Words writers invented

When I was about fifteen, I wrote a spy thriller and coined the word ‘contortured’ – applying it to the effect on a vehicle’s tyres during a chase; combining ‘contorted’ and ‘tortured’. A good friend advised me to take it out; I had no business inventing words, the dictionary was adequate, it seemed. The point of a new word is that it should be understood by anyone coming across it.

A new book has just been published, Authorisms: Words Wrought by Writers by Paul Dickson (Bloomsbury). Yes, the word ‘authorism’ is an invented word, too.  Indeed, the verb ‘to coin’ was coined by George Puttenham in 1589, when he observed that youngsters ‘seeme to coigne fine wordes out of the Latin’.

A brief list of some words created and the writers who invented them follows:

William Wordsworth – pedestrian

Alexander Dumas – feminist
John Milton – earthshaking
Dr Seuss – nerd
Ben Jonson – clumsy, damp
Thomas More – anticipate, fact
Milton – pandemonium, lovelorn
Karel Capek – robot
Raymond Chandler – unputdownable
Nabokov - nymphet
Shakespeare – bedazzle, subcontract, scuffle

Of course some of Shakespeare’s ‘invented’ words may have been around before his time, but it appears he was the first to write them down and use them in context. Milton seemed as inventive, accredited with over 600 new words.

Also mentioned are those words writers invented that didn’t catch on at all: for example, Tolkien’s ‘eucatastrophe’ and James Fenimore Cooper’s ‘Americaness’, referring to a female American.

So, Authorisms is definitely on my ‘to buy’ list.

Another book of interest is Bill Bryson’s Mother Tongue: The English Language. As he points out, ‘No other language has anything even remotely approaching it in scope.’ This book is worthy of closer inspection.

Barter Books

During our visit to the north-east, we popped in to Barter Books, in Alnwick, one of the largest second-hand bookshops in Britain. Over the years, I’ve been there a few times. It’s a cornucopia of literature for readers and collectors.

Ten years ago, prior to moving to Spain, I deposited a number of books with them and received a credit to spend there. At the time, I naturally didn’t want more books (we already had 34 boxes to transport to Spain as it was), so I kept the credit for a later date. A few years passed and then I searched their website online and identified a number of Time-Life books in the Old West series. I ordered them and they were retained until such time as I could fly to UK and collect them.

Barter Books can be found in the old Alnwick railway station, which was built in 1887 to a high standard to impress royal visitors to Alnwick Castle. Passenger service continued until the Beeching cuts closed the station in 1968.

In 1991 Mary Manley decided to open a second-hand bookshop, based on the swap system, and called it appropriately Barter Books. Her husband Stuart suggested she open the shop in the front room of what was his manufacturing plant in the old Alnwick Station. In time, the bookshop grew and grew.

 Victorian Station - Barter Books

 

Opposite the station, there’s the 83ft-tall Tenantry Column topped by the Percy lion. The story goes that the column was erected by the Duke’s tenants in 1816 in appreciation of his having lowered their rents during the depression caused by the Napoleonic Wars. So impressed was the Duke to find his tenants were able to afford this, he promptly raised their rents…!

Tenantry Column

 

You enter the shop through the doorway under the Victorian three-bay glazed canopy which served to protect passengers alighting from horse-drawn carriages. Once inside this entrance (which formerly led into the station’s Parcels’ Room), you’ll be amazed at the number of books.

Books, books and more books

There is a self-guided historical tour of the station, relating its opening in 1850, and its replacement (designed by architect William Bell) in 1887. You’ll see the station clock, made by Potts of Leeds (at a cost of £12.50 (old money £12.10s.0d). On walls and plaques you’ll find lines of poetry that connect the book columns. The Little Train, a miniature railway system, runs on top of these poetry lines. The trains are to a scale of 1:22.5 – actually on three separate tracks – and run all day every day.

Little Train

There are three huge murals commissioned between 1999 and 2006: The Famous Writers, painted by local artist Peter Dodd, depicting over 30 life-size portraits; The Railway Mural shows the names of almost 450 railway staff who worked in Alnwick Station from its opening in 1850 until its closure in 1968; and The Tennyson Installation was inspired by the work of artist Mark Handforth – Barter Books’ version illustrates the first lines of Tennyson’s great poem, ‘Crossing the Bar’.

