My murderer

In Stage 2: Module 1 of the Creative Writing Course, I developed the character that is going to be murdered in my novel. The Creative Writing Course is now finished, and I am working hard on my novel.
   This week, I worked on developing my characters. I developed my main character and his love interest, his parents and his siblings. I also developed my murderers.
   The novel I am writing is based on a historical murder: an unsolved murder. So, after doing some research on the many theories about who murdered Jim Barclay, I have decided to go with the most popular theory: he was murdered by cattle thieves.
   My cattle thieves are John "Jack" Beveridge and James Sidney "Sid" Beveridge. These brothers were the third and fifth children on five, born in Harrietville. They grew up with parents that were too busy for them, running a farm and a guesthouse at the gateway to the snow fields in Victoria. By the time Sid was born, his parents had absolutely no time for him. Jack became Sid's mentor. He idolised Jack, and tailed him everywhere. Jack was a cruel man. Harsh, unsympathetic and ruthless. He was strict on Sid and uncompromising. He beat Sid, called him names, put him down, and broke him. However, he would not let anyone else talk down to Sid, and would not let Sid put up with anyone talking down to him. He would set Sid on people, like a fighting dog. Jack dominated Sid completely.
   Jack worked in a gold mine, saving money to buy a farm. In the early 1900s, he bought a farm at the top of the Buckland valley, with cattle lease rights including the Barry Mountains and Tea Tree Range. Sid and Ada went to live with him, and work for him. Jack would buy cheap cattle all over Victoria, and he would send Sid to collect. Sid became an excellent cattleman, and would steal extra cattle when he was driving Jack's cattle home.
   Sid had no idea of what was right or wrong. He took what he wanted, and wasn't pulled up by anyone because they were scared of him. Sid was scared of no one except for Jack. He was a fighter. Jack wouldn't berate Sid for stealing, because to contributed to his own wealth. Sid often stole to give a gift to Jack.
   Sid was simple. He wasn't interested in anything but making Jack happy, and cattle. He loved cattle. He dreamt about cattle. He loved the calves, how they played, and how they wagged their tails when they drank from their mother. He hated weaning the calves, which he always thought was done too early. He hated selling them, but Jack would hit him over the back of the head and sell them anyway.
   They drank a lot. They never married. They kept their sister like a maid.
   They wanted Jim Barclay's cattle, which were fine cattle and worth a lot. Jack set Sid to kill Jim, and they stole all the cattle. Conveniently, Jim Barclay and Jack Beveridge shared the same initials, so Jack sold the cattle as if they were his own. He got very rich and bought up land all over north-east Victoria.
   Sid was never concerned about being caught. It never crossed his mind that what he had done was wrong. If the police had ever suspected, and come asking questions, Jack would have dobbed Sid straight in and turned his back on his brother. But it never came to this.

Creative Writing Course - Stage 2 - Module 5

This was the last week of my Creative Writing Course Stage 2, with the Sydney Writers' Centre. We focused on redrafting, redrafting, redrafting, editing, and finding an agent.

The best thing about this course was that it made us focus on the book we want to write, and helped us make substantial progress towards getting started. Some significant scenes were written, characters developed, and plots constructed.

Our assignment focused on the climax of our story. Here's my submission:

This is a very difficult task. Although I have a broad outline of the story in my head, I like it to unfold while I write. Having to write the climax when I haven't fully developed my characters and setting is difficult. I know that I want Harry to find Jim's killers and subtly confront them. But I don't know where or how that's going to happen yet. I don't think I'll end up using this scene, and I've rushed it because I know I won't use it. But the exercise was great, because it's made me think that far ahead.

ASSIGNMENT
by Jacqui

He sat in the hard pew at the back of the church, back stiff, and hands folded unnaturally in his lap. Mark sat beside him, leaning towards Harry and whispering gossip about each of the locals as they filed past to the front of the church. Harry was not listening closely. He was watching each man pass, trying to recognise any of the figures that he had seen from a distance, sitting on top of the Buckland spur and watching the drovers. He began to think his intuition was off. He was kidding himself if he thought that Jim's murderer would walk through the arch and identify himself. It was a long shot that the murderer had been sitting comfortably here in Myrtleford, as the police scoured Mansfield, Dargo and Gippsland.

