Separating Words from their Writers

Lately, there have been more and more cases of morally dubious authors coming to light. What I mean by this moral dubiosity is the idea of a writer – maybe your favourite writer – being revealed to be racist or homophobic, or to have plagiarised other authors’ works. What do you do in this situation? Do you keep buying their books, even though you know they’re using the profits to do things that you think are morally wrong?

This is where the idea of separating art from the artist becomes difficult. Loving a book but finding its author irritating is one thing – we just ignore their presence on social media and avoid talking about them as a person. But when this person, whose books we love, is having a very real, very palpable negative effect on other people – can you still separate them?

One of the most well-known and widely publicised cases of this happening is with Orson Scott Card’s novel Ender’s Game. While Card’s novel might have been fantastic in terms of its ideas about the rise of the internet and the way futuristic technology would develop, his essays about his own personal views reveal a wildly homophobic stance as well as his intentions to use money raised from the sales of his books to support anti-gay organisations. For more information on this, check out this article on the full extent.

And this keeps happening. Cassandra Clare, author of the popular Shadowhunter series, has recently been sued for copyright and trademark infringement. Although in this case the lines between the perceived offense and the actual truth are much more blurred, many readers of Clare’s work are now reconsidering their opinion of her. To see the full list of alleged plagiarisms being presented as evidence, check out this link.

And this doesn’t just exist within the literary world – musicians and their music, artists and their art. Even sports people and their careers. This is, by no means, an exhaustive debate on the situation. I could talk for hours on the different instances of needing to separate people from the things they produce and whether it really is possible. It is, of course, also arguable that if we never read, watched, or listened to things produced by people whose personal opinions we don’t agree with, we would never consume any media ever again. So I suppose what I’m asking you is where the line is? Where is your personal line on separating the writer from their words? Let me know in the comments!

Happy reading!

xoxo

The Edge - Poetry Prompt

On Tuesday evening this week, my MA writing group were lucky enough to be visited by Luke Kennard, a poetry and prose writer, who gave us a great Q&A and then a workshop. He gave us a couple of really interesting writing exercises - one of which I thought I'd share!

Luke Kennard chatting with one of the attendees

The exercise:
Kind of similar to the form that mad-libs use, except instead of simply filling in verbs and nouns this time you'll fill in bigger blanks - could be whole extra sentences, could just be a few words! The prompt that Luke gave us is as follows:

When I reached the edge of the desert I saw...
You told me...
I couldn't...
It was as if...

And that's it! Then you repeat that another two times and see what you've got. It's a really great exercise, I think, and actually helped me to get out of a writing slump I'd fallen into. If you want, share yours in the comments section - here's my example:

When I reached the edge of the desert, I saw a wasteland that undulated in dunes for miles in every direction. It wasn't gold-dust.
You told me I would want to dance again; "it will be as if the lights have come back up - you won't have to live in darkness anymore."
I couldn't believe that - but it was true. The lights did come back up, but now they blinded me, burning bright spots in my eyes.
It was as if I couldn't stand the light anymore. It was too much and I had forgotten how to see.

When I reached the edge of the desert, I saw my thoughts scattered in the burning hills.
You told me not to think so much; that a sandstorm was normal, after all this time.
I couldn't stop the storm and lights from blinding me. Not even when I closed my eyes.
It was as if I had shut everything out, and now it was beating down my door - demanding an explanation.

When I reached the edge of the desert, I saw you, bent low against the wind, but still standing.
You told me you would be here. I don't think I ever believed you.
I couldn't piece together in my mind circumstances where you would want to meet me here - at the edge of the world.
It was as if you could see the storm and lights. You knew that they were blinding. You did not drag me into the desert - you met me at the edge.

Happy writing!
xoxo

Inspiration: Lyrics edition

So, this post is going to go a bit differently from the first part of my musical inspiration posts! I feel like to talk about the lyrics of these songs in detail would defeat the point of the list. If I tell you exactly what kind of scenes these songs evoke for me, will the lyrics have the same kind of organic effect on your inspiration as if you had gone into it with no ideas whatsoever? That's what I think, at least. Instead, I'm just going to give you this list - 5 of my favourite songs (with lyrics this time!) to inspire writing. As a bonus, I'll let you guys know my favourite lyric from the song, too.

