Tag Archives: jodi cleghorn

Piper’s Reach: The Writer and the Reader

Posted on July 2, 2013 | 4 comments

Piper’s Reach – The Writer and the Reader

A writing adage you see on various blogs is to write for your ideal reader, the audience you want to read your work. You create in your mind an image of a specific person, male and/or female, the type of person you imagine will enjoy reading your novel. The specific reader in mind, may in fact, be you.

When Jodi Cleghorn (@JodiCleghorn) and I sat down to write the epistolary serial Post Marked: Piper’s Reach (now being edited as an epistolary novel), it presented an interesting dichotomy. The instigation of the No Spoiler Policy (we did not discuss the plot or character development, but rather let the narrative form as an organic process) meant we were thrust into the role as simultaneous writer and reader.

It was unique as Jodi wrote as the character of Ella-Louise and I wrote as the character of Jude; two high school friends reunited by letter after 20 years of silence.

Click here to read about Piper’s Reach – The Project

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As each letter was written, posted and received, we had no idea of its content in regards to plot or character. It was the perfect balance between writer and reader. 

We wrote as authors, read it as readers. 

With each letter we would read and reread from different perspectives:

As writers:

  • Looking for the momentum and motivation in the character’s actions and how it moved the plot forward
  • Contemplating different permutations of plot for both characters
  • Establishing back-story and history for each character, events significant to both characters and how it affected the present day.

As readers:

  • We became caught up in the lives of the characters; how their past and present intertwined, split, became a messy entanglement and how they tried to sort it out.
  • We read the voice of each character, how Ella-Louise and Jude articulated their thoughts, what they wrote about and how they expressed it; what they revealed and what they kept hidden.

Jodi asked if I read the letters as the character of Jude or as myself because I was both catalyst and consumer, the writer and the reader. It was hard to separate myself from the narrative of Ella-Louise and Jude, to be solely the reader as each new letter was a revelation of character, plot, motivation and secrets.

There were times when I deliberately distanced myself from the character of Jude to read a letter, to be the reader and not the writer. I let myself be absorbed into the world of Ella-Louise as she revealed it, taking it at face value, rereading it again to further my understanding of who she was and what she wanted.

In the same way there were letters I read intentionally read as the character of Jude to feel the impact of the letter as Ella-Louise wrote to her dearest and most-loved friend.

Engaging with the letter as either writer or reader produced strong emotions, even to the point of tears.

Now we are in the editing phase, we get to experience the narrative of our characters all over again, this time solely as readers. After we have made our notes and compared them we will return to our role as writers and continue fashioning the narrative and our characters.

It lead me back to a question I have asked myself over the last couple of years in regards to writing and reading: Is a reader more interested in the story or the writing?

Is it an either/or, both/and dichotomy? Is the reader more interested in being moved by the story than the power of the words? Or is it the power of the words the more important aspect for the reader?

The power of storytelling versus power of writing with which there is no clear answer. The answer will not be a “Yes” or “No” response but a sliding continuum of responses. For some readers story will trump the writing and for other readers the power of the words will enhance the story and be the focus.

As a writer I aim to balance the power of the story with power of the word. I use words to convey the power and strength of the story, and I want you to be engaged as a reader with the story, drawn in by the power of the words.

Keep an eye for updates on the progress of Post Marked: Piper’s Reach and I hope you enjoy the story.

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What Happens When You Reach ‘The End?’

Posted on April 25, 2013 | 2 comments

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, my collaborative writing partner, Jodi Cleghorn, and I finished writing the first draft of our epistolary narrative Post Marked: Piper’s Reach.

We are separated by distance, living in different states in Australia and have written this novel by handwriting the letters and sending them via the post. Yes, we wrote 85,500 words BY HAND.

Fortuitously, for the first time we were able to sit down together in the one place and write the final installments.

If you want to know what Post Marked: Piper’s Reach is all about, here’s the blurb:

In December 1992 Ella-Louise Wilson boarded the Greyhound Coach for Sydney leaving behind the small coastal town of Piper’s Reach and her best friend and soul mate, Jude Smith. After twenty years of silence, a letter arrives at Piper’s Reach reopening wounds that never really healed.

