NaNoWriMo 2018 - Here We Go

So November is upon us, bring with it the end of Spring, hot days and sweat-drenched nights. And the National Novel Writing Month. It's a special time of year for writers to be even more isolated, stressed and sleep deprived than usual, for a lot of us have challenged ourselves to write 50,000 words in thirty days. 

It's hectic. 

Last November I competed in NaNoWriMo for the very first time, after finishing the first draft of 'Emma and the Madhouse Kids' on the 28th of October, leaving me no time to prepare. I jumped right into it with a half-formed idea, based on a question about strange lights in the sky, and wrote 50k words towards a Sci-Fi story I've tentatively titled 'The Rings of the Earth'.

And you know what? I still don't know how that one's going to end, let alone if it'll ever see the light of day. I originally hoped to work on it again this November, but it's a rather complex story and will take an awful lot of editing and revising after the first draft is complete. When I started, I had no idea what I was getting into, and at least half of my writing time I was using to research NASA, JAXA, ESA and ROSCOM, as well as the ISS, details of existing space probes and a whole lot of other sciency stuff..

So as discussed in this blog post, I'm focusing on something simpler that I'll hopefully be able to self-publish within 12 months. It's something I've tentatively titled 'Dragons of Bern' and focuses on a family living in an alternate-history Germany, so the Kingdom of Bavaria, Prussia, Hessia etc. It's a YA story, featuring German mythological creatures including Dragons (the title should have given that away). And yes - I know Bern is in Switzerland, not Germany. Basically, I'm a lot better prepared this year than last year, I'm excited about this new novel, and can't wait to get started.   

But of course, November isn't just NaNo, I still have to go to my day job, be a husband and father of our Rescued Greyhounds, November also happens to be backed with work, family and social commitments, plus a book launch near the end of the month I'm going to be involved with. Finding time to write isn't going to be easy. I guess some of you are asking, "why do it if it's going to be so crazy? If it's going to cause extra stress and take up so much of your time?"

And you know what? I have an answer. Aside from the odd short story, I've literally done nothing but edit 'Emma and the Madhouse Kids' for almost a year now. I need a break from it. And without NaNo chances are I would just keep editing it for the next 12 to 48 months too. And as much as I love that story and those characters, I don't want to do that. I have other great stories bubbling away in my head that I want to write, and this is the perfect opportunity to start a new project.

Also, the writing community on both Twitter and Facebook are always great, always supportive, and that's taken up another notch for NaNo because we know how draining and exhausting it can be.

But it's also fun. We know it's mad, but we're writers. Mad is our normal.

He's Dropped the Easiest of Marks: The Trouble With Being Average.

In the recent AFL Grand Final, a player dropped a mark.  And the commentator announced "he's dropped the easiest of marks."  It's been bugging me ever since.

This is the Grand Final.  The Big Dance.  The culmination of a gruelling pre-season, a winter's worth of Home and Away games and an incredible month of finals football.  The entire year has been preparing for this game, and the chance to win a flag is something all players have dreamt of for decades.  Every kick, every mark, every handball will contribute to the outcome of the game, will decide if you'll leave elated or heartbroken.  With all that pressure, nothing is easy.  I probably couldn't have tied up my bootlaces without losing my breakfast.

People say writing is easy.  People say art is easy.  People say writing blogs is easy.  I think that saying something is easy is easy.

We don't know the struggles other people are going through.  We don't know how much they sacrificed and how much they struggled, getting through University, getting their work to a place that they're happy with, how scared they might be of sharing their work, let alone submitting it for fear of rejection or criticism.  Some people even struggle to get out of bed.

For me, even deciding to start writing was a hard one.  For twenty years I've been an avid reader, losing myself in the works of some of the greatest authors.  Like Le Guin whose words flow like poetry, simple and beautiful, yet cutting to the core of the deep questions.  Like Donaldson and Herbert, who built incredibly vivid worlds, inhabiting them with wondrous species with their own rich histories, mythologies, creeds and customs.  Like Dick and Burgess whose intellect, linguistic skills, creativity and imagination are out if this world.  How could I even try, with the benchmark so impossibly high?  How could I hope to write anything comparable to the works of those incredible gifted people?  I couldn't, so I didn't.

