Month: November 2021

Jenny begins her talk with a poem she has written to introduce herself.  Her tone is warm and witty.

Born in Trinidad, Jenny tells us that she was the middle child of eleven children (her mother was Catholic, she explains, and there were no contraceptives!).  Despite the large family, and the chaos and noise that one would assume goes with that, Jenny tells us that she was a very lonely child. And so, she says, she took to  “… writing and scribbling.”  She would read the “stacks” of books that her father gave her and then she would begin “writing and scribbling everywhere.”

Jenny’s grandfather lived on a farm and she tells how the family would go there and run around and climb trees, but she would just “… sit in a corner, and I would just be writing.”  Jenny describes how this behaviour had her known within the family as “the oddball” – her grandmother even suggesting to her mother that perhaps Jenny needed to have therapy as she wasn’t  joining in with the other children.  But Jenny enjoyed and continued writing.  She started with short stories and poems and then “graduated to writing ‘making-up and breaking-up’ letters for her friends!”  Whilst Jenny’s teachers did not like this very much, they suggested that as she enjoyed writing, she should write an end-of-term play.  For this, Jenny wrote a play about a family of squirrels who had a party for lots of other animals, giving the students the “… opportunity to dress-up and be creative.” 

Jenny’s first job was at a supermarket.  At this point in her talk, she reads a poem about a particularly bad day entitled A Most Unwelcome Intruder.  Jenny’s poem describes how she was “… scribbling and scribbling,” not realising that there was a whole queue of people waiting to be served.  Her manager told her that “The services were compromised by her inability to focus adequately.” Jenny goes on to say, “What does that mean to a sixteen-year-old?  Nothing!”  The poem humorously captures the fallout at home following someone’s bad day.

Around this time, Jenny joined a writer’s club and won second prize for poetry writing (Jenny expresses surprise at this!).  On the back of that, she decided to attempt a memoir.  Speaking with her eldest sister, Joy, when Jenny was some way into this, she was firmly told that she could not publish it.  Her sister was not happy about their family stories being made public (“Family is family.”)!  She suggested to Jenny that she re-wrote it as fiction.  Jenny says she has “… always been obedient to her eldest sister,” and so agreed to do this.  She reveals that it took her over three months to complete the re-write, but on completion, called her sister again to ask her opinion. Joy, she tells us, was concerned that she could still recognise herself in the story (largely because Jenny has merely substituted  first names for middle names!), and, shortly afterwards, Jenny’s younger sister contacted her, also unhappy about the memoir (this time quoting the bible at her and accusing her of blasphemy).  Her brother also warned her “… to be very careful”.  This, Jenny informs us, “… put me off a bit.” Therefore, she put the memoir to one side and “… stuck with poetry.”  In terms of reading poetry, she describes herself as “…a Keats lady… and Byron.” 

Jenny was asked where she gets her inspiration from and she tells us that she may just go for a walk “… and when I get back, I just sit down, and a poem just comes to me.” She explains that she writes it down straight away but will edit it later. She tells us that she never sits down with the intention of writing a poem.  A poem could come to her at any point. Through her daily observations, she may simply think  “There’s a poem in that!” claiming “… anything and everything” can inspire her.  She enjoys the spontaneity of it (she keeps a notebook by her bed in case inspiration comes to her in the middle of the night!).

An example of inspiration?  Lockdown.  Jenny watched a lot of television.  This motivated her to write a poem about celebrities and their whiter-than-white teeth – which she reads to us.  Jenny’s poems are comic and observational.  Although she says she never sets out to be funny.  She reads another poem based on the monotony of everyday life (“Up, shower, dress, go to work, come back, cook, shopping etc”).  The final poem Jenny reads to us is about trying to laugh in the midst of climate change, covid, fuel shortages etc, ending with a positive:

“So, that laughing, we know won’t crack the face.  In this world, love and laughter have such a sound place.  You might laugh in the crowd and lots of people embrace, but when you can laugh at yourself, you’ve matured with grace.”