When the past reaches into the future, is it worth risking a second chance?

Post Marked: Piper’s Reach is an ambitious collaborative project traversing an odd path between old and new forms of communication, differing modalities of storytelling and mixed media, all played out in real and suspended time. The project has at its heart a love of letter writing and music.

The letters are handwritten and posted in “real time.”

“To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart.” ~ Phyllis Theroux

photo 2 copy

And now we have written “The End.” The story is finished.

This is the first significant piece of writing I have completed apart from flash fiction. It is the first novel I have written (I have another currently in the works that I began last year but have put on hold for a number of reasons).

How do I feel?

I feel excitement at having completed the novel; joy and relief; a sense of accomplishment because of what I have completed, and with it also, I feel sadness.

Coming to the end of this project brings with it a whole series of conclusions and endings.

  • The ending of the narrative and the story of Ella-Louise and Jude.

We have had such an emotional investment in our characters and their intertwined lives that coming to ‘The End’ is like the passing of a dear friend. I wrote the character Jude while Jodi wrote the character Ella-Louise and for the better part of 16 months we have lived with these characters. We keep saying we’ll need some therapy to get through the tumultuous times our characters experienced. And vicariously we have too, reading each letter through the lens of our character and as a reader.

We were sitting at opposite ends of my dining room table, writing the final lines. When we finished, we handed them over to be read. There were tears, stunned silences and a gutted feeling that it was all over.

  • The end of the interaction with our small, but dedicated, core of readers who we dubbed “Posties.”

They engaged with the characters and the writing, commenting on the weekly letter, discussing the characters’ motivations, arguing over what should or should not happen to the characters.

Over on the Facebook page we had long conversations with the Posties, ran contests and trivia, and had a whole lot of fun.

And we will feel the sorrow of the ending all over again when our readers get to ‘The End’ in about 8 weeks’ time.

  • The ending of the collaborative partnership.

Jodi pitched the idea to me in January, 2012 after we met for the first time in real life in December the year before. She runs eMergent Publishing and I had the privilege of working with her to have my first two short stories published. Our friendship developed and grew as we worked together, and when we met in real life it was like we had known each other for decades.

After the initial pitch we spent three days brainstorming by text and the first letter arrived later that month.

Since that time we have worked closely together during this project and it has been an exhilarating journey.

It was not a traditional collaboration; rather than plan and talk through ideas on the plot and structure, we let it develop in an organic way in what we came to term the “No Spoilers Policy.” Without discussing plot and ideas it kept the writing, and anticipation, fresh as we waited for the arrival of the postman to deliver the next letter.

We spent hours talking and deconstructing each letter after it arrived and we had read it. You can hear about our process of writing and what we learned as writers in an audio interview we did with Sean Wright (@SeandBlogonaut) over on his blog.

But our collaboration (but not our friendship) has come to en end, and with it, a strong sense of sadness.

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After ‘The End’

With the writing of ‘The End’ comes a feeling of finality (at least temporarily), that the initial phase of writing and drafting is finished and complete. Yet the end of a draft is only one step in the path to publication.

Now comes the time to put it all aside for a while, let it sit and be forgotten about until it comes time for editing.

This is then followed by synopsis writing, query letters and the like; but that’s in the future (we have big dreams for this novel).

After ‘The End’ comes a new project. For me it will be a novella, some short pieces, a picture book and a multimedia project.

Envelope Addressed

What Next?

‘The End’ does not mean I stop. It means I begin the next step in the process. I begin writing new material. I begin editing other projects before I return to the manuscript of Post Marked: Piper’s Reach and polish it ready for submission.

Reaching ‘The End’ is only one part of the process, because for a writer, there is always another story to tell.

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Best of Friday Flash 2: Australian Blog Hop Tour

Posted on October 30, 2012 | 6 comments

Today marks the launch of Best of Friday Flash 2 which contains one of my stories, Scar Tissue.

#FridayFlash is an online writing community where people post a piece of flash fiction (1000 words or less) to their blog, link it to http://www.fridayflash.org/ and drop in to read and comment on the work of others.