What I write is nothing like that of my literary idols.  I always wanted it to be, though.  I always wanted my writing to be as eloquent, as powerful, as funny and as beautiful as theirs.  But it isn't.  It's the story if my life, to some extent.  I've always wanted to be better-looking, to be stronger, to be better at sport, at art, at languages.  I never even liked my own name as a kid.  But as I've grown up I've started to appreciate myself more.  I even chose to keep Austin as my pen-name, when it would have been the easiest thing in the world to use something else.  And I've accepted that even though my writing isn't awe-inspiring like that of my heroes, that doesn't mean it's not good enough.

Thanks for reading,

Austin P. Sheehan.

The Reality of Being an Australian Writer #1

As a writer, we want our books, our stories, our worlds to have some kind of impact or influence on our readers. We want readers to be moved or inspired by our characters. As a rule, if a person decides to become a writer, one can assume that they've read something that has changed their life.

And that's true for me. I can think of several books that have had a profound affect on me. But today I'm writing about something that has perhaps a greater impact on my life, and as a consequence, the books I write and the worlds I create. That is Australia, our Great Southern Land.

As an Australian writer, Identity is important. The English-speaking world is dominated by American and English cultures, which don't always resonate strongly with Australians. For example, when I was twelve I remember lying amongst a grove of gum trees near a creek in my home town, considering the story of Saint George slaying the dragon, and asking myself what that had to do with me, how can that be relevant or part of my culture or identity as an Australian, millennia away from knights or dragons. And to this day I still shudder whenever I read the Americanised "mom" in any novel.

I knew that the story of St George was part of the folklore of England, where my father is from. You could say I went through a process of assessing these elements of foreign cultures and dismissing the ones that were too far removed from the world that I had grown up in. And I think it's fair to say that everyone does that to some extent, and continues doing that throughout their lives. But the more isolated you are, the greater the disparity becomes with your reality and that of the stories.

But there's much more to living in Australia than distance and isolation. The natural beauty of it's coasts and mountains, it's deserts and rain-forests, it's rivers and stone formations all mask it's harshness, it's underlying menace. If I'm ever asked "what books best sum up Australia?" I would say 'Wake in Fright' (Cook, 1961) 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' (Lindsay 1967) 'Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence' (Pilkington 1996) 'He Died With a Felafel in His Hand' (Birmingham 2000).

'Wake in Fright' is a wonderful yet terrifying tale, about the divide between city and country, about the harsh nature of life in these remote towns, presenting not only the country itself but those who live in it as menacing. 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' is a wonderful mystery set in rural Victoria, which I discussed in this list of books and movies that I love. It's sinister, it's brooding and it captures rural Australia so well. 'Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence' shows us one of the many horrors of Australia's colonisation, the forced removal of First Australian children from their families. The argument here is that the darkness and cruelty of Australia lays within the culture of it's white colonisers, and is hard to refute. 'He Died With a Felafel in his Hand' is a more comedic look at the country through stories of living in shared houses. As funny as it is, it's still grim.

Many great Australian writers have written Speculative Fiction; Isobelle Carmody, John Marsden, Sara Douglass and Garth Nix just to name a few. Personally, I don't read books just because the author is Australian. I often look into who they are a bit more if their books particularly grab me. But every now and then when reading a book, a uniquely Australian landmark will appear, or an Aussie slang expression or turn of phrase will be used, and then you just know the author is Australian. I am not going to go out and say that the best Speculative Fiction Writers are Australian, but I will say that we have an advantage. It's easy for us to write about post-apocalyptic wastelands or desolate alien planets, barren environments and the types of people who thrive amongst the hardships and the types of people who succumb to the horror of it all, because that is our reality.

The Excitement of a New Beginning

As I may have mentioned, my novel with the working title of 'Emma and the Madhouse Kids' is currently being beta read. So what am I doing in the meantime?

