Recycling

Recycling

Recycling a story is not unusual, it can be very satisfying revisiting a story written years ago, picking it apart, revamping it, even polishing it up to submit to a current writing competition. You might marvel as you go through your files and acknowledge how much you’ve actually written over the years or see how your writing has developed and changed with time.

            One story I found myself returning to was inspired by a journey I took in 2011 with three good friends. The four of us had recently retired from demanding jobs and decided to team up for an adventure. Leaving our partners at home, we flew to Los Angeles, hired an SUV, and drove up the West Coast of California, exploring as we went. We called our trip ‘On the Road’ and when we reached San Francisco, we visited the fabulous Beat Museum to learn more about Jack Kerouac and his friends.  

From San Francisco we took an Amtrak train across America to Chicago before moving on to meet a friend in New York. We were due to take the California Zephyr but as I recall this was rerouted because of floods and we ended up on the Southwest Chief to Chicago. This part of our adventure we called ‘Girl Guides on a Train’ because it felt like a camping trip at the time. On the Chicago to New York train we travelled alongside survivors and relatives affected by the awful Twin Tower attacks of Sept 2001. They were on their way to memorial events, honouring the 10 year anniversary and we stayed up all night listening to their tales, almost too harrowing to write about.

 It's the ‘On the Road’ section of our trip that's been at the heart of various pieces of writing ever since. The journey crops up in my novel ‘How They Met Themselves’ when two young men travel to California after their graduation. They take the Pacific Coast Highway and meet some extraordinary young women along the way. Both men later make appearances in ‘Lawn House Blues’ and one of them even plays a small part in ‘To Be Frank’. I became so fond of my characters I couldn’t leave them behind.

            It wasn't easy to let go of the Californian journey, so as well as a travel journal of my memories, I wrote a short story based on it for one of my writing groups. The story has been adapted and edited a number of times since and submitted to various competitions. At the fourth submission attempt, and now called ‘Crossings’, it was finally accepted for Robert Fear’s 2023 Anthology ‘15 Fascination Fictional Tales’, which is now available to purchase from Amazon. www.fd81.net. Perseverance got there in the end.  

            I suspect my memories of travelling through California have had their day now and it’s time I pull apart another old story or maybe take some new journeys.  

A Sense of Place

A Sense of Place

– thoughts on travel writing by Philippa Hawley.

I’ve just submitted my first piece of formal travel writing; an article for the online magazine, the Literary Bohemian. Doing this has made me realise that much of my writing over recent years has been travel related. Travel writing overlaps with so many genres; memoir writing, autobiography, blogging, or simply keeping a journal. It can form the basis for a short story or a novel, and in my own case I realise travel has frequently inspired my fictional attempts. My first book, ‘There’s No Sea in Salford’ came out of a desire to write about some time I spent working in Sri Lanka. ‘How They Met Themselves’, my second book, was inspired by a road trip I once made with friends in California.

     Traditional travel writing commonly results in articles for magazines, newspapers or online blogs. It is usually written in the first person, present or past tense. As with all writing description is important and clichés should be avoided. A narrative thread can be helpful, maybe some quotes and references included, but perhaps most importantly any facts have to be researched and checked.

     A different form of travel writing is the autobiographical book. I’m thinking of the success of “A Year in Provence’ by Peter Mayle in 1989 and also ‘A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush’, once described as the greatest travel book of all time in both the Guardian and Telegraph listings. Written by Eric Newby in 1959, this book stimulated travel ideas in many a young person in the 60s and 70s.

     In a similar vein Chris Stewart, the retired drummer of Genesis, published “Driving Over Lemons’ in 1999, an account of his Andalucian adventure. Wivenhoe writer, Jan Ward’s autobiographical book, ‘Travellers Wanted…’ about her journey in 1968 from Sydney to London in a bus, was self-published in 2012 and is well worth a look.

     The transition from autobiography to fiction allows the constraints of travel writing to shift. In ‘A Thousand days in Venice’, it's hard to know if Marlena de Blasi is writing true biography or fiction as she describes an unexpected romance in Venice and adds tasty snippets about food and recipes along the way.

     When travel inspires pure fiction the rules change further. In a short story a sense of place often grounds a piece of writing, giving the reader a greater understanding of a plot or character by showing not telling. In longer pieces or novels, knowing where the story is set can add depth and realism to the writing. But in fiction facts can be modified to suit your story, reality and fantasy can merge and create a new place, or a new way of looking at a known environment.

     Placing your novel in a different part of the world or in a specific city or town, can add interest for a reader, allowing them learn about another country through the eyes of the characters within. It can rekindle their own memories of travel or create a desire to visit and make their own journeys.

