK will know disappointment this morning and throughout the whole day.

I’ve just had a peek at Facebook and astonishing stuff is coming through. People who voted ‘Leave’ (the European Union) because they didn’t think their vote would count so it wouldn’t matter (Eh?). People who believed Eurocrats made the laws – where were they when the rest of us were voting for our MEPs?

However, we’re talking writing here and as I write romance with lots of ups, downs and round-abouts, there’s enough emotion to find a few heart-wringing moments to tempt you.

MARIAH’S MARRIAGE

London Girl

Mariah’s Marriage is shot through with disappointment. Sir Lucas is disappointed he could not snare the Earl for his sister. Lady Mellon is disappointed she cannot secure a suitable wife for the heir. Mariah is bitterly disappointed she cannot continue her life teaching because the earl has trapped her in a compromising situation. I really felt that tug between what one wanted to do and what one must do.

And I hugely enjoyed the resolution which I was able to write with, I hope, laugh-out loud farce.

 

 

BELLA’S BETROTHAL

Bella’s Betrothal charts the resolution of disappointment because Bella feels abandoned, if not even cast off, by her family. I really invested in the scenes early in the book when she tries to defend herself against the pragmatic arguments and physical attractiveness of Charles Lyndsay. Well, how do you choose the lesser danger of a bogeyman out there and a heart-stoppingly attractive man in your room at the inn?

 

 

DAISY’S DILEMMA

Daisy’s Dilemma springs out of disappointment and it’s all the more poignant because Daisy doesn’t see it coming. Actually, as the creator, neither did I. Reuben Longreach’s voice caught me a little by surprise, but I soon grew to love him dearly and I wrote one or two of his scenes entirely wrapped up in him.

I refer a lot throughout this book to The Foundling Hospital where mothers could leave the babies and small children they were unable to keep. Some were never re-united. Today in Camden, within walking distance of King’s Cross, you can visit the Foundling Museum which sits in some of the original buildings and in Coram’s Fields. The display case exhibited there of the tokens – sometimes a button or scrap of a shawl – by which mothers hoped to identify their baby should life improve and they could reclaim them, is deeply moving. So, yes, I was emotionally very involved in writing much of this book.

Thomas Coram

So if you fancy learning how other authors go about it, try one of my friends, below:

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea
Anne Stenhouse  https://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/
Heather Haven http://heatherhavenstories.com/blog/
Victoria Chatham http://victoriachatham.blogspot.ca
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Rachael Kosinski http://rachaelkosinski.weebly.com/
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.wordpress.com
Connie Vines http://connievines.blogspot.com/

Bob Rich https://bobrich18.wordpress.com/2016/06/25/emotion-in-writing
Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com

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Diary of a Writer – In Retreat

Working in the sunshine

Retreating has become very popular among writers and I’m no exception. Being cut loose from domestic and other responsibility opens up endless possibilities for the creative mind.

The late, Hugh Rae, aka Jessica Stirling, used to set up speakers for a small writers’ conference held in Pitlochry at the beginning of October. A number of people would do the paperwork, but Hugh had the contacts. This was my first taste of writing space in the day. The two hours between arrival and dressing for pre-dinner chat in the bar seemed endless to a busy wife and mum. No telephone calls, no car runs, no hunting for the elusive football boot – just a quiet room and a notebook and pencil.

Hugh was a lovely man and spotting that I was a newbie, he came over and said, “The first coffee is always on me.” So typical of his concern.

My first taste of retreating for the purpose of writing rather than conferring, was signing up for a radio writing course run by The Arvon Foundation in deepest Devon. Totleigh Barton in Sheepwash was straight out of the Girls’ Own Book of writers’ retreats. I slept in the pigsty. It’s a sixteenth century manor house with barn.

But the crème de la crème has to be a friend’s cottage near Stonehaven.

A secret garden

I’ve been several times to this magical place where the eye is on a level with the local murder of crows and where I once arrived to an aerobatic display by a pair of buzzards. I finished my second novel here and I know many others who wrote reams and reams in its welcoming embrace.

Alas, all good things will end.

So, this year’s retreat is home based. That isn’t quite as easy as it sounds. I’ve got the space, but I’ve also got regularity around. So how’s it going…

Well, there’s been a bit of spring cleaning of my writing chores’ backlog. So far, I’ve edited a novel and sent out an enquiry concerning a possible contract for it. I’ve completed another paid editing job. I’ve signed a contract (news about that to come) and I’ve started a short story.

I’m avoiding the elephant in this particular room. That’s the 1950s novel I’m having a lot of trouble structuring. Maybe that points up the real drawback of retreating in-house: there’s no other writer to bounce ideas off in the evening. Maybe the next time I have the house to myself, I’ll invite a friend to make a retreat in the spare room. Bet they get lots written as the Wi-Fi doesn’t reach there!

Where’s your favourite retreat? Is it solitary and miles from anywhere? Is it in plain view in a café?

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