Posts Tagged "Story"

The Focus and The Freak, Concentrate

Posted by The Author on 15 Apr, 2012 in He Writes | Comments Off

I’ve been working for some time with the eminent Vancouver-based writer and sibling of mine, Darren Groth on a series of short young adult novels. The first of these is now available on the Kindle platform.

I’m often asked how we go about collaborating on a work of fiction. While all books are collaborative to some extent, shared authorship duties are relatively rare in our game. To be honest, it took us quite a while to figure out a collaborative approach that worked for us. We tried a few approaches unsuccessfully. Although our styles of writing are not that different from each other, the trick is finding a way to make them flow together. What we realised is that every project needs a champion and, while sharing text is relatively easy, a story’s vision can’t be doled out in a 50/50 split. Concentrate, a young adult novel, marked the first time we worked as a writing team, each of us taking on roles as necessary to serve the story. Here’s how I described the process three years ago:

We have tried collaboration before a few times. We tried taking alternate chapters. We tried taking on different characters. Nothing really worked and I consigned the whole endeavour to the ‘revisit one of these days’ file. Little did I know Darren was hatching his own variation on the concept.

What we eventually hit on was taking alternate drafts. The result was similar to writer-editor only with the editor taking a far more active role adding character layers and additional narrative. Our model was less ’50 per cent text each’ and something more like what Joel and Ethan Cohen do: share the writing credits where one or the other might take the lead on any individual project. Seems to work well for them. Why not us? We are already brothers after all.

New story published: Polysomnogram

Posted by The Author on 10 Sep, 2010 in He Writes, Stuff That Happens | Comments Off

The kind editors at Poor Mojo’s Almanac(k) have once again confirmed their taste and style, choosing to publish my story Polysomnogram in their august electronic pages.

A polysomnogram is a test performed on people with suspected sleeping disorders; in this case narcolepsy.

Polysomnogram is an exploration of the ideas and techniques I would use for my second novel, None of the Other Flies Follow My Crooked Lines. Juggling work and a young family, I found my writing hours relegated to the hours of eleven and three. I suspect stories about sleep disorders were a natural consequence.

Whenever I told people I was working on a story whose main character has narcolepsy, people often assumed I was writing a comedy. Although the story has what I hope are amusing moments, Ryan’s narcolepsy is never played for laughs, though it is a handy device to rely on when your scene runs out of steam and you need a quick transition to the next.

So? What are you waiting for?

Read Polysomnogram (should be a permanent link).

Enjoy the rest of Poor Mojo’s Almanac(k).

More synopsis joy

Posted by The Author on 21 Feb, 2009 in Stuff That Happens | Comments Off

I seem to post here a lot about the synopsis. There’s good reason for this.

Authors are frequently called upon to reduce their 60,000-odd word novel to a page, a paragraph, even a pithy statement.

My pithy statement for this book? Bad TV talent shows and narcolepsy, together at last.

So it is I’ve been asked to write yet another synopsis for my novel None of the Other Flies Follow My Crooked Lines. It’s probably my third or fourth attempt at this and it’s never an easy task. Hell, it took me nine words to title the damn thing.

Here Today: The Better Synopsis

Posted by The Author on 7 Aug, 2008 in Stuff That Happens | Comments Off

This is the redraft. I think the differences speak for themselves. Probably.

When your self-esteem is shattered by harsh reality, can stories save you?

Here Today is a contemporary novel that follows a young occupational therapist’s locum stint in a Brisbane hospital. Astrid is rootless and restless in her life — unable to commit, unable to settle.

Here Today: The crapper synopsis

Posted by The Author on 2 Aug, 2008 in Stuff That Happens | Comments Off

So here’s the synopsis written for my first novel, the older version that feels a little laboured and floppy. I think I wrote this under pressure of a deadline and it shows. It smells of desperation. Please, please, please make this novel about something, damnit!

When your self-esteem is shattered by harsh reality, can stories save you?

Astrid Reinhart is set to coast through this two-week hospital job, all she has to do is turn up every morning and smile sweetly, but the ward that awaits both entices and terrifies her. Martin Finn, a successful novelist whose stroke has left him with the rare locked-in syndrome, wants Astrid to help him write his next story – one letter at a time. Leith McAuley, Astrid’s fuck-off-flatmate, through a volley of four-lettered philosophy, encourages Astrid to abandon her professional veneer and immerse herself in the worlds of her patients. Astrid remains unconvinced until a stray bite misses her lunch and takes off the end of her tongue. Unable to communicate beyond painful, barely decipherable utterances, Astrid has no choice but to listen.