Nadolig Llawen

December 22, 2015 by Roland Clarke

Slate Heart – http://www.welshgiftshop.com

Nadolig Llawen. Dymuniadau gorau ar gyfer y Flwyddyn Newydd. Ffrindiau a chyd-awduron, Mai 2016 yn cael ei llenwi â chyflawniadau rhyfeddol.

Now the greetings are pronounced, no doubt incorrectly, I’m not planning to work on any resolutions – either today or next week, when I may be under the tree. What’s the point if my resolutions get scrubbed out in February.

And it’s likely that my other glaring errors will return somehow. As Billy Liar says, “I turn over a new leaf every day. But the blots show through.” [And if you haven’t read Keith Waterhouse’s novel, add it to your reading list.]

Fortunately, in this digital age I have a backspace key, a delete button, a built-in editor, and a conscience, so I can correct some blots on my landscape before anyone realises what I’ve done. One problem: I struggle with the editing process, and I know that 2016 might mean a lot of that.

So what is the point of this blog? Well to thank everyone for putting up with me for another year – and to repeat my earlier Welsh salutation, but in English this time.

Happy Christmas. Best wishes for the New Year. Friends and fellow writers, may 2016 be filled with wondrous achievements.

I should add my blessings for the Winter Solstice, as we are still at that point on this dark winter evening here in Wales. Spring is approaching, I hear.

Cunning Plan or Devious Plot?

October 13, 2015 by Roland Clarke

Time to look ahead and maybe concoct something. Now seeing that this is the UK and November 5^th is creeping up on us, I was thinking something explosive and controversial. Fireworks?

Well there was a devious plot on 5 November 1605 that might have made headlines, if it was successful. But now it is remembered in a different way than intended. But what would have happened if Guido had succeeded?

On a serious note, our animals would be better off.

However my November is more likely to be more of “I have a cunning plan” – if all unfolds as intended. No I don’t mean the proposed return of ‘Blackadder’, although that could be more than cunning. What do you think??

Individual screenshots, copyright held by the BBC

No, I mean NaNoWriMo and my chance to recreate “Fates Maelstrom” with my female Goth detective and in Snowdonia. I’ve almost finished the new character profiles and interviews, and there is a new detailed outline – a devious plot that Guido might approve of, and even a cunning plan that Baldrick couldn’t disagree with. And I have a blurb:

“Did Twyla Locke kill her wealthy English grandfather? Is the nineteen-year-old gypsy woman a schizophrenic liar that could kill again? Or is someone impersonating her, in an attempt to destroy her dreams?

Detective Constable Sparkle Anwyl believes the Romani girl is innocent, but her superior, Detective Sergeant Mal Sumnor, thinks that the forensic evidence against her is overwhelming. Why should he believe his offbeat Goth junior? She’s only needed as she understands Romani.

Then American investigative journalist, Brogan Keyes, produces photos that prove Twyla’s innocence. But why is he in the Welsh village of Craig-o-Niwl? Who is he? What is he hiding?

Sometimes the truth can lie hidden in the past, and some ghosts wield power in vulnerable minds. And some people have reasons to fear buried secrets.”

Although I am hoping that my preparations help me in November, I wonder if I can write 50,000 words in a month. Okay, I did in 2011, 2012, and 2013, but last year was a total zero. In 2014 I intended to write “Fates Maelstrom” Mark II but my total was zilch…nada. Perhaps because I hadn’t got my head around Sparkle Anwyl, or because my health intervened. Having just written 43,639 words in 100days – the 100k in 100 days Challenge – I know my limits, although that was all done ‘pantster’ style.

Or is the secret in the planning stage?

There are some good guides to that stage out there, like this one by Janice Hardy, who says for instance:

“If you like to outline, you might break down your 12,500 words into chapters to get a feel for pacing and structure. To hit your 50K-word mark, you’ll need to write 1667 words a day, so let’s say you’re aiming for a chapter a day. That would give you 30 chapters at the end of the month, a reasonable amount for your average 60-80K novel.”

So what’s my problem? Did Guido achieve anything? Would Baldrick do better?

Why move to Idaho?

August 18, 2015 by Roland Clarke

Before I answer that crucial question, welcome to the first Pick’n’Mix blog post. I will attempt to post something at this same time and on this same site every week. And rather than having a specific topic, this will be whatever seems tastiest – as suggested.

Anyway, when I announced that I was attempting to emigrate across the pond to Idaho, some people questioned that choice?

“Why move there?” they asked. “There are better places for your MS – Switzerland or Spain.”

True. My multiple sclerosis gets worse in damp, cold weather, and in humid, hot weather. And sadly Wales has ticked the first box, this year. The second rules out many places in the more distant East, like India or Singapore. However, the key thing is having family and friends that can be supportive. A non-starter in this park home estate, where I seem to have a communicable disease, and when my family show no sign of caring what happens to me.

But I have another family that does care, and they are in Boise, Idaho. They may be step-kids and step-grandkids, but they are ready to be there for both of us. In fact, they have already showed they care, both in words and deeds. For instance, when my wife, Juanita, and I were with them in 2010 and 2011, they did everything for us from putting us up to carrying me when I couldn’t walk.