Report written by Sarah Noon

Yasmin Kane – Kane Literary Agency

Report written by Sarah Noon

Yasmin has been a literary agent for 16 years and is now head of her own agency.

Yasmin’s talk starts with a brief history of creativity.  The word came into use in the 1920’s and 1930’s.  She goes on to explain that creativity’s sibling is inspiration – literally meaning “to breathe”.  This “breath of life,” continues Yasmin,  is the creative force.  However, creativity is a comparatively modern concept.  It was the emergence of psychology in the twentieth century which heralded the arrival of creativity as we conceptualise it today.  “ Creativity,” says Yasmin, “is the ability to transcend our usual manner of thinking and let new and original ideas come to the surface,”  clarifying that this is not limited to writing or the creative arts.

Creativity is subjective – it covers all works of art. Yasmin uses an example of standing in an art gallery with other members of the family, considering how the art would be interpreted differently by each person.  In a similar way we connect with writing in a very personal manner and from our own “subjective reality”.  She believes that creative ideas came from a place she refers to as “the space between.”

Yasmin is a strong advocate of reading and writing groups, where she claims, “subjectivity comes to life.” Yet she is fascinated by the influence that someone else’s viewpoint may have on our own writing.

Yasmin states that there are two types of creativity:

1. Intense, focused creativity (for example, when one is writing short stories)
2. Meditative creativity (when one is writing full-length fiction)

Inspiration, says Yasmin, is a combination of inspiration and discipline.  Being in a relaxed state of mind is the key to unlocking the door.  She asserts “be clear about your purpose.  Why are you writing this book?” This is the first question she asks writers.  Is it all about a publishing deal?  Is it about getting one’s work work published?  Is the main objective to become a best seller and earn a living from writing?  Creativity and our beliefs about ourselves and our writing go hand in hand.  “Belief in oneself and one’s writing is crucial,” she says.  It is the engagement of the conscious and the subconscious mind.  “Your belief in both is vital for creativity.”  Yasmin eloquently explains “Creativity comes to the fore when it is ready – like a long-awaited guest.  It has no timetable.”

Yasmin understands that the pressure to produce 5000 words per day can halt creativity.  You have to let the words flow and let the characters’ voices come through.  Creativity is trifold:  inspiration, discipline and self-belief.  If one has a deadline then plan in order to work towards it so that things aren’t left to the last minute, as this may hinder the creativity. If this occurs, step away for a bit and come back to the task.  “Relax into a deadline.”

Creativity is about letting go, walking away from the page and doing something unrelated, allowing the creativity to come forth.  Yasmin links this to the poet Rumi:  “What you seek is seeking you.” “By stilling the mind,” she says, “we seek out that which is already seeking us.”  She continues, explaining that creativity has its own identity, framework and is unpredictable.  We should trust this process with “unflinching self-belief”.  It will come with practice and by honing one’s writing skills.  “You are not editing; you are being creative.”

Yasmin Kane: Literary Agent

Yasmin was originally a lawyer.  She later moved to publishing and did work experience at a literary agency.  She then set up her own agency using her law and business experience.  When talking about the relationship between writer and agent, she explains that it is a partnership based on trust.  It is crucial to find the right agent for you.

Yasmin fielded many questions from the audience – she was asked where she stood on the debate regarding the self-publishing vs publishing market.  She says that this is all down to the individual person “horses for courses” and that refers back to her earlier point  – what’s your intention?  With this in mind, one can then decide about the best publishing route to embark upon.

She was also asked about what she looks for in a manuscript.  Her reply: “a magic spark of creativity.”  She explains that she wants to feel and know that the writer has moved out of the way.  There’s an authentic voice – something, she says, that publishers a frequently talking about.

Following on from discussing manuscripts, Yasmin went on to explain what she looks for in a good synopsis (she asks for one side of A4).  She explained how a writer should be able to hold the story in the palm of one’s hand.  She gave the example of Star Wars and how you would strip that down “It’s basically good versus evil.” Look at story arc, she says, and pick out the plot elements that sum up your story beautifully.  This will then be in chronological order with brief description of characters.