But when Harry saw him, he knew instantly. An average looking man, wearing a suit that was rolled up at the sleeves, and the legs tucked into his boots. The man had forgotten to remove his hat as he entered. It was pulled low over his eyes. As Harry watched, the man reached up and lifted the hat from his head, revealing deep-set eyes and greasy dark hair.

"Jack Beveridge," Mark whispered, continuing his commentary which Harry had not listened to until now. Harry took note to the initials - JB. Jim Barclay. "His family is from Harrietville. A whole heap of Beveridges all over there. He's come into some money recently, because he's been buying up farms and land all over Buckland and Abbeyard. Strange, though. His brother is always trailing close by." As if to prove his point, a taller man ducked into the interior of the church. "There he is. Sid."

The service passed without Harry hearing a word. He murmered "Amen" when the congregation did. He tried to concentrate, but his eyes kept slipping over to where Jack and Sid Beveridge sat. When the priest finally shut his book with a snap, Harry slid from his pew and ducked straight out the back of the church, into the sun. He was letting the warmth soak into his upturned face when Mark found him.

"We're not leaving yet. Let me introduce you around to some of the best cattle men you'll ever meet." Harry nodded.

He shook hands and chatted about weather and calf prices with various landowners and managers for the next half hour. Finally, Mark eased him towards where Jack stood with his brother and a short woman who was cackling away to them.

"Jack," Mark got his attention. "This is my cousin, Harry Smith, from down Eaglevale way." Jack turned slowly towards Harry, his deep eyes slipping across Harry's face and taking in his extended hand. Sid shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and Harry noticed recognition flash across his face. He wondered if this man had sat upon a horse on a ridge and watched him, as Harry himself had done. These were definitely the men droving up the Buckland.

Jack extended his hand and grasped Harry's, his rough palm rubbing on Harry's own, and his thumb calloused from holding a rein. Jack firmed his grip, and Harry also squeezed harder. "Nice suit." Surprise passed across Jack's eyes briefly. Harry recognised the suit as Jim's. It was dark expensive wool, and cut for a man far taller and broader than Jack.

The men continued to hold their hand shake, looking into each other's eyes, each now knowing that the other man knew that he knew. Harry recognised the importance of this moment, and would not drop his eyes first. He would be forever in danger if he did. This man would come and hunt him down. Or send his brother.

Sid shifted again and stepped forward, breaking Jack's gaze and drawing his eyes towards his brother. The moment passed, and Harry released Jack's hand as the other man stepped back. He watched Jack for a moment longer, before turning to grasp Sid's hand for two brief pumps. It was clear that Sid did not see what had passed, and though Harry felt sure that Sid knew who he was, Sid did not suspect that Harry knew who they were. Knew their darkest deeds, and where they had come upon their money. Selling cattle with the brand "JB".

After briefly discussing the lack of rainfall, Harry let Mark steer him away. He felt the deep set eyes burn a hollow into his back, which made him walker taller and stronger. He knew.

Here's my tutor's comments:

To Jacqui
Jacqui, I like the second half of this scene although, like you, I’m not sure it’s the proper climax.

The first half, though, could be significantly improved by giving us some of the gossip Mark is whispering to Harry.

This has a couple of functions: first, it fleshes out the sense of community and closeness you have established earlier (and it may also be very amusing!). Also, when Mark then introduces Jack, it will flow more naturally.

When you do get to write the climax, however, I hope that you will give us a little more than this.  ‘Subtle’ is all very well, but I feel you are being just a little too subtle here. 

For example, we don’t get Jack’s final reaction.  Yes, he knows Harry knows, but what then?  What expressions cross his face?  How does his body language change?  When Harry watches the man ‘for a moment longer’, what does he see?

