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attending a convention, and some thoughts about genre

26/4/2013

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Some exciting news this afternoon: I've been invited to be a featured guest at Nine Worlds Convention, a multi-genre convention or 'GeekFest' in London, between the 9th and 11th August. I'm going to be taking part in panel discussions on science fiction and literature and meeting readers and other writers. And, never having been to a convention before, I will probably spend some of my time there just exploring what else is going on.

As a writer, and moreover a writer whose work crosses more than one genre, it's great to be invited to an event which encompasses all kinds of media, not just books but film, TV, graphic novels, games and art - something that wouldn't necessarily have happened even when I first began writing eight years ago. Really, it shows the exciting new ways people are finding to create networks and conversations around the topics that inspire them. To give you an idea of how inclusive the event is, this is what the organisers say:

'...while there'll be lots of sci-fi/fantasy TV/film & lit stuff going on at Nine Worlds, there'll be even more other stuff like science and creative writing and filmmaking, that have no direct link to sci-fi (other than a degree of overlap in fan bases). We're really looking to make Nine Worlds about fan-led events, and having conversations with creators.'

Nine Worlds are also donating all the profits from the convention to English PEN, a great organisation which works to defend the right to freedom of expression for writers and readers around the world - and one of the best global communities that you can be part of as a writer. So all in all, a good thing!

I've been thinking quite a bit about genre recently. I'm often asked what genre my books fit into, and sometimes I struggle to give a precise answer. Readers are faced with a sometimes bewildering map of genres and subgenres that are used nowadays to categorise books. Perhaps we should just affirm, as Matt Haig does in this excellent and intriguing chapter from his new book, The Humans: 'There is only one genre in fiction. That genre is called "book".'

The problem is, genres aren't really for writers. There would be something wrong with me staking a claim to a particular genre before my books were even completed. The best piece of writing advice that I've ever been given was a variation of this, from Toni Morrison: '“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” This is the way I approach my writing - in the midst of all the books which are published each year, the only way in which a writer can claim to be creating something original is to write without imitating, instead trying to trace the threads of a story which feels eerily like it's 'out there' somewhere: a particular character or mood or scene that catches your attention. It's very unlikely that this story will come with its genre attached. In fact, I believe that each book has its own particular mood or tone, a kind of atmosphere which may not map neatly onto a particular genre or style of story, unless you're someone who intentionally apprentices themselves to one particular tradition. Great books, like The Catcher in the Rye, can have the strongest identity in the world precisely by standing on their own, by entering a dialogue with the writers who have gone before without becoming swallowed by all the other voices out there. They simply define their own genre or stretch its boundaries, lighting the way ahead of them as they go.

But this is not to say that genre is unhelpful. Once a book is published, I believe very firmly that it becomes the democratic property of its readers, so I certainly don't have a problem with other people speculating about the different genres which overlap in my writing. This can only be a good thing if it helps readers make sense of the way in which the book has spoken to them, and say something meaningful about its particular mood or atmosphere, and the connections it might have with the other books out there. I've been told over the years that my books are realism, gritty realism, fantasy, science fiction, dystopian fiction, family drama, magical realism, young adult 'issue' fiction, literary fiction, young adult literary fiction - and all kinds of combinations of these! None of these opinions are wrong, just different ways of seeing the stories. If it helps, I see my own books as mostly realist in tone, driven by character rather than plot, and dealing with themes that mostly relate to human relationships, but with elements of magic and science fiction as part of their particular atmosphere and mood. But each book finds a slightly different place in the vast community of voices already out there. And meanwhile, I'm more than happy for you to define my writing however you like!

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writing and the public eye

17/4/2013

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A bit of a delay between posts this month... I've been ill for a few days (one of the main job hazards of working in a school, unfortunately!), and now that I'm starting to recover I've been spending nearly all my writing time catching up with my work on The Heart at War. I'm making fewer and fewer changes to the draft, and feeling more and more content with the work I've produced, which is a very good sign that I'm near to finishing. As soon as it's with my editors at Doubleday, I'll let you know!

I've been thinking quite a bit recently about what it means to be in the public eye as a writer. One of my friends reminded me of this video, filmed when I was 18 for The Eyes of a King:
Watching this is quite strange - it takes me back to the particular hot and dusty afternoon in central London when it was filmed, and how daunted I was by the idea of speaking publicly about the book, even to a video camera in a small studio. I actually enjoyed the process of explaining The Eyes of a King, especially because I'm always much more confident speaking about books and writing than about myself. In fact, this was one of the last pieces of publicity that I did. Right after The Eyes of a King came out, I took the decision to take a step away from publicity and concentrate on the writing alone. I guess, really, I never felt happy with the idea of being in 'the public eye'. People were interested in the fact that I began writing very young, and I was happy to share that story, but after publication I felt that it was time that the books were allowed to speak for themselves. And I wanted time to develop my craft - I felt I owed that to myself as a writer, and to the people who had taken the time and trouble to read my work.