Yasmin also advised about cover letters.  “Be honest.” She explained how they are the first opportunity for the agent to get to know the writer.  It should include something about the writer’s background and experience, as well as the dreaded elevator pitch – a summary of the manuscript in two to three lines.  A letter with a good elevator pitch from a writer who has done their homework with regards to the agency will have an increased chance of attracting attention.  Check the websites to ascertain exactly what is required – and she also added that there is a difference between the fiction and non-fiction submissions process.

Sarah Noon

Report of Richard T Kelly’s talk given to the Hampshire Writers’ Society on 12th October written by Sarah Noon

Richard T Kelly is a writer and lecturer at the University of Winchester.  He has also been an editor.  Friends would ask him, he says, how he could spend all day editing and then go home and write his own stuff.  “It seems very simple to me.  I’m just making things out of words and sentences.  If you’re a carpenter, you might make a table in the morning and a cabinet in the evening.  What’s the difference?”  Richard’s talk demonstrates how writing doesn’t need to be defined by the boundaries of its genre.  He expands on his view that fiction and nonfiction is “… playing vaguely in the same sandpit but something else comes out of it.” Adding, “It depends what container you pour it into.”

When Richard began writing, he had a desire to write true stories.  However, he “… wanted to tell them with some finesse,” rather than many history books which are simply “… one damn thing after another,” to coin a famous phrase.  He wanted to create something which was both factual and had some creative spark.  Richard goes on to say that, eventually, he wanted more.  “I wanted to express myself non-fictionally.” However, he says he soon realised he did not have any imagination!  He explains: “I have to believe that something is true or could have happened before I can fictionalise it.”  What Richard realised, however, was that he could use his nonfiction writing skills to create fiction.

So where does the title of Richard’s talk come from?  And how is it relevant to the relationship between fiction and nonfiction?  The lie that tells the truth is a phrase credited to Picasso  – and is often misquoted (Richard reminds us that many great writers such as Mark Twain and George Orwell are always being credited for things they didn’t say!):

“Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand.  The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies.  If he only shows in his work that he has searched, and re-searched, for the way to put over lies, he would never accomplish anything.”

Richard suggests that Picasso is referring to something known as “poetic truth,” something Richard claims he is “… not qualified to expound upon.”  He tells us that the fabrication or elaboration of an event can sometimes feel stronger than the real thing (“It didn’t quite happen that way, but it should have.”).  He says that there is an artistry required to do this.  Picasso is warning against too much research and too many facts – again “… one damn thing after another.” And he claims “that doesn’t make for art. “

Richard then goes on to quote Jean Cocteau:

“I am a lie who always tells the truth.” (Poem, The Red Package)

He suggests that these two quotes together have morphed into the one that is often used, explaining that he “… pitches his tent between Cocteau and Picasso.”

Richard tells us that nonfiction is commonly referred to as creative nonfiction in universities and publishing houses, which suggests that there is creativity involved within the genre.  He then introduces us to some “legends” of creative non-fiction:

• Gordon Burns: (Somebody’s Husband Somebody’s Son / Happy like Murderers) grew up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the 1950s &1960s. Burns wanted to move away from what was a bleak area at that time travelling to America to begin working for Rolling Stone magazine.  The writing style popular in America at this time was known as “New Journalism,” an example of this being “Armies of the Night” by Norman Mailer.  Mailer wanted to write about the Vietnam War, so he travelled to Vietnam, with a view of getting himself arrested.  He succeeded with this and proceeded to write about his experience.  Despite being a personal piece of writing, interestingly, Mailer refers to himself in the third person.  Richard describes this as a “remarkable” artistic device to use when writing nonfiction and prompts us to consider rewriting a personal diary or journal in the third person to explore the impact of this. 

Although uncommon in Britain at the time, Gordon Burns wanted to write in a similar way to Mailer.  It was “… taking real life and writing about it in a poetic way.”  Richard says there was a thrill to having real life written about in a way that involved some art.