Well, I've been doing the usual nose to the grindstone, 9-5 day work. I've even come up with a fun game to play, and you can play it too! Just count the number of times you say "for fucks sake" while doing your job. Whoever says it the most wins. Or loses. But the big news is that I've started a new novel!

It's exciting. Anything is possible in my new world. Dragons? Why not. Mysterious Druids? Have a bunch! Mythical creatures? Of course!

Who are the main characters? Who better than a family who love hiking in the Bavarian alps? A mum, a dad, 16 year old son, 11 year old daughter. Maybe they harbour a terrible secret? Maybe the marriage is falling apart?

So it's set in Germany then? Yes. Well no. But still maybe yes? We are talking Alternative History, folks! In this book, Germany was never unified, and we have Prussia, Bavaria, Württemberg, Saxony, etc as separate Republics, Monarchies or Kingdoms. Honestly that's the part I am the most excited about. Like I mentioned in this post my wife and I have travelled in Europe a fair bit, and what always strikes me is the distinct history and culture of each main city and state. So one of my goals is to try and incorporate that into my book.

Um. Ok. Are you serious about the Dragons though?  Yes. I mean, I know they're a bit cliché. And I've never written anything 'fantasy' before. I mean, this time last year I hadn't even thought about writing anything before, so not knowing what I'm doing is kind of business as usual. But they fit. Dragons are part of the folklore of Germany, and I can really see them working in this story. I want to pay homage to Le Guin's Dragons from Earthsea as well. If you have any suggestions of other books or series to read that feature dragons, feel free to suggest them!

What should I call it? I am unfortunately 200 kilometres shy of being able to call it 'Dragons of Bern' but l am sure a good title will come to me soon. And I am sure an amazing title will come to me after I have published it. In my earlier post An error occurred while trying to save or publish your post. Please try again. I mentioned I wanted to self-publish a novel before trying to get Emma and the Madhouse Kids traditionally published, and this is the one I'm going to self-publish. That itself is exciting, so not only do I have lots of dragon lore and history and geography to study, but I also have to figure out the best way to self-publish as well.

So yeah. Time to stop blogging and get back to writing.

Say true, people. And please do the needful.

    

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"What's it going to be then, eh?" is how every part of Burgess' A Clockwork Orange starts.  It's how every day of our own lives start too.

Is this the day we step up, take the risk, get our shit together?  Is this the day we finally do everything we've been putting off?  Is this the day we're going to do something different, something special?  Or are we just going to muddle through it, work another shift at a job we're sick of and do the exact same thing as yesterday?  I'm not trying to be inspirational here, I'm just stating facts.  If we want to change our lives, we can.  In P. K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly Rob Arctor had a wife, a family, a job.  Then he hit his head unexpectedly on an open cupboard door and decided that it wasn't the life he wanted to live anymore.

I guess that's the closest analogy I have for how I became a writer.  It happened almost by accident.  And I'm still struggling to work it in around my full-time job, having a broken hand (which you might remember from my previous blog) and my family.  Honestly though, I'm still figuring out what to do with what I've written.  Before approaching agents with the first book in the series featuring Alex and the Madhouse Kids I'd like to self-publish a stand-alone novel online.  I've got a half-finished NaNoWriMo project, but there's a long way to go with that one.  So I guess if I want to go down that path I've got to write another book.  I've also recently submitted two flash fiction pieces which may get published if I'm incredibly lucky.  I also want to share some of my writing on my blog for you all too.  Maybe if my flash fiction pieces don't get published I might publish them here.  Another idea is I could share some horribly embarrassing songs I wrote when I was in university.  Any suggestions you may have would be welcome.  Let me know in the comments.