This is the big pay-off for the reader – they have been wondering and wondering who the killer is, and now they want a good look at him.  A chance of understanding why all this has happened.

Don’t disappoint them.

I love Harry as a character and I love the details of interaction, like hand shakes and chats about prices.  But to give me a reason to have read the story in the first place, you need to show me the killer in psychological as well as physical detail.

Now that my course is over, I really need to knuckle down and write. Next weekend ...

Creative Writing Course - Stage 2 - Module 4

Such a great week of information! I highly recommend this online course for anyone who's beginning to write their first novel.

This week was about creating a scene. We had to think about the purposes of the scene, and add dialogue. There was a lot of information this week about developing dialogue. Again, I highly recommend this course by the Sydney Writers' Centre.

Here's my assignment:

Harry watched as the small party of riders made their way slowly along the valley. The sun was already below the ridge line, although the heat of the late February day lingered in the air. The riders folloed the river before veering up the hill towards the homestead, where Harry stood waiting.
He had expected uniformed officers, but these men were all similarly dressed, in moleskin pants and linen vests over their shirts. Harry picked the two stockmen guides from the way they slouched easily in the saddle, not tired from the long days of riding. He recognised the constable as Higginses son from Jamieson. The other two were clearly city men. Their backs were a little too straight, their heels pressed down into their stirrups a little too correctly.
The slim city copper reached Harry first. Harry tipped his hat, but received no acknowledgement from the officer who stood up in his stirrups and performed a stiff-legged dismount. He tossed his reins to one of the stockmen who had come up alongside, before marching up to Harry.
"Detective Alex McKerral," the man announced, extending his hand to Harry and gripping firmly for two quick pumps.
"Harry Smith."
"Well, Harry, show us the way."
He shouldn't have been surprised, because this was why McKerral had travelled three days to get to the homestead. To see Jim. But Harry had thought McKerral would have at least asked a few questions first.
Harry nodded. "Just take the horses around the house paddock to the stable, boys," Harry suggested to the stockmen. The other city officer and Constable Higgins had dismounted. Harry nodded a greeting to Higgins. McKerral didn't bother to introduce Harry to the other man.
Dusk was fast approaching, but Harry lead the three coppers across the valley to the sandy banks of Conglomerate Creek. He indicated south, up the creek, to the pile of rocks that now covered Jim's grave.
McKerral walked carefully around the site. "I assume the rocks are your work." McKerral didn't look at Harry when he spoke. It was not a question, but Harry answered.
"That's right. Jim had been dug up by dingos. I didn't want that to happen again."
McKerral grunted, looking up and down Conglomerate Creek, and then up the valley to the homestead. The other two coppers stood watching McKerral, mute.
"Did you move the body?" McKerral fixed Harry with his icy blue stare.
"His skull was over there," Harry pointed a couple of feet away, towards the creek. "But we, that is Arthur Phillips and I, saw some red cloth poking from the sand here. We dug Jim out. He was wrapped in a red blanket. We wanted to check that Bamford wasn't underneath. He's not."
"Arthur Phillips, the owner?"
"Yes, sir."
McKerral grunted again. "Who's Bamford?"
"The cook and general hand that Jim hired." Harry did not elaborate that John Bamford was missing, and that Harry suspected he had shot Jim. McKerral could work that out himself.
"Well, it's getting too dark now. Show me the house. We'll get the body out at first light." He started striding back to the homestead, with the two officers hurrying to catch up.
Harry took his time, nodding to Jim's grave and muttering, "This is the man they sent for you," before following the other men back across the valley.

Functions:
- This is the reader's and Harry's first introduction to the detective who leads the investigation into Jim Barclay's murder.
- The division is established between city and county men. Harry is critical of the detective's style in horsemanship, how he proceeds with the investigation, and how he conducts himself with people.
- The detective is working. He's cynical, and suspects everyone. He likes to be in charge. He is critical of the handling of the crime scene, and the possible loss of evidence. Ultimately, he forms the theory that Bamford killed Barclay, and that Harry Smith killed Bamford in revenge.
- Harry refers to Jim by his first name, indicating his close friendship. The detective refers to Jim as 'the body'.