• Hunter S Thompson:  (Hells Angels) Thompson wrote this after becoming involved with the infamous motorcycle gang.  He was commissioned to write a piece about the renowned Kentucky Derby race.  He didn’t watch the race, he just watched the spectators and got himself “a bit tipsy” as Richard delicately describes it.  Alcohol prevented Thompson from completing his piece and so he simply sent his notebooks to his publisher.  The resulting work was a success.  This style and method became known as “Gonzo journalism”.
• Tom Wolfe: (Radical Chic) This was an article published in New York magazine.  Wolfe was invited to a party hosted by Leonard Bernstein for the Black Panther political movement.  It was also attended by many celebrities.  The result, Richard says was, “gold dust” for Tom Wolfe and his notebook!  This piece demonstrates the rules and conventions that Tom Wolfe felt was indicative of New Journalism.  The aim to be absolutely truthful yet have the quality of fiction.  This was done by using four devices: 1) a dramatic scene-by-scene story, leaving out any back story and exposition etc.  2)  use of real dialogue.  Being a listener (e.g., What words do people use that make them distinctive?)  3) inclusion of status / social class details (articles of clothing, mannerisms etc) . 4) Point of view – seeing the scene through a pair of eyes – not necessarily the writer’s – it could be a bystander.  Richard describes this as “Giving yourself permission to walk a mile in another man or woman’s shoes.”
• Joan Didion: Richard describes her simply as being “really cool!”  She is quoted as saying:

“Writing fiction is for me a fraught business, an occasion of daily dread for at least the first half of the novel, and sometimes all the way through.  The work process is totally different from writing nonfiction.  You have to sit down every day and make it up.”

Richard explains Didion’s theory that in nonfiction, it’s the notes which create the work. She claims that with regards to research, the writer is “… almost honour-bound to use it,” comparing it to sculpture, rather than simply “One damn thing after another.” It is, says Richard, “An elegant rendition of the truth.”

• Norman Mailer: (The Executioner’s Song):  Richard defines Mailer as “one of the great makers of non-fictional narrative.” He talks about a reciprocal relationship between fact and fiction, and that often when one has too many facts, they can become warped and inaccurate, perhaps resulting in a “betrayal of reality”.  Richard urges us to “… look for the poetic truth behind the facts.” The Executioner’s Song is a study of murderer Gary Gilmore.  Mailer’s interview material was sometimes “moved around on the page”, to ensure Gilmore sounded the way Mailer felt he should (something that journalists are not allowed to do), demonstrating, Richard says, that this genre allows artistry.

These writers inspired Richard to “steal a few tricks” and he goes on to explain these a little later on in his talk.  

The modern American biography seems to be an updated version of the New Journalist style and Jean Stein and George Plimpton are experts of this.  This updated style is often referred to as Oral History or Oral Biography: Taking a subject and talking to everybody around who knew them, creating a bank of interview transcripts.  The resulting transcripts are edited, interwoven, and arranged on the page to form a sort of conversation between witnesses.  Richard describes this as “a talking head documentary on paper.” The result is often the disappearance of the author from the narrative (Richard suggests American Journey: The Times of Robert Kennedy by Stein and Plimpton as a great example of this). 

One great benefit about this “Oral Narrative” is that the writer is freed from the shackles of journalism.  With this method, Richard explains, “… you can’t change the meaning of the story, but you can make it more engaging.” It’s a creative way for the author to use interview material – the interviews are much more about the words being spoken.  They are also about the observational opportunity of being with someone close-up for a period of time.  You can have disagreements and arguments on the page and allow the reader to form their own viewpoint.  When the interviews have been collated, Richard says that contextual information will also become apparent, such as the time period and culture of the person giving the interview.  In this style of writing, the author becomes very much part of the background; however, creativity is still important.

Richard has written several books and as stated earlier, has tried to “steal tricks” for his own works.  “It’s great to take true things and then give them some creative polish.”  