The Famous Writers Mural - Barter Books

 

Definitely worth a browse. Don’t expect to make a flying visit, though. Besides the vast range of books – children’s, crime, antiquarian, humour, music and dance, poetry, politics, fiction, science fiction, thrillers, military history and much more – you’ll find so much to see, including Long Playing records, CDs and DVDs. Fair prices, too.
 
www.barterbooks.co.uk

Writing tips – ‘Can be applied to any genre novel’

My apologies, but today unashamed promotion follows. [I do try not to make a habit of it..].

I’m pleased to write that my book Write a Western in 30 Days seems to be popping into the top 100 Amazon how-to books quite regularly. It has just appeared again; and for that, I must thank everyone who has bought a copy. Please spread the word if you find the book useful!

 

 

·         Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,287 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

   #88 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Education & Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Publishing & Books > Authorship

E-book from Amazon com bought from here

E-book from Amazon co uk bought from here

or paperback post-free world-wide from here

On Amazon.com this book has eight 5-star reviews and two 4-star reviews; on Amazon.co.uk it has an additional three 5-star reviews.

This book is considered to be a very useful guide for anyone wanting to write genre fiction – that is, any genre, not only westerns. Those aren’t my words, but the opinion of reviewers on Amazon.

My thanks to all reviewers who take the time and trouble to post their comments.

The following three are the most recent:

Nik's enthusiasm for storytelling is evident in this accessible how-to book. While it's geared to writing Westerns (Nik cites loads of resources) the mechanics of structuring a workable (and readable) plot as well as creating engaging characters make this a must-read for any writer of any genre. I took his advice on the plot-plan (Ch. 7) and it changed the way I approach sketching out a novel. Taking the necessary time to prep makes the writing easier. It took me three days to complete a plot-plan on a story I had in mind, and just two weeks later I have already written 11,000 words of the novel. Write a Western in 30 Days will dispel any doubts that you don't have what it takes to finish a novel. If you have a story to tell, Nik's book will give you the tools you need and, better yet, get you excited about the craft of writing. – fizz8185, December 2013

When I started Nik Morton's Write a Western in 30 Days, what struck me was that this wasn't just a book of guidelines and tidbits for someone attempting a western, this is a fantastic map to anyone who wants to dive into the world of genre fiction. What Morton lays out are some of the best, common-sense rules for writing that I've ever come across - especially the chapters on plotting and structure. If you're not writing a western, it doesn't matter; what can be found in this book can be applied to any genre novel. What Nik Morton has done, finally, is to lay a solid foundation for a way for writers to follow a path to get their work done in the cleanest, most efficient way possible - and discover their best work besides. Highly recommended. – C Courtney Joyner, December 2013

 
I actually own this book in both Kindle and physical copy. I bought the physical copy to refer back to after first reading it on Kindle. I currently write non-fiction books but wanted to branch out and try my hand at a fiction western. This book clearly lays out how to go from idea to finished product in 30 days. Having an actionable plan from someone who has actually followed the steps outlined is very helpful. – DerekM, January 2014

The book uses a good number of excerpts from my novel The $300 Man to illustrate the points made.
 

The $300 Man can be purchased post-free world-wide from here

Two of my other genre books that are available are:

 

Spanish Eye

 

 

Spanish Eye, which can be purchased post-free world-wide from here

 
and the Spanish Eye e-book bought from Amazon com here

or bought from Amazon co uk here

Blood of the Dragon Trees

 

 

The Blood of the Dragon Trees e-book bought from Amazon com here

or bought from Amazon co uk here

 

Next month, my crime novel Sudden Vengeance is released by Crooked Cat Publishing.

Thank you for tuning in. Normal service will be resumed tomorrow!

Pen and Plot online magazine - first issue

Stop by and Read Rosean Mile’s “PEN and PLOT” FREE Online MAGAZINE.