So that’s why we are moving back to Idaho, even if the move is complicated – especially by my brother. I need to get the right US visa and as well as copious documents, that includes a medical, which means an eight-hour drive to London. Then a few weeks later an interview at the US Embassy, again in London.

We need to buy a house, which is why we need my brother to guarantee the finance, which is mine for life. Then we have to sell our home in Wales. There is the shipping to arrange, and four pets to fly there, when the weather is right – they can’t fly when it is too hot or too cold. And I’m in a wheelchair so flying is a nightmare.

Before you ask about the culture shock, I should say that I escaped to Canada for three years and had Landed Immigrant status there. Yes, the US is not Canada, but it meant leaving home. And haven’t I already done that when I moved to Wales? This is not the country that I grew up in. The familiar haunts have been left behind. I’d already taken steps away from the equestrian world that I worked in, and I haven’t established similar contacts here.

So I’ve left home, and we are already in another country. Another country where the first language is not English, and we hear Welsh when we go places, even during the tourist season. Yes, the Americans do things different, whether it is driving on the wrong side of the road, or they arm their police. But it was the same in Canada, where I first passed my driving test, and almost joined the RCMP.

The 10 Best Cities to Move to in 2015 - http://www.simplemovinglabor.com/blog/the-10-best-cities-to-move-to-in-2015#.VQXcaHY3dgs.facebook

The 10 Best Cities to Move to in 2015 – No 2 Boise. Image courtesy Bob Young

Oh wait, American-English is not the first language spoken in Idaho. It was either Coeur D’Alene, Nez Perce, Kutenai, Northern Paiute, or Shoshoni, depending on the area. Around Boise it would have been Shoshoni. So I guess we need to learn that.

And those that said Spanish, go stand in the corner. The name Boise has French origins, French-Canadian fur traders travelled the territory in the late 18th and early 19th century. Boise may be from “La rivière boisée”. And any settlers from the Iberian Peninsula of significance were the Basques. Even a Brit knows that.

Well that’s enough of the history lesson from this Brit imposter. More of course next week. But that might be totally off the subject.

Any questions?

Parallel Plotting Predicament

February 4, 2015 by Roland Clarke

Plotting was simple with previous draft novels, even when there were two interweaving plot arcs. But how did I end up with three parallel ones? More important how should I be writing this novel?

Draft blurb for “Seeking a Knife”: Welsh Detective Sergeant Sparkle Lodge suspects that the death of a researcher is linked to the priceless 200 year-old Memoirs sent to Nadine Palmour, a Native American journalist. Is Nadine descended from the author of the Memoirs, an English naval officer, Talcott Wendell? Is the theft of his naval dirk in 1920 a cold case that has to be resurrected?

Three POVs in three separate settings, two separated by location – North Wales and Texas – and the other by historical time – the memoirs are from the War of 1812, between the USA and the British in Canada.

I recognise that there are three different areas of research, three sets of character sketches, but are three outlines that gradually weave together? I had initially planned to do all the research, character sketches, and then one interweaving outline of the whole novel. I have a rough outline so know how the novel should unfold – and a time line for the present day arcs. But the great plan hasn’t worked out beyond those elements.

My first POV character, a Welsh Goth in the North Wales Poice arrested me. Who wouldn’t want to develop a character based on Abi in NCIS? So I have her sketched out, and a few lines on those she interacts with. Worst of all I have written around 10,000 words that cover the first third of the novel from her POV.

Do I stop? Do I continue with her story, until she meets the Native American? Or should I just work on the parts that inspire me?

Pauley Perrette aka Abi

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. This is my attempt to talk about my doubts and the fears that I am trying to conquer. I want to be encouraging, and by posting perhaps this is a way of saying keep striving. Visit IWSG and some other great bloggers, not all as insecure but great fun.
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG
The awesome co-hosts for this February 4 posting of the IWSG are Gwen Gardner, Dolorah, Sarah Foster, and M. Pax!

Wisholute or Chaos?

January 7, 2015 by Roland Clarke

This is my first post of 2015 and my first Insecure Writer’s Support Group post of the year. Before I tackle the resolution chestnut, I have to introduce myself. Guess I need to update my About Me page… at some point.

Until the MonSter called multiple sclerosis swiped me down, I was a freelance equestrian journalist, and photographer. I was diagnosed with MS in January 2000 and by 2005 I retired, unable to meet any deadlines. My second wife, Juanita is now my understanding and put-upon carer, and we live in Harlech, North Wales, with a brilliant view of Snowdon.

When the MS is behaving, and my pain is calm, I write fiction. My first novel, ‘Spiral of Hooves’ was published in December 2013, and I have various projects on the go.

First Snow on Snowdon ~ Juanita Clarke

So why ‘wisholute’?

My writer friend Ailsa Abraham coined this clever word as an alternative to ‘resolution’. Don’t we all manage to fulfil just a fraction of our resolutions? In many cases, they are closer to ‘wishes’ driven by intent of some sort. Great for Insecure writers like me. So I don’t make them – well not often.