1. Time - Cute is What We Aim For

Natural disasters when she cries

2. She Falls Asleep (Part 2) - McFly

When she's asleep, the air she's breathing is for you

3. Lothlorien - Lord of the Rings: The Musical OST

Sunlight and stars in her hair

4. The Broken Minor - Elliot Minor

The city and twilight that marks and fills the sky

5. Boats and Birds - Gregory and the Hawk

I live to let you shine

Let me know the kind of songs you listen to while you write! Keep writing!

xoxo

On Inspiration - Instrumental Edition

Part of my studies at the moment are focused on different methods of finding inspiration, so this week I thought I'd share my favourite pieces of music for getting inspired! Today - part one - is my top 5 instrumental tracks... Enjoy!

1. Brothers in Arms - Mad Max: Fury Road OST

This song is one of my favorite pieces of music in recent years. It's so intense - so fair warning if you're going to listen to it, your characters will be REALLY HYPED and SUPER DETERMINED. At 4 minutes and 22 seconds, I feel like this piece draws out the tension in me for just long enough, without being completely draining. So far, I've found it to be most helpful in writing fights and dramatic chase scenes. The music has some really nice shifts in tempo throughout, which is great for the rise and fall of action throughout dynamic scenes!

2. Danse Macabre - Camille Saint-Saens

I first heard this piece of music when I was about 9 years old; it was on a school trip for the music classes - a sort of interactive classical performance where we were encouraged to talk with the musicians about the way it could be interpreted. And I fell madly in love with it. I get skeletons, masquerades for the undead, comedic misunderstandings between the living and the ex-living, sweet and heartfelt love scenes for zombies. It's a little longer, running to 7 minutes and 12 seconds, but I don't mind usually because it's good for such a range of scenes. This piece really sparks with my roots in writing fantasy and it's such a source of inspiration to me that, honestly, a lot of my work probably wouldn't get written without it!

3. Rey's Theme - Star Wars: The Force Awakens OST

Again, this is a very recent score, so it doesn't necessarily have the weight of life-long memories behind it, but I am so enamored with the song. Really, it's kind of ridiculous how much I love it. This song has already become my go-to piece for strong female characters who aren't necessarily strong in a physical way. When I listen to Rey's Theme, I think of girls who are allowed to be girls, without their femininity making them any less wonderful; I think of girls who aren't stereotypically feminine but are no less entitled to take on feminine roles. Just. Girls. You know?

4. Fireworks - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix OST

Surprising no one, I had to slip one of my favourite pieces from the Harry Potter soundtracks in here. This is upbeat, happy music - great for celebration scenes or just for letting your characters enjoy themselves on their rare moments of down-time between harrowing, life-threatening action. We even get this great bit of electric guitar in the middle that really sets in apart from some of the other, more traditional pieces in this soundtrack,

5. River Flows in You - Yiruma

This piece, a bit like Rey's Theme, is a slower one. It has a great romantic feel, but can also come across as a little melancholy if you listen to it in the right state of mind. This is the only piece of music on the list that hasn't been part of my inspiration yet - but it has so much potential! Just because I haven't written much romance yet doesn't mean I never will! Something unrequited, perhaps?

I love all of these pieces - do you guys have a particular playlist for writing? Or does it change with the characters? Let me know in the comments - Happy Writing!

xoxo

I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good...

This week, on Thursday the 4th of February, is Harry Potter Book Night - a night when wizards and witches all over the country will be meeting in secret, raising their glasses, and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter -- the boy who lived!"

Or, perhaps more accurately, people of all ages across the world will be meeting to celebrate wonderful series of books by J.K. Rowling, and to pass on the magic to those who have not yet experienced it! Bloomsbury began this tradition only a year ago in 2015, encouraging teachers, librarians, booksellers, and fans to host gatherings to share their love of the series and to try and spread the love of reading that these books bred in so many people.