“Pen and Plot” is for writers, readers, & beyond including Articles, Stories, Puzzle, and Tips. www.penandplot.com/

Inside, among other items of interest, you can meet with:

SHELLEY SINGER began her career as a reporter with UPI in Chicago and now has 13 published novels under her belt, including her Jake Samson and Barrett Lake mystery series, her sci-fi thriller Blackjack, numerous short stories, and her acclaimed mystery Interview with Mattie, which was nominated for a Shamus Award. Shelley teaches fiction writing and has worked one on one with writers as a manuscript consultant on nonfiction, literary novels and in every genre from memoir to mystery to science fiction to horror.

MARY CARROLL MOORE is an award-winning author. Her books include PEN/Faulkner-nominated novel, Qualities of Light and Your Book Starts Here: Create, Craft, and Sell Your First Novel, Memoir, winner of the New Hampshire Literary Award, 2011 Readers’ Choice Award. She teaches workshops and weekly writing classes both online and in person at writing schools around the U.S.

NANCY WOOD is a professional technical writer in Santa Cruz, California. Her debut novel, Due Date was published by Solstice Publishing in May 2012 and has since been optioned for film.​

E. B. Sullivan is a clinical psychologist who loves to write fictional tales, such as psychological thrillers, paranormal stories, and historical novels – all with a healthy dose of romance. Her published work includes two full length novels Bloom Forevermore and Different Hearts, and two novellas, Christmas Guardian Angel, and Spotlighting Crime. In her recent book, Spotlighting Crime a young journalist is contacted by a serial killer who demands she print the gruesome details of his crimes.

Oh, and there’s a humorous short story – ‘Word Widower’ by me featured…

'A lot of good advice...'

It's very pleasing to get a 5-star review, and it's appreciated!

 

A Gold Mine of Information About Writing Westerns

By Suspense Fan on August 8, 2013

Format: Paperback Amazon Verified Purchase

 

Write a Western in Thirty Days is one of those books anyone who is thinking about writing a western should read before they get started. It contains a brief outline of the era that would be of great use to the beginner--and as a general reference for the seasoned writer. Besides tips on how to create plot, theme and chapters, there are dependable book references and online website suggestions for those who write in the western genre. Even for writers of other genres, this book has a lot of good advice about plotting, creating character biographies and setting up a book in general. Recommended.

 

Thank you, 'Suspense Fan'.

On perfection - flat notes and writing typos

Last evening my wife Jennifer sang as part of the combined choirs of Vivace and Chorale Mendelssohn’s Elijah in a gorgeous Spanish theatre. Jen was one of seven soloists. The choirs acquitted themselves well; it’s a difficult and rather long work. Needless to say, while the audience was very enthusiastic and impressed with the performance, a few perfectionists in the choirs beat themselves up over the occasional sour or flat note. This is only natural, as artists should always strive for perfection, and it reflects on their professionalism that they try to attain it.

Still, in the real world, perhaps perfectionists should gain perspective.

This choral work was sung by a combination of British, Russian, Dutch and Scandinavian men and women, accompanied by a Spanish pianist, singing in English to a Spanish, British, Scandinavian, Dutch and German audience. The ticket money from the performance goes towards a project to construct a rural school in Southern India, for 575 children aged five to eleven. The project’s target is 65,492 euros and they already have in excess of 40,000. That, alone, is pretty amazing, the coming together of different nationalities to give pleasure and work towards a good cause.

There may be a few off notes, but the entire performance impressed, and that’s what’s important.

The same applies to writers and their critics. Yes, there may be a few typos missed by author, editor, and proof-reader – and the author is often the first to beat herself up when these are found, after the book goes to print, rarely at the galley/proof stage. That’s good, striving for perfection. Self-edit, self-edit, self-edit is a good mantra to follow, but there comes a time when you have to let it go – and that applies to the publisher as well as the author.

Again, a little perspective is required.

Maybe 80,000 or more words are strung together to create characters and a fictional world for the reader, and there’s nothing wrong with over 99.9999% of those words! Fine, if the book has clearly not been adequately edited, fair criticism – usually reserved for self-published work, I suspect. But complaining about the occasional glitch is simply petty and uncharitable. If the story does what is intended, then judge it on those merits, not on a few typos.