Back to "what's it going to be then, eh?" though, that's not a once-a-day type question.  That's asked of us every time a colleague tells a racist joke, or when you see sexism or bullying on your way to work, for example.  When you're in a position where you see any behaviour like that, you automatically ask yourself "shit, should I say something here?" or have a "what's it going to be then, eh?" moment.  And stepping up in that moment, stopping the bully, telling them that sexism or racism is not acceptable, actually changes you too.  You feel better about yourself, you feel like you're more capable, and you won't spend the rest of the day / week / year wishing you did something.  This is actually the topic of one of flash fiction pieces I recently submitted.  It is based on my own experiences, and when writing it I titled it Heroes but since there's a few references to the Bowie song of the same name, I changed the title at the last minute.  To avoid any possible legal issues, basically.  Anyway maybe in a couple of weeks I will publish it here. 

I probably shouldn't be writing at all right now, because of my broken hand, so I'm going to sign off here.

Stay well, and if you feel like it, tell me about your "what's it going to be then, eh?" moments! 

I'm slightly concerned about how many people read my last post.

Almost thirty of you read my last post, 'How important are titles, anyway?'

And I wasn't prepared for that.

I haven't covered my blog with warnings cautioning you not to follow my advice or my example yet.  Come on, people.

- I still insist on writing with two spaces after a full stop.  And I get annoyed by any books written which only have one space after a full stop.  Which is pretty much every book published in the last twenty years.

- I am writing this while listening to my entire back catalogue of Hunters & Collectors albums.  On CD.  Currently I've got 'The Jaws of Life' from 1984 blasting away.  You don't need to follow that example.

- Not only am I listening to music that the Australia Post delivery guy just cringed at, but I am doing all this with my right hand in a cast.  That's right.  I broke my hand.  And I'm a writer, FFS!  I need that hand, dammit!

- And I broke it in the stupidest way possible.  *Awkwardly changes disc to 'The Way to go Out' (1985)*  This dickhead here thought it was a good idea to punch a tram.  I mean, in my defence the tram had it's doors open, and the driver clearly saw me running up to him, waving my arms.  But he clearly thought it would be a great gag to close those doors in my face.  And the next tram wasn't expected for another twenty minutes.  Fair to say I was a bit pissed off.

- But I also suck at getting medical attention.  I hoped I'd just bruised my hand, you know.  There was no numbness and I could wiggle all my fingers.  Good signs, right?  So I iced it and tried to sleep it off.  It was still sore and swollen the next day so I called in sick and took myself to the GP.  He referred me to a radiology clinic connected to a local hospital to get an x-ray.  20 minute journey, then after half-an-hour in the clinic I got x-rayed.  The x-ray people saw I'd broken something, and told me to take those x-rays back to my doctor right away.  Which I did.   Another 20 minute journey and another wait in the doctor's waiting room.  He saw the x-ray and said I had to go to the hospital's emergency room.  Which is exactly what I wanted to avoid.  I was considering breaking my other hand against the wall of his office I was that frustrated.  I was just some loser with a sore hand, certainly nobody's definition of an emergency.  So everyone else who would come through would be seen as requiring more urgent attention than myself.  Eventually they did see me, but they couldn't use the x-rays I'd got only hours earlier, so I had to go through that whole process again. 

- Repetition frustrates me.  I hate repetitive music, the same lyrics over and over again, I hate it when people repeat what they told me only moments ago.  And I hate having to repeat myself most of all.  And everyone I spoke to, my GP, the x-ray technicians, the triage nurse, admin nurse and doctors at the hospital all asked the same questions.  Not to mention the second lot of x-ray technicians and random nurses who attended me.  And I didn't want to tell this super-embarrassing story once, let alone repeating it over and over again.  *Changes disc to 1986's 'Human Frailty'*  It's kinda funny though, about how I can't stand repetition but at the same time really love dogs.  I mean, they only know one word.

Anyway, I was considering using my fight against a 20 ton unfeeling steel monstrosity to espouse the values of picking one's fights.  But you know what?  Sod it.  Fighting isn't about winning.  Obviously losing's no fun, but if you only get involved when you can win, you're never going to take action against the injustice and oppression that surrounds us, that we (perhaps unconsciously) support by our silence and our passivity.

How important are titles, anyway?

The novel I have been working of for some time now is currently titled 'Emma and the Madhouse Kids' and sure, it sounds good.

It means there's going to be:
*an Emma.
*Kids, possibly from some "madhouse" -  whatever that means.