Writers are from all over the world and five of us included in this anthology are from Australia.

It is my privilege to host Jason Coggins (Melbourne) whose Moult World stories are brilliant (and not for the faint of heart).

Vigilance

“Back in town the amber beams of the street lamps swept us like inept search lights. They lit nothing more than our shoulders and baseball caps. The night wanted us out of its darkness. The roads were empty of traffic. The streets silent save for the sound of heavy breathing and thud of our footfalls.

It was gone Nine when we reached Cutler’s flat.

The note taped to the door said: “See you at Wild Notes Karaoke Bar”.

Steve tore it from the door with his fat fist. The two pink rolls beneath his chin –which wrapped around where his neck should have been– wobbled.

“We got the bastard,” he growled.

Blake Byrnes Art - all rights reserved

Blake Byrnes Art – all rights reserved

For a couple of years back there I was knocking out tales of monsters and wise-ass protagonists as if I was mining a big fat, juicy mother lode of fantasy fic. I was hitting a word count of a few thousand a week as my mind kept me awake at night telling me bonkers narratives I was simply compelled to share with the interwebs. Sadly, this proliferation was pretty much fuelled by a solitude you can only experience upon moving to a new country and having no friends. The only ‘friends’ I actually had any day to day ‘contact’ with existed behind the #FridayFlash and  #TuesdaySerial hashtags. Anyway, I guess I was carving a bit of an outrageous niche writing that which I loved to write. Still, I got to thinking about those poor pathetic actors who are typecast in the same role for their entire careers. And urged on by the amazing Carrie Clevenger to “ditch the unicorns and break the mould!” I decided to write something, gulp … realistic.

Thing is I am an ICU nurse and I get “real” handed to me in big globules of hard to swallow reality all the time. That is why I wrote bonkers stories in the first place. So, no way was I going to retreat into the bloody and often macabre world of modern day hospitals for the ‘authenticity’ I craved.

Fortunately, my iPod saved me! When good old fashion, gritty realism smacked me in the face as New Model Army’s “The Hunt” rang out from my playlist.

The song evoked images of teenage years spent walking the perpetually raining streets of my hometown; always in a gang, always walking with grim intent (though to be honest our only intent was to look menacing). Dark imagery galore! Yet provocative as the imagery of the song was it played second fiddle to the inference that something really … really … nasty was about to be done to someone who totally deserved it … and then some.

Anyway, not once stopping to consider why I was operating under the assumption that for something to be considered real it also had to be dark and nasty I opened Jodi Cleghorn’s #[Fiction]Friday prompt #169. “The note taped to the door said: See you at Wild Notes Karaoke Bar. ” and was off!

The comic strip adaption you see attached above came some time later and in collaboration with Blake Byrnes who wields a paintbrush like Zorro wields a sword. Now, with this story being published in the Best of #FridayFlash 2 courtesy of the mastermind, which is J.M Strother I feel I have come full-circle.

So thank you to all my old friends who lived behind the hashtags #FridayFlash and #TuesdaySerial … it was a honour and an absolutely pleasure hanging out with you x

Once upon a time Jason Coggins wrote speculative fiction to escape the real world. He wrote (a lot) and was published (a little). However, the real world bit him on the ass in 2011 to 2012. He came to realize that outside his door, a growing disenfranchisement in society was growing and playtime was over. Today, he organizes a Street Medic collective, which provides medical and emotional support to social justice activists throughout Melbourne and Victoria.

Jason may return to writing one day … but that day probably will only happen when the sun rises to shine upon a much nicer world.

You can visit the other Australian writers listed below and read a little about what inspired their story.
Jodi Cleghorn (who is hosting Stacey Larner)

Jason Coggins (who is hosting Jodi Cleghorn)

Tim Collard (who is hosting me)

Stacey Larner (who is hosting Tim Collard)

You can purchase Best of Friday Flash 2 from eMergent Publishing.

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On The Last Day of Being Something Other than Writer

Posted on May 31, 2012 | 5 comments

On The Last Day of Being Something Other than Writer…

A Guest Interview with Jodi Cleghorn.