My simple ‘wisholute’ was “Find a Brit publisher and finish one tale…” by which I meant, my US publisher is great for my equestrian series, but being in the UK I would like to find a similar Brit publisher. And my insecurity kicks in when it comes to my next publishing step.

Do I chance that my ‘Gossamer Flames’ saga is worthy of beta readers? Are there any out there that will want to read it?

Should I focus instead on revising ‘Fates Maelstrom’ and re-locating it in North Wales?

Do I suppress the urge to write yet another first draft to put in the bottom oven to simmer?

Well, I’m taking part in the 100k in 100 days Challenge and have a loose strategy of edit-create-revise: on the days when I need to Blog/vent/rant etc I do; on the days when I get inspired to review one of the books I managed to read in 2014, I do; when I get the urge to bring new characters alive in ‘Seeking A Knife’, I do; and I intend to make those short stories ready for the brave beta readers out there, wherever.

And for my reading I am multi-tasking too – I have three books on the go, and just acquired one set locally, to get my head ready for that revision I mentioned.

Trouble is, that insecurity might be feeding the multi-tasking. Should that be chaos? Not if we are creating words and worlds for valued readers. As IWSG says, “Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!”

Dewy Cobweb ~ by Norman Hyett

The awesome co-hosts for the January 7 posting of the IWSG will be Elizabeth Seckman, Lisa Buie-Collard, Chrys Fey, and Michelle Wallace!

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Please visit others in the group and connect with the awesome writers out there. Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

Black with Secrets, Adorned with Silver

August 4, 2014 by Roland Clarke

Smoke On The Water ~ Image courtesy of Evgeni Dinev / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

They are gathering. I can hear them in the darkness and wonder why they are here so early. At first their cries slipped into my dreams, weaving their way into the gradual awakening. Eyes open, my conscience knows that it’s time. Time to face the day and my obligations.

The heavy drapes pulled wide as my eyes, I see the dawn, soft and orange, streaked with indigo and tendrils of mist from the lake. Shadow trees are reflected in the shimmering water.

My visitors are waiting.

Raiment as black as coal, they glisten in the light like black diamonds. As they stalk around on the grass, their eyes watch me, knowing what I will do. But I am waiting for their cousins. They arrive acrobatically displaying their talent. Hopping across the ground as they land, the sun shines on heads adorned with silver, then they gracefully fold their wings. Their echoing chacks add another contrast to the raucous caws of their larger brethren. All the feathers shine, preened to brilliance by beaks created for a varied diet.

Some would say that I was sick in the head for feeding this elegant corvid family, and some would shoot them as vermin, hanging their carcasses up as scarecrows. But the intelligence of my feathered friends captivates me, the supreme ones for me being the Jackdaws. So every morning they feast on my fruit and berry granola, and I try to understand them.

"Jackdaw - up close and personal (552502080)" by John Haslam from Dornoch, Scotland - Jackdaw - up close and personal. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jackdaw_-_up_close_and_personal_(552502080).jpg#mediaviewer/File:Jackdaw_-_up_close_and_personal_(552502080).jpg"Jackdaw - up close and personal (552502080)" by John Haslam from Dornoch, Scotland - Jackdaw - up close and personal. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jackdaw_-_up_close_and_personal_(552502080).jpg#mediaviewer/File:Jackdaw_-_up_close_and_personal_(552502080).jpg

“Jackdaw – up close and personal by John Haslam from Dornoch, Scotland. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 via Wikimedia Common.

Is that mischief or secrets in their glances and nods?

They are considered the most intelligent of birds, having demonstrated self-awareness and tool making ability. Their total brain-to-body mass ratio is equal to that of the great apes, and of cetaceans like dolphins. Therefore, there could be more.

Are the black feathers symbolic of death and evil? A Black Knight with wings dreaming of taking centre stage in a world uprising? Ridiculous. Their other cousins are multi-adorned, in black and white, or pinkish-brown with blue flashes. They are precious gems of nature, even when screaming in the woods as the elusive Jays do. A simple cry to a mate or rival? A warning? Or those secrets? Will we learn what lies in their minds?

Perhaps the answer lies in the soil that nourishes us all, from birds to humans. Soil that can be as black as the jackal that is Anubis, the funerary deity of the Ancient Egyptians, but richer than the rarest gems. Black diamonds set in silver.

“Armadillidium vulgare 001” by Franco Folini – San Francisco, California. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.

Is the secret in the silver, gleaming on the head or sparkling in the eyes? What are the Corvids seeking in the ground? Insects? Worms? Or the strange silver denizens of our humble gardens? Those silver armoured creatures like woodlice or sow bugs, the crustaceans that crawl in the darkness but do no harm.

But maybe in a world turned upside down, where dreams are nightmares or a chance to rebuild, the talent lies elsewhere. What happens if the silver adorned creatures in black armour and the feathered acrobats demonstrate their prowess? Food for thought and survival, maybe.

Instead I awake from my fantasies, knowing that reality rules. I am back in my wheelchair without the granola, and gazing out the office window at jackdaws hopping on the neighbours’ roof and wheeling in the sky towards Snowdon.