• – Clarke was a “gritty realist” British film director.  Richard’s publisher only wanted a straight Q&A format when Richard expressed a desire to research Alan Clarke.  Richard interviewed some of Clarke’s proteges, but he felt the book “… wasn’t going where I wanted it to go.” He contacted Clarke’s friend Stephen Mears to interview, and he advised Richard to “… talk to some women” – and gave him a woman’s telephone number.  After speaking with her, which in turn led to several more interviews with other women,  “… a different story opened up,” revealing that Clarke was a “Hell raiser.” In the end, Alan Clarke: A Biography became an oral history (“the book deserves to have this kind of treatment”).
• The Name of this book is Dogme 95 – Film makers in Denmark had gathered to protest against what they thought was the commercialisation of cinema – they felt the art form was no longer truthful.  Richard travelled to Denmark to report on what was happening.  He says that there was an attempt by the movement, to make film “… more real again.” Richard decided to carry out this project in the style of the aforementioned Hunter S Thompson, and “… hang out with them and write notes.”  He then passed the manuscript onto his publishers without editing.  The result was in Richard’s words a “… pretty rough and ready book”, not really fitting neatly into one style or genre, which is why, he says, he has a soft spot for it.
• The Crusaders – Richard read two articles in his local paper, from the North-East of England.  One was about a man who was to “plant” a new church in a housing estate.  The article grabbed Richard’s interest and he cut the article out and kept it.  In the same paper a few weeks later another headline captured his interest: “The death of a philanthropist” – a report about a nightclub doorman who was shot dead (the man had been at school with Richard’s cousin).  Again, he cut out and kept the story.  These were two stories that told something about where he came from, inspiring The Crusaders – Richard’s first novel.  Richard claims that he never expected to write about Newcastle, but he says it was part of him; “… the pits and the ships” (all the men in his family were coalminers).  Richard travelled back up to his native Northeast to research.  When researching the book with his family, he says he realised that “… stories belong to other people.” The subjects of the original newspaper articles became characters woven into his novel.  The young Labour MP in the story is based on Tony Blair – Richard exemplifies “mixing the real and the unreal.”
• The Possessions of Doctor Forrest – A modern gothic horror inspired by Richard’s experience of walking around Hollywood and observing the amount of cosmetic surgery women had undergone, and how there seemed to be a general desire amongst women to all look the same (at this particular time, the template seemed to be Nicole Kidman!).  Men too, he says, had gone through surgery and had “eyes like Siamese cats.” He recalls thinking at this point that “vanity is evil!” He interviewed real surgeons as well as people who had gone under the knife.  He also observed a surgeon (one of the most surprising facts he discovered was the need for surgeons to wear extremely comfortable shoes, due to the sheer amount of time they are on their feet!).  Richard recalls an interview with a young plastic surgeon who told him of a time he was driving to the theatre on a night out with his girlfriend, and he took a call from someone he was mentoring.  The mentee was currently in the middle of a procedure and needed some advice.  His girlfriend was shocked by the different, almost aggressive persona the surgeon took on whilst speaking on the phone, and she said, “… I did not like that person”.  He expressed that he sometimes feels a bit like “Jekyll & Hyde.”  – a pivotal moment in Richard’s plan for his book.
• The Knives – a novel about a fictional home secretary.  Richard furtively visited the Home Office in the name of research – even coming face-to-face with Theresa May – the then Home Secretary!  Richard explains that descriptions of the Home Office in his novel are very similar to the real one but has a different address.  This, he says, gave him licence to say, “… this story is not real.” He quotes PD James who did a similar thing in her books – putting in an obvious lie to make it clear the work is not meant to be true.  PD James would include a note at the start of her books explaining that the settings were based on real locations but were not intended to be accurate.                      

Richard is superstitious about talking about his next book, which is not yet published. We look forward to hearing more about the new book in the future.

  +A fascinating talk which truly demonstrated the symbiotic nature of fiction and nonfiction.

Sarah Noon