Jodi and I have been writing partners since January when we began Post Marked: Piper’s Reach.

On the eve of June 1, Jodi and I are standing on the precipice of a new adventure, doing something neither of us have done before: write a novel. I must say part of the feeling is pure dread and fear, like throwing yourself from a cliff and hoping you miss the ground. Another part of it is excitement at trying something new.

Glad to say I’m wearing clean underwear.

For Jodi writing a novel is also about claiming her position as a writer, not just as editor and publisher.

We are swapping blogs to preview our respective works in progress. I asked Jodi a few questions about her forthcoming novel. You can click on the link at the bottom to find out about my novel.

Tell us a little about your novel eagerly waiting in the wings? Can you give a blurb of your novel and it’s genre?

BYRTHED is a birthpunk* novel set in a ‘medicratic’, semi-futuristic New York City. Reproduction, considered the founding principle of society, has become a Government controlled process, beginning with microchip contraceptive implants and ending in a surgical production line of compulsory Caesarean Sections.

Outlawed in raft of draconian laws a decade earlier, natural birth is consider the festering wound of society and the few advocates and practioners left alive, exist as a secret, semi-militant deme in the bowels of the City. They serve, at risk of death, the women who refuse to hand their lives, and the lives of their babies, over to Government control.

In The Dead Zone (the former Central Park) survivors of a biological massacre thirty years earlier, plot revenge on the City’s residents and officials, spurred on by a prophecy that “a baby will be born to heal the past”.

Caught between worlds disconnected and at loggerheads with each other, five people stand on the cusp of social upheaval, each with their own part to play, each with their own demons to face.

Will Brian capture the City’s most feared terrorist? Will Joseph protect his wife? Will Sylvie navigate hell and gain her freedom? Will Marcus betray those who place their trust in him? Will Taleia unleash her biological fury on the city?

How would you encapsulate each major character in your novel in a single sentence?

BYRTHED follows five major characters.

SYLVIE: a feisty young midwife, living in The Underground, yearning for her freedom and a different life.

TALEIA: an embittered former activist and haematologist, living in The Dead Zone, plotting retribution for a massacre the rest of the city has forgotten.

JOSEPH: a powerful systems analyst, willing to do anything to save his pregnant wife from dying.

MARCUS: a supernatural being unable to succumb to his fate because of a blood bond with a mortal.

BRIAN: relentless head of a secret Government task force, obsessed with achieving his dead mentor, Gustave White’s, goal of eradicating natural birth.

How did you prepare for this novel? Do you have a particular word count or goal you’re aiming for?

Preparation

How long has this idea been kicking around your head?

I’m lucky in some ways. BYRTHED came out of an unfinished novella from 2009, so I already had the core of Marcus and Sylvie’s story… with a peripheral understanding of where and how Taleia, Brian and Joseph fitted into the picture.

What I’ve done, using the start of Karen Weisner’s First Draft in 30 Day is isolate and tease apart all the potential narrative threads then expand each. I’ve beefed up each character, focusing especially on understanding their motivations. And while I did my skeletal plotting, I scribed all the research questions pertaining to the novel—everything from knowing what’s in a basement in New York (and if you could live temporarily in one during winter) to how you might perform blood magic!

At this moment, I have pages and pages of scrawled notes, colour coded, in an A4 spiral bound exercise book—my first effort at conscious plotting!

In March I signed up for Year of the Novel. It started three weeks ago—and outside of doing a brief introduction and listening to the first tutorial, I’ve been too busy tying up editing projects to really dive in (though I think having written the answer to the first two questions I’ve just satisfied the first fortnight’s requirements).

When I wrote BIRTHED (the short story) I did it on a mental timeline of less than 12 hours—start to finish—and compiled a kick-arse playlist of high-octane songs to fuel the action (and me). So I’ve got a basic soundtrack to write, music being just as important to me, as knowing my characters.

I also accidentally secured a beta reader with books published by the publisher I have my eye on to submit BYRTHED to. I say accidentally because I hadn’t even started to think about that end of the writing process. It just happened.