Lust to read will never dwindle with a Kindle

Some said it was the end of an era. After five years as Chairman of the Torrevieja Writers' Circle (TWC), I was stepping down. My last day wielding the gavel was Wednesday, 23 February. There were about 28 members in attendance and several apologies. The first half was a normal session of reading and critique, then cakes, buns (thanks to the bakers)and drinks for the halftime period. There followed a presentation of a Kindle, contributed by the members. I was very touched by this thoughtful present. (Some whispered I've been a bit touched for ages, hence the puns...) Mary K (Hasta Luego)and Chris (Woe...)read out poems, which were both appreciated and struck several chords. Several - about 22 stayed behind to eat a menu del dia. A really good day, thank you all!


I finished off with a small 'thank you':

After five years as Chairman, I ask myself, why do we come to the TWC meetings? Presumably, we all like to read – whether books or magazines. Most of us were brought up with a love of books – either imparted by our parents or our teachers. Even in this age of the e-book, books play an important part in our lives. As Cicero said, ‘A room without books is like a body without soul.’

The Canadian-Japanese Professor of English, Samuel Hayakawa said, ‘In a very real sense, people who have read good literature have lived more than people who cannot or will not read… It is not true that we have only one life to live; if we can read, we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish.’

They’re talking about books. But we aren’t a reading circle. We strive to write. As E L Doctorow said, ‘Planning to write is not writing. Outlining a book is not writing. Researching is not writing. Talking to people about what you’re doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing.’

So it’s the placing of your bum on a chair and writing. No pressure, there then.
Still, as we know – no pressure, no diamonds.

Many of you have written for years and received little or no pecuniary reward, but that doesn’t stop you, nor should it. Richard Bach, who wrote Jonathan Livingston Seagull, says, quite rightly, ‘A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.’

So, if it isn’t for the financial reward, why do we write? Is it because we must? Katherine Mansfield said, ‘Looking back, I imagine I was always writing. Twaddle it was, too. But better far to write twaddle or anything, anything, than nothing at all.’ Maybe we want to make sense of the world, or understand ourselves, our past. Indeed, the life of every person is like a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another.

I think I’ve used this quotation from O Henry before, but make no apology for using it again: "A good story is like a bitter pill, with the sugar coating inside of it."

Maybe that’s it: we just like telling stories! To know is nothing at all; to imagine is everything. Of course, you don’t have to rely on imagination; you can reminisce about your past. You don’t have to write fiction. You can write memoirs and poems, rants and articles. It doesn’t matter, really, so long as you write. You write to be read, however. You write for an audience, even if that’s an audience of one or the circle members only. You don’t write for praise, though it’s always welcome. You write to affect others, to raise a laugh, stir an emotion, elicit a tear. You don’t write to slavishly copy your favourite authors. Each one of us is unique, and we see the world and humanity in different ways. The secret is that in our writing we invite the reader to see the world – our imagined world – as we see it.

In my five years of Chairmanship, I’ve been privileged to listen to a vast array of writing from the TWC members – poems that made me think or cry, stories that made me laugh and empathise, articles that made me see some aspect of life with a fresh eye. Many of you have already done it, but I would recommend that in your writing, make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.

Thank you for putting up with my terrible puns over the years. I’ll miss banging my gavel, and inevitably I’ll miss several gems that will be read out in future meetings, since I will no longer be a regular attendee. However, to use a final quotation, in the immortal words of the Terminator, ‘I’ll be back.’

Writing Guide-01

WRITING THE PRIVATE EYE NOVEL
Edited by Robert J Randisi
(Writer’s Diget Books, hardback)

For a number of years I’ve wanted to write a private eye novel so I bought this book when it was new – 1997. There hasn’t been a new edition since, but really there’s little call for one. Virtually everything said in these pages still holds true. This won’t tell you how to write a mystery and few specifics are covered, but its advice will certainly prove useful and probably save a lot of time for anyone embarking on a PI novel. And, if you want to go down those mean streets, the recommendation is go for a series character. To do that, start building his or her backstory before you write the first book; that includes friends, relations and the neighbourhood. Sound advice for any novel, actually, but for a series character it’s almost essential.

Founder of the Private Eye Writers of America and creator of the Shamus Award, Robert J Randisi has gathered together a number of accomplished authors to offer their nuggets of writerly wisdom.