Here's the tutor's comments:

To Jacqui
The dialogue and setting are working well, and the atmosphere feels authentic, which is great.

My only quibble would be that I’d like more of a description of McKerral. How old is he, for example? Looks? Facial features? Just a bit more information to flesh him out.

You could do the same for the other characters as well, but McKerral is the main focus of the scene, so most information should be about him.

Arthur Upfield is terrific at this kind of writing, especially describing characters, and it might pay you to read some of his books if you haven’t already.

An interesting scene and promising story!

Next week is the last week, and then I'm on my own to write ... it's daunting!

Creative Writing Course - Stage 2 - Module 3

After Module 2, and the comments from the tutor, I had a good think about the story I'm writing. I have changed how I'm writing it ... almost completely.

Module 3 involved act structure, plot points, climax, the building of tension, and increasing the emotion that the reader feels for character as the story progresses. Great content, following on from last week, because it made me plot out my story in a new format, and from a new point of view.

Here's my assignment:

Hi Pamela. Thanks for your comments last week. I have changed my narrator, and will also be writing from a third person. My main character will also be different. My story will also be condensed in time, slightly, because I don't have a character that lives long enough to tell the whole story (150 years) of the Valley.

Jacqui

ASSIGNMENT

[My main character, Harry, is now one of the main suspects in the double murder. He is also the man whom Jim Barclay's (the first murder victim) son goes to live with, and work for, when he grows up.]

Plot point one: Harry finds Jim's house abandoned, and suspects something is wrong. He finds Jim's dog starving and stressed. He then finds the partially decomposed body of Jim that has been unearthed and chewed on by dingos, buried in sand in a shallow grave beside the creek near the house.

Here's the tutor's comments:

To Jacqui
Congratulations, Jacqui, you have passed the first big test of whether you’ll be a good writer! Being ruthless about your story is absolutely essential – you must be prepared to make fundamental changes if you need to. I am impressed that you have done so already! Since you are covering so much time, I think you are wise to move to 3rd person. It gives you much more flexibility.

Re your assignment: finding a body is always a terrific first plot point, and this one works well.

Well done!

Let's hope that I can make it work, now that the tutor thinks I'm on the right track!

Creative Writing Course - Stage 2 - Module 2

Module 2 of the Creative Writing Course (Stage 2) with the Sydney Writers' Centre was about narration: how close is the main character to the narrator. where is the narrator positioned in the story timeline, and what tense will the narrator use?

The assignment was then to write the opening 200 words to our story, based on the character we had developed in the previous module. Here is my assignment:

ASSIGNMENT
by Jacqui

I long for peace. Little do we know during life, what death will hold for us. I am bound, heart and soul, to this Valley. The Valley that initially entranced me, that has been the centre of so much suffering, that has also been the place of some unbridled joy, and where I finally found the meaning of unconditional love. My love could not be returned, because he could not know that I existed. He was born after I had already died, but I knew him completely, and I loved what I knew. When his life was taken, I mourned for him, but also yearned that we could finally meet. His after life was elsewhere, though, and I am destined to remain in the Valley forever. At least with the passage of time, I have found some acceptance. But all stories have a beginning, and that is where I must start.

Here are the comments from the tutor:

To Jacqui
Jacqui, I understand why you have started the story like this – you want to establish a frame story where the storyteller in the ‘story present’ looks back and narrates.  Unless there is also something happening in the story present, however, this is a static approach – we already know what happens, in a sense, so why should we bother to read it?  Ideally, the frame story character will also have a ‘character’s journey’ to follow in the frame story, a journey which will change our (and possibly his/her) perception of what has happened in the past.  Otherwise, the frame becomes a weight on the story, like an overly ornate frame on a picture.

I suspect you will find, as you go further with this story, that while you have needed to write the frame, the reader may not need to read it.  