And those things are true.  But, believe it or not, there's actually a lot more to it than that.  Firstly, while there is an Emma, she actually isn't the main character.  She thinks she is, and in a way it is all about her, but the main character is actually Alex.  So should I call it 'Alex and the Madhouse Kids' instead?

What about those Madhouse Kids?  Well yes.  I mean, no.  There is a bunch of kids at a medical facility where experiments are done on their brain, but never once is it referred to as a 'Madhouse'.  Maybe I need to work on that.  Maybe I should just call it 'Emma'.

But maybe I can keep it as is.  I mean, think of all the books with misleading titles.  Wait.  Don't even think.  Here is a list.

The Six Most Misleading Book Titles.

1. 'To Kill A Mockingbird' -  Not a story about killing birds.
2. 'The Neverending Story' - Well the main gripe I have with this title is that it ended.
3. 'Trainspotting' - Unless that actually is a term for Heroin that I've never heard of.
4. 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus' - Just nope.
5. 'The Man in the High Castle' - Amazing book, but no.  The title is all wrong.
6.  'Breakfast at Tiffany's' - No.  No-one had breakfast there in the entire book.  I don't even know if you can have breakfast there. I thought it was a Jewellery store.

But you know what?  Despite having titles that just make no sense, most books on that list are amazing.  So I will stick with that title for now.  And you know what?  When I write the sequels, their titles won't make sense either.  'Kiara under the Reichstag' and 'Devendra versus the Tokyo Traitor' - well until I think of something better anyway.

Which I am certainly going to do at some point after they've been published.

Evidently, I'm Going to Regret This.

As you can tell, I've started writing a blog.

Why?  Well, can I start by saying that I don't like that question?  Well, not specifically 'why' - I have plenty of time for 'why is this so?' or 'why does this happen?' but it's 'why did you do that?' which I don't like.  When someone asks me 'why did you do that?' I immediately go on the defensive, I feel they have made a judgement that my decision was not the one that they would have made, that it was the wrong decision, and that I'm obligated to explain the reasoning behind my decision-making process, which isn't something I ever really want to do.

Well, in this case I can provide an answer or three to the question 'why are you writing a blog?'  Which, incidentally, is going to be asked by everyone who knows how boring and mundane I am, and will of course be shortly followed up by 'why the hell would anyone read that?'  Here are my answers:

a)  Because everyone needs to read about my most embarrassing stories and my unpopular opinions.
b)  Between working full-time, reading, writing, spending time with my wife and beautiful greyhounds and my mobile phone addiction, I basically have zero time.
c)  I have survived several encounters which could well have killed me.  Was my life spared so I could go on and achieve great things?   Or have I been cursed to live forever?  Or is that just part of growing up in Australia?  Find out here.
d)  And well, everyone likes to watch a car crash, right?  Whatever hopes and dreams I have are bound to be lost, my life will be turned upside down and it will all end in tears, right in front of your eyes.

I guess the real reasons behind a lot of our actions stay hidden in our subconscious and are dominated by our needs for survival, of peer/social acceptance.  In 2017 I challenged myself to read 52 books, which is something I never genuinely believed I could do.  And yet, I did.  I read one book for each of the 52 categories of the 2017 Popsugar Reading Challenge, and also wrote the first draft of my 90,000 word novel (currently titled 'Emma and the Madhouse Kids') and I also competed in NaNoWriMo for the first time, writing over 50,000 words for a Sci-Fi novel (currently titled 'The Rings of the Earth').  And I'd not written anything aside from essays since high school.  So, in short, I achieved way more last year than I ever thought possible.  I surprised myself.  And, as Kevin Spacey's character from American Beauty said, "it's a great thing when you realise you still have the ability to surprise yourself."  Incidentally, I used to love that movie, now I don't know how I feel about it any more.  I'm someone who pretty much never sees anything through, or finish projects that I start, but after last year, I'm thinking maybe I can do this, so I am challenging myself to try harder, push myself further, and who knows what might happen.

Well, answer d from above, most likely.