Lawrence Block advocates gripping the reader at the outset, never letting go till the end. He quotes Mickey Spillane, who said, ‘The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book.’ We all know that beginnings are important; but don’t neglect the end – don’t rush it, don’t over-explain and don’t leave the reader disappointed. Intriguingly, Block says that his literary apprenticeship began with writing soft-core sex novels, which taught him to avoid sections of novel that were liable to lose the reader’s attention: keep the action going.

Loren D Estleman spells it out. ‘Suspension of disbelief is a high-wire act, requiring enough plausibility on one end of the balance pole to counter the pull of audacious invention on the other.’ He advises beginners to beware of proven authors who might ‘break the rules’; they can afford to, they have a fan base, followers. Beginners should stick with what works. For example, avoid soliloquies and clunking lengthy expositions at the end. He concludes that your book should ‘keep the reader tied up until the last knot is unravelled, then make them want to be tied up all over again.’

Ed Gorman advocates that writers should read – anything and everything. But especially as much as possible in your chosen genre. Choose four or five favourite books and analyse their chapters, characters, motivation etc and before long the mysteries won’t be that mysterious. That’s what many writing guides do, actually, they relieve prospective authors from wading through entire volumes doing their own research: the offer up the nuggets in digestible form. But even so, writers have to apply themselves rigorously and simply write and write and write.

Female private eyes are discussed, and writing a first person narrative from the perspective of the opposite sex. The setting of a PI novel can become a character in the series in its own right; so you need to know as much as possible about the chosen environment where the action takes place.

Max Allan Collins contributes twice – which isn’t surprising since he’s been nominated and won the Shamus Award more than once. His first foray discusses historical PI fiction, citing his award winning Nathan Heller novels which cover the early decades of last century. Needless to say, this kind of approach entails considerable research. Mr Collins’s second item is about writing private eye comic books. The market isn’t so great, but if you have a visual as well as a dramatic sense, then this may be worth investigating. You could check out Mr Collins’s Ms Tree graphic novels.

Writing the PI short story is covered too. This is quite difficult as the PI tale invariably relies on character and atmosphere, both of which eat up precious words. The writer of this section, Christine Matthews, quotes Stephen Vincent Benet: ‘A sort story is something that can be read in an hour and remembered for a lifetime.’ She also mentions the latest trend (1997) is Church lady mysteries. (It was about that time when I first thought up my Sister Rose character (Pain Wears No Mask), so that’s intriguing!

John Lutz emphasises the four main elements of fiction – character, setting, situation and theme. Whatever the fiction. Though in most good PI fiction, character dominates.

And of course there are crossover possibilities, mixing and matching more than one genre with your PI tale. They can work, and have the advantage of perhaps appealing to two distinct sets of genre readers.

An encouraging book if you’re inclined to write a private eye story. One of many useful books from Writer’s Digest Books. Check out their Howdunit Series for details about everything from poisons to weapons.

Double Letters

Just received the February editions of two magazines (Writers’ News and Writing Magazine) yesterday (they get here later than in UK) and was pleasantly surprised to see they featured one of my letters in each. The WM letter was just a comment on an earlier letter. The WN letter reads:
“Spooky! What a strange feeling I experienced on seeing the title to Vivien Hampshire’s article about including sound in our fiction: ‘Sounds Good’ (WN p32, Jan 2009).
“That was the very title I used for my short story in the recent Mace&Jones ‘justice’ competition. While I appeared in the Top Ten, I didn't get a mention or prize, but I can console myself with the knowledge that the story has been accepted for a monthly magazine here in Spain.
“The main character is Leon Cazador – Lion Hunter in English translation – who is half-English, half-Spanish and is a latter-day Simon Templar character. ‘Sounds Good’ will be his twentieth published outing and I eventually hope to collect the stories for a book.
“Anyway, the title looks good, too.”
There were 93 entries in the 'Justice' competition. I seemed to be the only male in the Top Ten… and the winners were: Cathy Roberts for ‘The Appointment’ about Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain, Mary D’Arcy for ‘Expiation’, Jan Bengree for ‘Red Geraniums’ and Jackie Le Poidevin for ‘What Price?’