My fellow book blogger (and one of my best friends) Abi (Read her blog here!) and I are going to be spending our night watching our favourite movies in the series, reading the illustrated edition of Philosopher's Stone, and generally weeping over our deep love for the series. Harry Potter has been a huge part of my life for pretty much as long as I can remember, and I'm so grateful to have found people who share my love and are willing to celebrate it with me!

Over the years, I've been sorted countless times in a myriad of different ways (and I'm always a Ravenclaw, fyi, caw caw), let myself be chosen by a wand, been to Kings Cross on September 1st, and so many other things that I never would have done without J.K.'s wonderful world. I met some of the best, most wonderful people because of it. And all because my parents decided, when I was 4 years old, that they would read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to me before bed. And this was before the craze really started, I suppose, when people still weren't sure whether The Boy Who Lived was really going to stick in people's minds.

And of course he did stick - to some of us more than others, but still. Now, at nearly 22 years old, I am still just as in love, maybe more than I was before, with Harry's world.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I hope that as many of you as possible will spread a love of reading into the next generation and beyond - I'll certainly be reading my children Harry Potter before bed one day.

Are you doing anything for Harry Potter Book Night? Has it been a part of your life for a long time, or are you a relatively new fan? Either way, I'd love to hear about your experience of it!

xoxo

A (Very Very Very) Late Resolution

Writing.

It's hard, but everybody finds it hard.

Don't they?

At the very least, I think we all find writing hard - sometimes harder than others, too. I've realised lately that I suffer from writing-things-down anxiety, which is a bit of a pain when I'm supposed to be a writerly person and all that. I made it one of my new year's resolutions that I would update this blog more often (I know, I know, more than 2 weeks late) and it wasn't until really recently that I finally understood why I've found it so hard. As someone whose ultimate dream is to have their work read by as many people as possible, this came as a bit of a shock.

Me? Afraid of people reading my words?

Apparently yes. I think a lot of writers get anxious about people reading their fiction before it's finished (and really, it's never finished), but am I alone in being anxious about all of my writing? Blogs, journals, notes, scraps of stories… You name it, I'm afraid to write it down. And this doesn't just cover my notebooks, it's things I write on my laptop, sticky notes, bits of information on scraps of paper. It doesn't matter if it's something that I have absolutely no plans to show anyone - my brain goes into overdrive convincing me that if I write it down, people will read it and judge me.

Though, why anyone should be judging my sticky note reminders to check my emails, or remember to bring a book for a friend, is beyond me.

So, I'm taking steps to try and get over this fear… and this is the first one!

Do you ever have writing anxieties? How do you get over them? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo

If I Stay Review (Spoiler free!)

I have so many books in my bag at the moment, this GIF pretty much sums up my life! But the one I finished most recently is here for a review - so let's get on with it!

If I Stay - Gayle Forman

Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.
I open my eyes wide now.I sit up as much as I can.And I listen.
Stay, he says.
Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?
Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.
If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make

 - Goodreads Synopsis

Let's just start of with this: If I Stay was not the Augustus Waters of books that I had thought it might be. I wasn't exactly satisfied by the ending - perhaps because the novel is largely focused on the past and when we're suddenly catapulted into the present I was still trying to get to know Mia as a character.

That's not to say that it wasn't an enjoyable read, though, especially if you don't mind a bit of gloom in your books. Forman creates an incredibly empathetic narrative, although I personally felt that the hints of humour which peppered the novel were not quite enough to balance out the grief (which was more like shoving a chili pepper into your sandwich, if we're going to carry on the meal-time metaphor).

Had I read this book when I was 16, I think I would have been smitten with it - completely and without a doubt. 20 year old me, unfortunately, found it hard to connect to a character who was introduced and isolated so quickly. This is just my personal opinion, though! Overall, the book was very readable in its language and structure, as well as providing a great new take on the coming of age story, and the consequences of our our choices.

Fans of the Young Adult genre and books like The Lovely Bones and My Sister's Keeper - I recommend this to you particularly.

This novel gets 3 stars from me!



So, until next time: keep reading, and keep BakingBookies!