     I love reading stories set in places I’ve been to. ‘The Miniaturist’ by Jess Burton reminded me of frequent trips to Amsterdam, ‘Brixton Beach’ by Roma Tearne took me back to my time in Sri Lanka, and ‘Brighton Rock’ by Graham Greene made me think of when my daughter lived in the town, albeit decades later. Other novels I’ve read have taken me across the USA, or into unknown areas of the Middle East. I’ve been transported to Sweden, Africa and New Zealand as well as enjoying more familiar European places through different eyes.

     Reading can help you travel the world and as writers we can encourage our readers to do just that. So next time you write, think about place and setting and maybe add a little travel to your tale.

***

‘There’s No Sea in Salford’

‘How They Met Themselves’

&‘Travellers Wanted…’

 are available at Wivenhoe Bookshop and online.

Philippa Hawley in conversation with Tom Hale

Philippa spoke to journalist Tom Hale on 3 January 2015 about her new book.

Q:- So you’ve recently published your second novel, ‘How They Met Themselves’. How does that feel?

A:- I’m delighted to have it out there. I was keen to publish this novel before Christmas in order for it to be available as Christmas presents, and even though it was a very busy time for my family, and indeed everyone in Wivenhoe, the launch went well.

Q:- Are you pleased with how the book has turned out?

A:- Yes, delighted. It looks great,and feels good to hold. It has a fabulous cover which Catherine Dodds created, using a photograph from my husband, Clinton’s collection. I’m pleased with the story and the characters within it

Q:- Tell us how the story began, and what it’s about.

A:- After ‘There’s No Sea in Salford’ was so satisfying to write, I knew I wanted to write another book. I was inspired by a journey I made in America with three girlfriends in 2011 when we drove up the west coast from Los Angeles to San Francisco. I wanted to use this experience as the basis for a novel, but then changed the perspective by writing it from the point of view of a young man making a journey and growing up in the process. The main character, Max meets two very different young women at opposite ends of California and on his return to England an unexpected connection between them unfolds, which changes all their lives.

Q:- How did you find writing from such a different point of view?

A:- It was a challenge trying to think like a 23 year old man, but having children in their twenties and knowing their friends helped. I was careful not to try to be too ‘cool’ and ‘trendy’ as I thought that would simply sound cliched. I also had to be careful not to write embarrassing scenes that might make my own youngsters cringe.

Q:- I notice you use your medical experience in your writing. Why is that so important to you?

A:- Having been a practising doctor for over 32 years it is hard to leave my medical experience behind. Ex-patients provide a huge source of material and I find I enjoy writing about medical issues in a way that is hopefully accessible and even informative for the general reader.

Q:- What issues you explore in ‘How They Met Themselves’.

A:- The two major subjects are disability and adoption, but I also touch upon mental health, bereavement, fertility and relationships in general.

Q:- And how did you think of the unusual title?

A:- ‘How They Met Themselves’ is the name of a painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. I have always loved the Pre-Raphaelites and came across this painting when researching doppelgangers. It seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

Q:- I’ve heard you say you learnt a lot from writing and publishing your first novel. What did you learn that helped you this time?

A:   -To be organised, do research, keep good character notes, and use a flow chart.

-To be conscious of point of view and be consistent. 

-To avoid cliche and be creative with metaphor and simile.

     -To aim to ‘show not tell’ but still be clear and allow the story to make sense and come together.

     -To check and recheck your writing, then pay someone to copy edit, before checking again.

     -To be patient and to not rush things, especially when it comes to publishing and printing the finished article.

     -To have a thick skin in response to the comments and opinions of your readers. Most are supportive, balanced and fair, but inevitably some can be harsh. I try to remember it’s my book and I enjoyed writing it.

    - Not to expect to make money out of self-publishing or e-publishing.

Q:- So will there be a novel number three?

A:- I hope so. The skeleton of it is sitting in my drawer where it will rest for a while. I wrote 50,000 words as a darker and more troubled follow up to ‘How They Met Themselves’ during National Novel Writing Month in November 2014. I’ve been trying to get away from my rather gentle style of writing where everything turns out well in the end. To do the opposite is fun.

Q:- Finally, are you going to put this second novel on to Kindle?

A:- Yes, hopefully in January 2015 it will go on Kindle. I was keen see it first of all as a paperback, printed by Lightening Source, but would like to follow it up as an e-book. I found this to be a successful format with ‘There’s No Sea in Salford’. I do love physical books and real bookshops, but I like to give the reader a choice.

Q:- Is there anything else you’d like to add?

A:- I just want to say how much I’ve appreciated the support of my two writing groups over the last couple of years while ‘How They Met Themselves’ was being written. It is very helpful to share writing experiences with others who understand the process. ‘How They Met Themselves’ is currently available from Wivenhoe Bookshop (www.wivenhoebooks.com) and Red Lion Books in Colchester.