If you do keep the frame, I wouldn’t give quite so much of the story away in the first paragraph!

The emotions are strong and the ideas complex and interesting, so be prepared to dole them out to the reader – don’t give it all away at the beginning.

I can see exactly the tutor's point. Why bother reading the story? The problem is that I'm writing a story based on real historic events, so the story is already known for any who want to look it up on Wikipedia! My other problem is that I'm not sure who should narrate the story, because no one lives long enough! Perhaps I need to just stick to the third person, take a different approach from what I originally intended, and rewrite the opening.

Creative Writing Course - Stage 2: Module 1

I started the second Creative Writing Course with Sydney Writers' Centre last week. The first module was focusing on characters. It extended on what was discussed in Stage 1, but took the discussion a couple of steps further.

I learnt about 'flat' and 'round' characters, and the difference between a stereotypical character. Plot-based writing and character-based writing were compared, and I learnt that most novels are a combination of both, and it's the balance between the two that is important. A character must be developed to the point that you know the character intimately. So, when something in the plot happens, the character's reaction comes naturally. The choices that the characters makes should also come naturally. The choices and reactions of a character may not be typical or predictable to the reader, but the writer should know the character enough that what happens is believable.

It is also recommended that we not write from life. We shouldn't base a character completely on someone we know. This is because we can never know someone completely, and the character will either end up lacking something, or you will end up offending someone by making something up that is not true to your muse.

Our assignment was to do our own character development, and then shorten that to a synopsis. Here's mine:

ASSIGNMENT
by Jacqui

James ("Jim") Barclay is my murder victim.
He is 48 years old. He is the second son of Scottish immigrants, born in 1869 in country Victoria. He is intelligent, but not educated. He feels that he can't live up to his father's expectations. He left home at 17 years of age. He went gold mining. He wasn't successful, so he became a farm labourer. He followed the various gold rushes around the country, but always fell back on droving and shearing. At the age of 41, he married a 19 year old. She was 7 months pregnant when they married. She died 7 months after giving birth. Jim couldn't look after his own son, so he sent his son away to live with his sister in Vermont, Melbourne.
Jim is over six feet tall. He is handsome. Dark hair and dark brown eyes. He wears a thick moustache. He is elegantly groomed, always coming into society in his best three-piece suit and hat. He was always dressed in a suit whilst working.
Jim isolates himself. He is a blokes' bloke, but since his failure as a son, the death of his wife, and his failure as a father he thinks the best thing for everyone is to take himself far away. He gets lonely. He is shy and introverted. It takes him a while to open up to people. However, whenever he is in society, people gravitate to him because of his good looks. He is polite and good humoured. He is engaging in conversation, and witty. The ladies love him, but he doesn't seek their attention and doesn't take advantage of it. He prefers animals. He is great with animals, he can anticipate what they need and he has a calming effect on them.
He wants to be with his son. He wants to pass all his knowledge onto his son. He wants to earn enough money so that his son can have everything. He wants to be a provider. But he knows that his son is better off being cared for by others, with other children around. His son is too young, and needs too much attention which Jim knows he cannot provide. So he makes himself as busy as possible, stretches himself thin over his commitments, gives himself precious little time to think about his son or how lonely he really is.

Here's what the tutor said about my response:

To Jacqui
I very much like the amount of thought and detail you have brought to this character.  I would like just a little more – in particular, where Jim is working and what he is doing (his ‘commitments’) at the time of the story.   Is this a story set in the Diamantina, or in Victoria?  Does he ever visit his son?

I am having trouble imagining him in his three-piece suit shearing a sheep.  (I’m not saying shearers didn’t wear suits – but usually they took off the jacket and the collar at the very least while they were working.  And a shearer in a suit would stand out amongst the crowd; how did the other men take to him?  Was he competent as well as good looking?)

I think you also need a bit more to explain the gap between Jim the shy introvert, and Jim the witty debonair social man.  They can certainly be the same person, but it’s harder to write and portray.