I've always felt that the books are the important thing, not the person behind them, and luckily my publishers agreed with this approach. It's certainly not unprecedented. One of my favourite writers, Anne Tyler, finds that speaking about her books makes it difficult for her to write for several months afterwards, and hardly ever gives interviews. And Sadie Jones, who I also admire because she writes so excellently about characters and relationships, has an interesting comment on her author Facebook page about the way publicity can distract the writer from the most important thing, the voices on the page.

But I still wanted to find a way to talk directly with the people who had been reading my books. For one thing, I appreciate the commitment and loyalty of readers who have chosen to spend several hours of their lives in the world that I've created. I also appreciate the fact that many people have written letters to let me know that they are waiting patiently for the third book, a particularly generous and encouraging thing to do. And, most of all, I didn't want to miss the chance to talk about reading and writing with interesting, like-minded people.

I looked at how other writers were managing to do this, and began to realise that being in the public eye as a writer has become something very different over the past seven years. When I first signed a publishing contract, in 2006, writers who wanted to communicate with their readers mainly did this through interviews with traditional media or organised public appearances: it was all very one-sided. Now, writers have interactive websites and blogs, Twitter feeds and profiles on social networking sites. They can talk to other writers and other readers directly and instantly, and most importantly, they can listen. It's more of a democracy. And for me, this is really positive. I think both the traditional ways of communicating and the new ones are necessary . It's a great thing that I can first read a literary interview with a distinguished writer like Salman Rushdie, and immediately afterwards go and follow him on Twitter! Writing is a dialogue, after all, and always has been - it's just becoming a wider and more inclusive one.

So on the first day of 2013 I decided to stop being a hermit and join in! I've tried to find ways that I can be as approachable as possible in the run-up to the publication of The Heart at War. Of course, I'm making the book my first priority, so I've mainly been working on this during the odd moments of spare time I can find at evenings and weekends. All the same, I've made progress in my journey into the 21st century: I now have a Facebook page, a Twitter feed and - one I particularly like - a Pinterest page where I'll try to share images that inspire me and which relate to the books, as well as giving a few clues about The Heart at War and, of course, following the beautiful pages other writers and readers have created.

What I like most about these ways of connecting is that they are about books and ideas, about sharing things, not just about individuals. They open up a whole world of reading, writing and thinking that is much larger and richer than your own single contribution could ever be. Communication, as a writer, has become less like a speech from a pedestal and more like a friendly conversation. I find that I'm inspired by the discussions and creativity going on, without necessarily having to say very much myself - something that has always suited quiet people like me much better anyway!

What do you think about authors using social networks? Which are the best ways to connect and start conversations about reading and writing, in your view? And do you have a page, blog or Twitter feed that you would like me to follow?
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paying attention to the world

3/4/2013

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A writer, I think, is someone who pays attention to the world. - Susan Sontag

I think that my job is to observe people and the world, and not to judge them. I always hope to position myself away from so-called conclusions. I would like to leave everything wide open to all the possibilities in the world. - Haruki Murakami
I had an interesting conversation once with a photographer about the similarities between photography and writing, and how good writing can be 'photographic' because it captures details of the world that might otherwise be overlooked. In fact, one of the first pieces of writing advice that really struck a chord with me was that observing life and the world carefully is one of the most valuable things a writer can do. I've looked at the world like this as long as I can remember, storing up observations and details, especially any that are so small or insignificant that other people might not notice them otherwise. When I notice something that I want to remember, I've got into the habit of taking what I think of as a kind of mental 'snapshot', just enough that I won't forget. This snapshot doesn't have to be visual - it's just a quick record in my mind of a particular sight, sound or detail that I make before I carry on with my ordinary life.

Many writers say that you should just carry a notebook and write everything down. I've never been totally sure about this. Writing the observation down in a notebook straight away would force you to put it into words, which is often quite a difficult process, and so I think sometimes a memory of the thing itself is better until you've worked out how to do the reality justice.

Recently, I've been exploring the area around my new home in County Durham, and noticing very different things because I'm in a less familiar place. So when I went for a walk outside town this weekend, I challenged myself to pay attention and take some real 'snapshots' showing the things I thought were worth stopping to notice.

For example, this perfectly straight path...
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Or how the view in one direction was sepia and the other, technicolour! I took these photographs standing at the same point, just looking in opposite directions...
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Or how the sun in between gusts of snow was still strong enough to make halos around the thorns on this gorse bush, and the furry buds on this willow...
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The path is a disused railway line, which explains why it was so straight. The North-East of England has a whole network of these old railways which have become paths and cycle tracks. This one is the Lanchester Valley Railway Path. It's supposed to go past some ruins called Beaurepaire, but we never found them; obviously I wasn't paying as much attention as I'd thought!

How about you? What kind of things do you stop and notice?
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