Hey, what a wonderful gift from a friend, who just knew I would love it!
I’m so glad I have a copy in paperback, because I will definitely read it again, but also dip into it.
Timing was everything! So many occasions whilst reading The Big Magic I had eureka moments; laughed out-loud, exclaimed, nodded my head in affirmation or just sighed with joy. I even read out bits in bed, to my patient, but puzzled husband.
As an author, you often wonder where inspiration comes from. Elizabeth Gilbert has her own theory, but I’ll not divulge it to you 😉 She also explains that, once you have had this moment of inspiration, lots of coincidences brings it more into focus, as if nudging you to get on with it!
I’m so glad that doesn’t just happen to me!
If you are a writer, this book is a must. If you have a friend, niece, daughter or Mum who aspires to write, it would make a brilliant gift!
(I just loved The Signature of all Things too, but didn’t realise Elizabeth Gilbert was one and the same, famous for Eat Pray Love of course!)
Writing and gardening are my two main activities and I would argue that they they need a similar mindset.
Being Creative
Of course! When I am writing it is very much a visual experience, where pictures or a film reel transposes into words. A creative mind is one with imagination, having an idea of what the finished article is going to be like, whether it be picturing a flower bed or imagining a novel.
A cacophony of spring colour
Cutting out the dead wood
It has taken me years to be more ruthless in my garden (there does appear to be a rogue cerise foxglove in the bed above) but it has to be done, trimming, cutting back, pruning and even rooting out plants that have become too big or are in the wrong place. Similarly, the various layers of editing a novel are just like that.
The heather in February looks a picture but it will need a good trip when the flowers are over
Aiming for a harmony and consistency with the characters
Plants from a spectrum of colours look beautiful together, but so do those chosen carefully for height and contrast. Each plant then needs to be part of the whole picture. It may have beauty in itself, but if it is not consistent with the plot it will look out of place.
The Structure in the design completes the picture
In a garden, the walls, fencing, gravel, decking, grass, all play their part in creating a complete picture. It is the description of setting, which draws the picture for the reader, but it mustn’t be too overpowering taking away the wholeness, so that the reader is distracted or bored.
Sometimes the Result can take your breath away
My last novel, released days before lock down, has not reached the dizzy heights (for me that is) of Murder Now and Then, but Missing Past and Present is very special to me, and as one loyal reader said, ‘You really have discovered your true voice!’
What a lovely place to sit and read!
Finally you’ll just have to let it go
If you are forever tweaking a garden and noticing every weed as it pops its head up, you will never stand back (or better still sit and relax) and enjoy the whole garden. It is a tough moment for an author to ‘let go’ of a completed novel. There will always be a word to change or a scene you are sad you left out because it didn’t quite fit. You need to know the moment to Let it go and enjoy the ride!
I’m taking time out to repost a review of another Eventispress author’s debut novel.
I asked Ian to describe his novel now, in the light of feedback he has had so far and he said:
“If I am asked about my book now I always tell people it’s a satire on liberalism. I’ve sort of convinced myself that it in part is, and I get a massively more interested response now. It’s a tale of a serious of blunders made by leaders faced with bizarre challenges. That kind of thing.’
Here’s an excellent 5 star review:
“I found this an excellent read, engaging, humorous and interesting and I soon realized I had to be disciplined as it was something that was difficult to put down. It is no good reading as much as you can as you will miss so much, be disciplined, read a chapter or two, think about it and you will enjoy it all the more. The dialogue is speech and Jack’s thoughts, a man with a droll sense of humour who will have you smiling and nodding in agreement at his observations. The beauty of this book is that it has a definite rhythm, the narrative varies in pace and the reader, unconsciously , will be carried along as the story progresses. However, when I was reading about life in ‘Eden,’ this book’s greatest quality ‘hit me,’ it is a satire on liberal society and we even have a quote from the great liberal thinker himself, John Stuart Mill. It is all here, the generalities of liberalism, the subtleties and nuances that guide everyday society and make it work, the moral idealism and vision for a better world, whilst conveniently ignoring the awkward issues and inconsistencies. As I said previously, read too much and you will miss all this. Finally, I will leave you with this thought, in Orwell’s ‘1984’ the definition of power was ‘a boot stamping on a face forever,’ here it is the much less obvious, ‘wearing a watch with a red and green light’ to control, how much more civilized and consensual, a more liberal solution! This novel deserves to be read by a much wider public, it has got so much to offer.”
In my opinion this is a book well worth reading. It is fast paces, challenging, a life drama of the possible consequences of not looking after the world and what we are doing to it, but with real characters who you get to know and care about.
Diana Jackson 