Jim is a potentially tragic figure, and if he is indeed murdered then he becomes even more tragic.  He is very engaging, so the reader should care a great deal when he is killed.

I’m hoping it’s the son who is trying to find out what happened to him!

It's a bit difficult, because I'm basing my character off a historical figure. So I have ideas about him from pictures that I have seen, but the tutor has raised some interesting points.

I'm finally starting to feel like my writing is improving, because the tutor has been questioning me and opening my eyes to things I haven't considered before.

Once Upon A Time

To become a professional writer, I need to make sure my writing is good, if not great. Well, we all know that practice makes perfect.
   The latest exercise I assigned to myself was again from the book Now Write! The exercise is entitled "Once Upon A Time" and was suggested to the editor by Elizabeth Graver. The exercise uses the classic fairy tale, "Little Red Riding Hood," as a springboard for exploring how experimenting with time in fiction can help you explore your characters in more depth. There a four short exercises within this exercise, each of which should only take about 10 minutes. Elizabeth Graver starts each exercise, and then we need to take over the story from where the ellipses end.

1. First person, Subjective Time:

   "What great teeth you have, Grandmother!"
   "The better to eat you with, my dear," shouted the wolf, and with one bound, he sprang out of bed and would have gobbled me right up, had not I been to quick. I ran screaming out of the cottage, and as I ran, all my fears ran close behind me. I saw ... the mill, its stone foundations like a fortress. If I could just make it inside, I knew I would be safe.
   My lungs burned, and I didn't realise until later that I had screamed the whole way to the mill.
   At first, the hot breath of the wolf was blowing on the back of my neck. His paws were thudding on the ground right behind me, it seemed. I can't remember the precise moment when the wolf wasn't chasing me anymore, but by the time I reached the shade cast by the mill, the wolf was gone.
   It was in the shadow of the mill, with my hand reaching out to touch the blue stones, that I finally stopped running and turned around.
   A small crowd had gathered around what looked like the wolf on the ground. But part of its snout and its ears were separated and lying a few feet away. The people were all looking from the wolf to a man who was leaning on an axe handle. Despite everyone congratulating him, the man was watching me.


2. Future Time:

   Little Red Riding Hood was very much frightened but not hurt. Karl took her home to her mother, and after that day she was not allowed to go through the woods alone. What she could not know then, but would learn may years later, after she had a daughter of her own, was that ... wolves were not the only predators to fear. 
   Riding Hood had moved to the city with her husband, and lived in a cottage that was identical to all the other cottages in the street. None of the neighbours spoke to each other, and Riding Hood's daughter was kept in doors to keep her safe. If she went outside, there were many bad things that could happen; being hit by a car, falling out of a tree, bitten by a snake, or even kidnapped by a stranger.
   Riding Hood often wondered if moving back to the village near the woods would give her daughter more freedom, a more relaxed way of life. But there were more opportunities in the city - the best schools, the best piano teachers, the best hockey coach - so they stayed.


3. Animal Time:

Little Red Riding Hood lingered on in the wood, gathering posies for her old grandmother, who could not get out and see the spring flowers grow. At last, tired with her play, she set off to reach her grandmother's cottage. While the girl played, the wolf shambled off through the forest. His legs felt ... energised and springy. His stomach growled with anticipation.
   Once Little Red Riding Hood was out of sight, he took off at a run, stretching his legs and letting the wind whip his lolling tongue against hist cheek.
   As he approached the mill from the woods, he saw immediately the little cottage where the old lady lived. Despite the carefully tended flowers surrounding the little house, the wolf could pick up the musty scent of the elderly on the breeze.
   He paused just inside the tree line, cautious of open spaces and large groups of humans.
   But his hunger exceeded any fear that he felt, so he padded out of the dappled light into the sun. Quickly crossing the open gravel space to reach the white picket fence surrounding the little house, the wolf then raised himself precariously onto his hind legs to knock on the painted green door.


