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This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC |
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This will be a blog for my writing, maybe with (too much) personal thrown in. I am hoping it will be a little more interactive, with me answering questions, helping out and whatnot. It follows on from the old one, which is now full. An index of topics from old and new can be found here: "Writing Blog No.2 Index" Feel free to comment and interact. And to suggest topics! |
| Novel #42 So… I was reading a book on Celtic mythology and belief because of course I was, when I came across a reference to a paper from a renowned UK academic. In this paper, she posited that the Green Man of popular legend and belief was not always a Green Man and that this change only came after the Roman invasion of the Celtic world. Before then, it was a Green Woman, and she cites many examples of images of the ‘Green Man’ that clearly have the pendulous breasts of an earth-mother, but which people have stated was either androgynous or male with one female aspect. The fact that the worship was that of nature and we still, to this day, refer to the concept as “Mother Nature” would lend credence to her conclusion, as well as the fact that women were the healers of pre-Romanic Britain. Men were buried with weapons, women with herb lore implements. But the Roman culture was very patriarchal and the idea of female leaders was anathema to them, and so the writers and rulers ignored what was there. It is believed this is where the idea of the “evil witch” entered the popular culture, as legends in ancient Greece and Mesopotamia before Rome saw witches as being either good or evil, they were not wholly one or the other. ”Great, Steven, a boring history lesson. So what?” The next novel was born of that research. It is told in a non-linear narrative, and I play with the Robin Hood myth as well as the Green Man myth, and the tale basically tells of a group of people protecting the woods of the Green Woman in the UK from the Brown Man and some humans. I had a UK friend read it and she made me change so much about the setting it was like it was a different work, but at least she did that and didn’t just laugh at me. At 80k words, it is a good novel length and I don’t mind this one. Some readers find the non-linear aspects a little awkward, but the central story, of the main group of archaeologists is chronological, so that helps, I think. Excerpt Everyone came to an abrupt halt. The two metre by one metre excavation was only twenty centimetres or so deep, but already the unearthed layout could be seen. Numerous dirty white lumps protruded at various heights, but two of them showed the exact nature of them all. The dirt-filled eye-holes stared at nothing; the lower mandibles were attached to nothing; the eternal grins laughed at everything. None could draw their attention from the two skulls watching them all as if that was what they had been waiting for, near-anticipation in those blank faces. Two dead people; others waiting to be fully revealed; and how many more that was that were buried down there no-one could tell. “Shit!” Marian’s voice cut through the silence. Celeste put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, to comfort herself as much as her partner. “Yes,” her father agreed sadly. He looked over at Benjamin, having joined them from within the incident tent and now standing at the periphery of the workers. His expression mirrored that of the professor and he nodded once. “Okay, sorry everyone,” Matt said, holding his hands up. “We’ve got to leave now… I mean, put your stuff away and then go… No, not go… We’ll meet at the pub… the hotel… Yeah… I mean…” “We’ve found human remains so we have to notify the authorities.” Celeste took over immediately. “So, just pack up and we’ll all meet at the hotel, yeah? Now, where’s Richie?” “He’s gone to wait for the police,” Lawrence, Benjamin’s young off-sider, said from the back of the crowd, his voice sounding weaker and more pathetic than anyone else. “I think he called them pretty much straight away.” “Good.” Celeste looked at them all. “Sorry, guys. I hope we’ll have more info when we get back to the hotel. We’ll see everyone there, yeah?” Slowly, the small crowd dispersed, heading down the two tracks towards the gates and the waiting vehicles. Not much was said; shock had enveloped them all. Celeste and Marian noted with relief that none seemed to have pulled phones out; that meant that maybe they had avoided unintentional social media publicity of such an horrific discovery before they could deal with it professionally. “Thank-you,” Dr Hamilton muttered sheepishly. “And I’m sorry… It’s just that this… I mean, now we have to…” “It’s okay, dad,” Marian said soothingly. And that is Green. I reckon it does need a better title, but for the moment, that’s it. Horror-fantasy is how I categorise it. Oh, and LGBTQI+ characters. Why? Because of one aspect of the original myth I needed to maintain, and this was the best way to do that without it seeming forced. Not a bad one, this one. |
| External Writerings February 2026 Yes, sorry, it is that time again for me to please ask very nicely for you to read my alleged work in the external columns! Most of these are look backs at years past, songs from 60, 50, 40, 30 and 20 years ago. And a Valentine’s Day list. The first part of a list of the best songs of 1966. The second part of a list of the best songs of 1966. The first part of a list of the best songs of 1976. The second part of a list of the best songs of 1976. The first part of a list of the best songs of 1986. The second part of a list of the best songs of 1976. Air Supply love songs for Valentine’s Day! A list of the best songs of 1996 And, finally, a list of the best songs of 2006. 9 columns for you to enjoy. Remember, every click from a new IP without an ad-blocker gets me a small amount of money, but it all adds up. Thanks in advance.  |
| Writer Confidence How much confidence should a writer have? This came up on Discord, and sort of follows on from the last post. There are three types of writer when it comes to confidence. One is not good, one is more personal, while the final is where I feel we should be headed. And I am going to say it is tough, but it is what it is. First, there is the writer who lacks confidence. Completely lacks confidence. There is self-doubt about everything they write. Now, for some writers, this is fine. They just write for themselves and know no-one else is going to read it. And if they do show someone and get any hint of negative feedback, they retreat into themselves even more. This is especially people who come to writing at an older age, or who have suffered a lot of rejections if trying to be published. This is the personal one. Second is the person who is over-confident, who thinks they are the greatest writer ever. Maybe they suffer from Idol Syndrome ("20240131 #2 Criticism & The Writer (Idol Syndrome)" ). Maybe it’s The Dunning-Kruger Effect:  Or maybe it is arrogance, pure and simple. Notice how EL James has not had a big release since The Mister failed? Know why? Because she thinks she is the greatest writer ever, does not need editing and refuses to listen to editors. Money-maker or not, apparently and allegedly, she is not good to work with. So, what you need is to be somewhere between the two. No-one is the greatest writer ever. However, you still need the confidence to put your work out there and tout it as good enough for publication. But you also need that element of self-doubt that enables you to continue to improve with each story you write, to not put forth work that has not been vetted by a beta reader, things like that. Writer confidence is a thin line we all walk. I tend to be overly critical, and it has come to a point where I have had other people submit stories on my behalf without my knowledge because I thought they were rubbish, and some have even been published. We are not good judges of our own work, but we do need to be aware that without some confidence we will never get beyond the hidden journal… and with too much over-confidence, we will turn everyone off. |
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