“I had been making the rounds of the Sacrifice Poles the day we heard my brother had escaped. I already knew something was going to happen; the Factory told me.”
Banks, The Wasp Factory, 1984

I have recently re-read Ian Banks The Wasp Factory. Frank, the central character, has inspired me to murder. I had forgotten what it was like to dream of amputees being bitten by snakes, and little girls drifting into the distance, with their wrists tied to the kite that was pulling them out to sea.
“I had, after all, accounted for two male children and thus done womankind something of a statistical favour.” Unspeakable crimes. Unimaginable plot lines. Unforgivable lies. Frank takes us on journey that doesn’t question the obvious as this sixteen year old boy is too involved in the abnormal ways of his life. He quietly collects fluff in his belly button while we try to fathom out what exactly the Wasp Factory is. This is a gothic classic, and one of my favourite novels. While I find myself laughing as Eric (Franks brother) burns dogs alive in phone boxes for lunch, I can appreciate Banks amazing talent to create a character who is so sure of his life, so fixed in his identity, that he doesn’t question the most fundamental fact in his life… This novel is a work of pure genius, making its reader laugh, cry and even look away in disgust. Banks has written many superb novels such as Whit (1995), and The Crow Road (1992), the most recent of which is The Steep Approach to Garbadale (2007). Banks also writes for a science fiction audience under the name Ian M Banks, these books are also worth a look. Consider Phlebas (1987) being his first, and most reputable of this genre.
The Wasp Factory is an amazing display of his talent and imagination, and should be read slowly and enjoyed thoroughly without the deliberate explosion of an old bomb to kill your five year old cousin.

‘Frank’ll get you,’ I hissed to myself.

Editing for friends - a dilema.

A friend of mine has recently decided to write a travel book which tells of her and her husbands exciting travels around the globe, very specifically, China. It is a very exciting idea, and when she asked if I'd mind her sending it to me to have a look over I was overjoyed and agreed on the spot! Unfortunatley, this is where my dilema starts. Since she sent me the first draft of the first chapter and a sample synopsis she has been asking for my advice as well as my opinion. Now, this may not seem like such a difficult request, but before you can wholly understand the dilema, you must first understand the situation.

I refered to her as 'a friend of mine', but in fact she is a very old friend of my fiance and I am just about making an effort to get to know her too. She doesn't really have a background in fictional or travel writing. As such her ideas are amazing, but her writing could do with a little scrubbing up. This brings me back to the dilema. Do I tell her that I think her work is a great idea and that her writing is superb, or should I be honest and risk upsetting her?

Her aim is to get the book published, which with a little help and a fair amount of editing is probably not too much of a long shot, but I'm worried that if they send it off as is then their chances of publication are much smaller.

Now I have a group of friends who I studied with, who are, for lack of a better phrase, my writing circle. This is great because we know that when we give criticism that we are each trying to be constructive and helpful. We also know that we can say pretty much anything, for example if the work is really bad then we can say 'it's awful!' and laugh it off, without causing a rift. So what to do with friends outside of this circle? I always want to be able to help people acheive the things that matter to them, but perhaps this time I am better 'not being available?'

New Look and the Cows

As of today my blog has a new look, a new feel and a very definate more regular input!

Recently the novel has been playing on my mind, and Mrs Yettman is using that to her advantage. She is pushing me into entering a few writing competitions and I'm not sure that my work is good enough as yet. As flippant as it sounds, it just doesn't feel ready! So I am attempting to soldier on with my novel. It is coming along quite nicely now that I know the cows are the key. Yes. You read correctly. The cows are the main focal point of my novel! It came as a suprise to me too, especially seeing as I had been busy writing about estranged fathers and abortions. Anyway, I think that the cows are working to bring the whole thing together.


This brings me on to my next topic of conversation - theory! I have studied in fair depth the relativley new ecocriticism theory that is causing debate in the literary world, and I have found that without really being aware of it myself, that reading my novel is like waving a massive green flag for ecocriticism from the top of Big Ben! Since realising this, I have been able to to do two things.

One - allow this overwhelming urge to indulge in ecocriticism to continue as it has been, as well as helping it to grow and show itself in even clearer terms. Perhaps I could even let it change the climax of my novel so that it represents a theoretical response as appose to just a good story! I could follow in the footsteps of great ecocritical writers and force the theory upon not only myself but my readers too! (If I am ever lucky enough to have any!)

OR

Two - I could ignore it and carry on as I am.

Not being able to fully decide, or even strike an immediate balance between the two I have found myself writing two versions of everything in the vain hope that I will be able to marry them together later on in the process... foolish? Probably.

Oh well. I hope you enjoy my new look blog, and I am sure that the cows will be back to see you all soon...