4. The Grandmother's Time, or Time Collapsing:

   "Pull the bobbin and the latch will lift up," called out the grandmother. And the wolf pulled the bobbin, lifted the latch, and entered the cottage. Now the grandmother had lived for ninety years and had seen a great many things. What happened to her next threw her back upon her past, flung her far into the future, and froze her solidly in place, all at precisely the same time. She ... felt like she was in a dream, when your movements are painfully slow, and the danger was racing towards you.
   She thought of the day she had met her husband, and the blue of his smiling eyes. She thought of the eight children that they had raised together, the laughter and joy, and the struggle it had been to feed them all. She felt the happiness that had enveloped her each time one of her children married, and left the cottage to make their own way in the world. She remembered the birth of each of her grandchildren, and also the death of her husband.
   The thought of death jolted her - not her own, but of Little Red Riding Hood's death whom she now knew was on her way to this very house.
   All she could think of to do was try to cause as much damage to the wolf as she should, to give Little Red Riding Hood a chance to escape. She grabbed her knitting needles, and held one in each hand, facing the wolf with resolve.


This was a fun exercise, and could have taken my many directions. For the next five weeks, I will be doing the second creative writing course with the Sydney Writers' Centre, so I will have their assignments to complete. I will post those, instead of doing my own exercises.

Enjoy.

Creative Writing Course - Module 4

Module 4 of my creative writing course with the Sydney Writers' Centre was about structure. We learnt about the basic 3-act structure (plot point 1, plot point 2, climax, resolution) and we learnt about picaresque structure.

The main thing about act structure is a building throughout the story, and the main character grows throughout. As part of structure, we learnt about catharsis, complications, and eucatastrophe.

Picaresque structure was very different - it is just a sequence of episodes, without the main character growing or changing except for perhaps the character's social or financial position.

Our assignment was to outline the structure of To Kill a Mockingbird. Here's my attempt (and the structure of a story is never completely right or wrong):

Plot Point 1:
When Jem and Scout tell Dill about the mystery of Boo Radley - this plants the obsession and the bravado in the children to bring Boo out.

Complications:
- Atticus getting selected to defend Tom Robinson causes:
- Scout's confrontation with her cousin
- confrontation at Calpurnia's church
- confrontation at gaol
- confrontation with Mrs Dubose
- Boo
- trying to deliver the letter through the window
- the midnight visit to try to see Boo
- the possessions being left in the tree

Plot Point 2:
Tom Robinson is found guilty.

Climax:
Scout and Jem are attacked in the dark.

Resolution:
The saviour turns out to be Boo Radley, who is a very benign and scared person, and not a crazy axe murderer. The attacker is determined to be Bob Ewell, who died in the scuffle with Boo. Jem's arm is broken, but we know he'll be fine.

Our tutor made the following comments to all of us taking the course:

The differences in your readings of the book just reinforce for me that no two readers read the same book – we all interpret with our own mindset and experiences.  This is a great thing!  But it means we have to remember that as writers we can only control how our readers respond to the book up to a certain point – beyond that, their own experience takes over and influences how they read.

I  believe that the main story is the Tom Robinson plot, as it drives the action which creates the climax.

In scriptwriting (which I used to do for a living), the Tom Robinson plot would be called the A story, Dill and the kids/Boo Radley the B story and the other things that happen to Scout, which are about her changing her perspective on her own community, including her father, the C story. But this book, like all great novels, is too complex to tie down so neatly!

For me, the first plot point is Atticus taking on the case of Tom Robinson.  It’s true that Dill’s arrival is extremely important in Scout’s life, but it doesn’t directly affect the climax or outcome of the book, and therefore I wouldn’t put it as a plot point.  If Dill hadn’t arrived, Atticus would still have taken on the case, Cunningham would still have attacked Scout in revenge, etc.  Scout’s relationship with Boo Radley was already beginning without Dill, so he would still have been there to save her.