Word Count

I’m kicking off the writing campaign of BYRTHED with a word explosion during The Rabbit Hole this week. The goal for The Rabbit Hole is 30,000 words but there is no way I’ll be able to write all of that for my novel. I’m aiming to write 10,000 for The Rabbit Hole—the opening chapters for each of the characters—bringing me nicely into the 10% word count zone for set up of the novel.  I’m angling somewhere toward 100,000 words (or 5 x 20,000 word narrative threads).

At the very minimum I will be spending 10 minutes everyday with my idea book (my very first Moleskin notebook – in gorgeous red!) as per Kim Wilkins’ (creator of the Year of the Novel) instructions. Outside of that I’m aiming to write a 1,000 words or half a chapter a day. Because the Year of the Novel lasts… for a year, I’m pacing myself. Having said that, if I’m in the zone, I’ll be putting down as many words that come to me.

Where will you be at this time in ten days?

I’ll be farther along than I am today, just as I am farther along today than I was 10 days ago.

I’ll be able to stare at (at least) five completed chapters, have a solid outline for each of the five narrative strains and better understand how I can use the Year of the Novel to get ahead. I’d also like to have secured a map of Central Park.

There is a temptation to come out hard, but for once time is on my side and rather than rally against it, I’m surrendering and going with the flow. Plus, I’m mindful I still have plenty of publishing projects pending completion, even if I do step away (officially) from editing tomorrow.

I hope I’m still just as excited, but less terrified having made the unknown slightly more known.

Birthpunk* is a sub-genre of urban fantasy I created to especially to categorise the novel I wanted to write.

Jodi Cleghorn is a writer, editor and publisher with a penchant for the dark and twisted undercurrents of humanity. Her stories have appeared in anthologies in Denmark, the USA, Canada and Australia. Follow Jodi as @jodicleghorn or via www.jodicleghorn.com.

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The Wrap – Piper’s Reach Blog Tour

Posted on April 10, 2012 | 1 comment

“To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart.” ~ Phyllis Theroux

http://postmarkedpipersreach.wordpress.com

Post Marked: Piper’s Reach is an ambitious organic narrative collaborative project between Jodi Cleghorn and Adam Byatt traversing an odd path between old and new forms of communication, differing modalities of storytelling and mixed media, all played out in real and suspended time.

THE BLURB
In December 1992 Ella-Louise Wilson boarded the Greyhound Coach for Sydney leaving behind the small coastal town of Piper’s Reach and her best friend and soulmate, Jude Smith. After twenty years of silence, a letter arrives at Piper’s Reach reopening wounds that never really healed. When the past reaches into the future, is it worth risking a second chance?

The above is what we pitched to our prospective audience, in the hope someone would like to offer their blog to host an interview. It went beyond what we expected. Here are some numbers:

9 days, 9 interviews, 43 questions, more than 12,200 words written. I haven’t been able to get stats for each blog, but this is enough.

I never expected such a response. From an initial pitch, to a workable project (which is still going), to a blog tour and now a launch.

Today, the first letter is live. Ella-Louise reaches out to her best friend, Jude, after 20 years of silence. Each week, every Tuesday, another letter is posted. We have no end in sight for our characters, so we’ll see where this all ends up.

It has been such a rush creating and writing the character of Jude. Jumping back into the beginning of the process (we started writing in secret 3 months ago) helped me go back to see where Jude was at the beginning, compared to what he is in my head now (3 months and 6 letters written by Jude and 6 by Ella-Louise).

During last week, Jodi and I talked about the psychology of our characters (thus not contravening the ‘no spoilers’ policy) and revealed interesting truths about who our characters are, how they think, and how they respond.

Check out the interviews for an understanding of our project and what it means to us. Behind the Scenes – The Making of Piper’s Reach

I hope you, as reader, will enjoy the story as much as we have had in writing it.

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Post Marked: Piper’s Reach Blog Tour – Rebecca Emin

Posted on April 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

Today the lovely Rebecca Emin (@RebeccaEmin) hosts the 8th stop on the promo blog tour for Post Marked: Piper’s Reach.