The second plot point is the court case, as some of you have identified.  But it is not the verdict which is the plot point.  It is Atticus’ decision to question the truthfulness and honour of the girl, which is directly contrary to the Southern code.  This decision leads directly to the climax – whereas the verdict doesn’t affect the climax one way or the other.  If Tom Robinson had been found innocent, Ewell would still have attacked Jem and Scout – possibly with even more vigour.

These two plot points show us that the main theme of the book relates to racism and prejudice, as many of you identified – and this is supported by the sub-plots, which are about the foolishness of making judgments about people based on little evidence, whether that is the townspeople’s ideas about Boo Radley, or Dill’s stories about himself or, most importantly, Scout’s assumptions about her father. 

As for complications, all the ones you have listed are valid.  It’s quite a complex book, and many of these complications relate to the sub-plots, which combine to form an overall sub-plot about Scout growing up and learning about life.  Note that in the climax and resolution, Harper Lee brings the plot and the sub-plots together beautifully so that we are satisfied on each level that she has worked on (racism plot, relationship with Atticus, relationship with Boo Radley, relationship with town, etc).

The climax is the attack on Scout.  When you are trying to identify the climax of your story, you are looking for two things – the most exciting moment, where the fate of the main character(s) hangs in the balance, and the thing which makes the resolution either possible or inevitable.  Although the verdict was the ‘important’ event, it doesn’t tie all the themes together in the way the attack does.

The resolution is the last scene, where we, as well as Scout, get to meet Boo Radley and have our curiosity satisfied, as well as feel that justice has been done to both Ewell and Boo – and since this is a book about racism and prejudgement, it is important also that we feel justice was not done to Tom Robinson.

I don’t claim that this is the only reading of the book – but when I tease out what Harper Lee is doing structurally, this seems the most coherent way of looking at it to me.

One more module to go ... and I'm on my way to being a writer!

Module 3 - Creative Writing Course

This week, we were told about the value of 'workshopping'. Basically, it's having a few people, or a group that helps each other, to read your work and provide criticism. Which also means that I have to tell people that I'm writing, and have to let people read what I'm writing ... !! I know this is important - to be a writer, someone needs to read your work. But I was hoping that I could hide was I was writing until it was all neatly bound into a printed novel. I have to overcome that, obviously, and I think that is what this blog is about, in part. I want feedback, and I am putting myself out there.

Also, the course was about description. It was about scenes and summary in writing. It was about dialogue, and it was about using all five senses.

Here is my assignment that week:

The gusty breeze brought the smell of lemon-scented gums when it billowed past. The winter sun was bright, but the heat that could roast the earth at other times of the year did not seem to reach me. The air was icy, causing goosebumbs to break out in tight little lumps across my arms and scalp. But I continued to trudge through the wet grass, bracing against the wind and hugging myself. I always felt like I was the last person on earth out here. This paddock was completely closed in by hills and thick grey-green gums rising steeply up the slopes, their shadows stretching halfway across the clearing. The only sign of humanity was the post and wire fence that run across my path in the distance, and the occasional jet tracing its slow passage across the blue sky. Bell birds whipped their greeting to me from the gums, and a willy-wagtail danced ahead of me before perching on a large cow pat and twirling his tail in a black and white blur. Faintly, I was eventually able to hear the low hum of a tractor, as I crossed the paddock towards the rusty wire gate that hung lopsided from its hinges.

Here are the tutor's comments:

To Jacqui
This starts off a little awkwardly,  but then you get into your stride and it comes alive.

Look at the difference in ‘feel’ between the first three sentences and what comes after ‘But I’.  At the beginning, you are trying for effect, but your character is absent.  Your sentences are all constructed the same way (for example, they all start with ‘The’).

Then your character enters the scene and suddenly it comes alive.  After that, we are so firmly in the moment as she/he walks across the paddock that we are utterly convinced it’s a real place.  The rhythm is stronger and the sentences flow.

Why not have a try at rewriting the first three sentences so that they feel the same way?  Then it would be really terrific.

Well done.

By the way, the research for my novel has begun!