While we leave crumbs on the kitchen table, we talk about why we wrote a story in letters and what it’s like to work collaboratively on a project; especially one that has a ‘no spoilers’ policy.

Writing collaboratively has always been a bigger and better experience than going solo for me. I find it almost intoxicating… sharing the responsibility of building a narrative; riding the joint momentum… Most of all I love watching my characters come alive through another writer – Jodi

We write independently of each other but the narratives are intrinsically tied to the other. We weave in and out of each other’s stories. The advantage of collaboration is the perspectives and insights another person provides. The downside to this project is the ‘no spoilers’ clause – Adam

To read the whole interview, click here.

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Post Marked: Piper’s Reach Blog Tour – Victoria Boulton

Posted on April 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

As launch day rapidly approaches for Post Marked: Piper’s Reach, today on the blog tour, we drop in on the delightful Victoria Boulton (@Vicorva).

In this interview, Victoria asks us why we decided to write our story completely in letters. She also asks us about the origin of our characters, how they are informed by the process of letter writing and what we love about this project.

A letter is intimate and personal. It is a private, shared moment between two people – Adam

There is a sense of freedom and danger in pursuing a non-traditional form of story telling – Jodi

Ella-Louise is broken and burned out, living a sea change to try and reclaim her life. This is the most intimate connection I have ever had with a character. I’m drawn to the first person POV, but this is something altogether different – Jodi

Jude is the essential every man. But at the same time he’s vulnerable, he’s loyal and has a deep centred sense of place and purpose – Adam

To read the rest of the interview click here.

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Post Marked: Piper’s Reach Blog Tour – Nicole Murphy

Posted on April 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

Today we have the extraordinary privilege of being hosted by Australian fantasy, science fiction and romance writer Nicole Murphy.

It begins by asking “Why text messaging to brain storm a new project?” before exploring the importance of place to the project.

Location is important because where you live shapes who you are, what you do, the opportunities available (especially during adolescence) and the way people see and treat you – Jodi

We created the fictional town of Piper’s Reach before we even had characters. Location puts the characters into a frame of reference… it became the framework for understanding the relationship between the characters – Adam

To read the full interview click here.

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Post Marked: Piper’s Reach Blog Tour – Alan Baxter

Posted on April 6, 2012 | 1 comment

Today’s stop on the Post Marked: Piper’s Reach Blog Tour is at the wonderful home of British-born, Australian based dark fantasy, sci-fi & horror writer, Alan Baxter. He teaches Kung Fu and loves his heavy metal.

Jodi and I are going to rifle through his CD collection while we’re here talking about the role music plays in the lives of ourselves, and our characters Ella-Louise and Jude.

Jude’s preference for songs from the past is perhaps an indication of his inability to grasp the present situation with Ella-Louise. Even though they have different musical tastes, the music they share amplifies their emotional connection – Adam

Ella-Louise uses music as a mirror to her past, and later the changing dynamic of her relationship with Jude. The lyrics she shares are tiny glimpses inside her, but for every answer they illuminate, twice as many questions are spawned – Jodi

You can read the rest of the interview here.

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Post Marked: Piper’s Reach Blog Tour – Tuesday Serial

Posted on April 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

Pull up a comfy chair, grab a cup of tea and your favourite cardigan as we stop the Piper’s Reach blog tour at Tuesday Serial.

Tuesday Serial is the place to go to link your serialised web fiction.

Today, the lovely PJ Kaiser has opened the fridge and declared the cupboard a free for all, and has asked us a bunch of questions about the new project.

It was Adam’s idea for the characters to be two long-lost friends getting back in touch with each other and Adam later sent me a text message asking if I thought perhaps these two had harboured crushes but they’d never synced up to let them hook up… and hey presto… my character appeared – Jodi

With no real idea who our characters were, we continued to toss ideas back and forth. We had no endpoint in mind when the first letter was written, a bit like a shot in the dark, a character hoping, trying, wanting to reconnect with the past, but not sure if there will be reciprocation – Adam

To read the full interview, click here.

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