How does she do it?

 "SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE" - Claire Keegan (UK/Ire 2021)

        Another long short story (about 22k words), of Ireland's everyday people, this one in about 1985, and again, superb writing.

        It's the week leading up to Christmas in a country town (still heavily influenced by the Catholic church), and we follow the local wood and coal merchant as he does his rounds. Simple as that. But it's what he thinks about, and the couple of incidents he gets caught up in - because he's a decent man - that makes the story.

        They've turned this one into a movie as well, and justifiably so, and I can't wait to get hold of a copy.

        Looking back over these four "books" of hers, right or wrong I get the impression that Keegan has a canny agent, and a lot of support at Faber & Faber, her publisher. The first one ("Antarctica") was a collection of random short stories, some not so short, that incorporated several that made a significant stir in the Irish and British literary circles when put out there, and Faber took a punt and published 15 of her best (at the time), and they sold well on the back of the publicity.

        That led to a repeat in "Walk The Blue Fields", also to some acclaim, so next they took a punt on using a single long-ish story that stands alone well - "Foster" - to put it out as a stand-alone book. Which was then made into a great movie, and she had arrived. On a winning streak, Faber did it again with this one, a long-ish short story that easily stands alone, and again it was made into a movie.

        So, you'd have to conclude that Keegan and her agent and Faber between them have found a whole new publishing niche. I have absolutely no idea if this is how it all went, but long may it continue.

        Last one coming up....

                Cheers.....

                        T.R.E.

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Self doubt - a baleful animal...

        The COMMENTS on/off thing. If you noticed.

        It went like this.

        I finished the latest short story and put it up in The Workshop. Then I did that Mitzi & Duds tribute over in Pandora's Box. Which had me re-reading "Dudley's Career In Cabbages". Compared the two, which got me worried that my craftmanship was slipping, as I found the older one ("...Cabbages") brighter, zippier, looser, easy-flowing, like it had oozed out of the old fingertips in one sitting. Which it didn't, but that's how it felt.

        Then I re-read "The Ballad Of The Unspeakable Son" (tag below), and it seemed - like - heavier. As if it'd been harder work. A bit pedestrian even? I know the subjects are miles apart, one meant to be light and funny, the other a bit sad and poignant.

        Whatever. I came away a touch concerned. Like The Ghost was slipping away from me. Getting tired. And no-one to bounce off.

        It was a bad day.

        So, I decided to turn on the COMMENTS, as if I thought someone "out there" might have an answer. But I slept on it for a couple of days and nights, decided all that was just a touch pathetic, then asked myself - "Would I change how I write and what I write because of someone's comments anyway?"

        Answer of course (being a single-minded type) was - "No." I have always written what I want, did my best, edited it to death, been my own muse, judge, and jury. And too old to change. So I turned it off.

        What else can I say?

        Nup, that's it. Small lesson learnt. Back to the pen, the paper, the keyboard.

            Cheers....

                    Trev

THE BALLAD OF THE UNSPEAKABLE SON

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Keegan No 3....

 "FOSTER" - Claire Keegan (2010 UK)

        I've already commented on this one (below somewhere still), having read it a while back by chance, which was what hooked me onto the movie of it (which we've seen twice and loved, even though it's mostly in Irish with English subtitles, still a great watch), which in turn had me hunting for anything else she's done.

        But I though I'd best stick to the plan and read all five of her books in sequence anyway, and have to say this one is as good as the first time through. At about 18k words, this small gem is somewhere between a long short story and a novella, which is Keegan's way by the look of it, as the next two are both like this one, a long short story done up as a novella.

        I haven't changed my mind on the "Walk The Blue Fields" comments below, this writer, this storyteller, just arrived on Earth with her talent ready to go, and I wouldn't presume to say that she is steadily "improving" as you might expect, they are all as good as each other.

        One of the happy bonuses of my First Edition copy (original cover shown) is that some aspiring young - female I'm positive - literary student has scribbled copious notes all through it. Geez I love that. And I hope that you had a good old scribble on all of mine when you read them. Next one soon...

        Cheers.....

                T.R.E.

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Finished No 2....

"WALK THE BLUE FIELDS" - Claire Keegan (2007 Ire/UK)

        This is the second book of Keegan's in her series of five I'm reading, and doing it in time sequence to get a feel of the development of her writing, and is another collection of short stories, which seems to be her genre.

        She must've started her "serious" creative fiction writing when in about her mid 20's best I can work out, but I have to say it's like she simply arrived with her talent at full perk and hit the ground running, because this one is just as good as the first.

        She has a capacity to find great ways of describing small detail, in people and landscape, such as one gem in this book, introducing the main character to us as "...a bold spear of a woman...". Geez I wish I could come up with that sort of thing a little more often!

        Once again, this is the lives of ordinary people, and some not so ordinary, but even with these you get the feeling that they would see themselves as ordinary. It's a collection of only 8 stories, mainly set in Ireland, and averaging about 7k words. But some of them, again, fairly long for a short story at well over 10k words. Two of her later long stories have been made into movies, being the next two in the sequence, but no idea if she set out with this in mind or it's simply been a great spin-off from good writing.

        Okay, "FOSTER" next, stay tuned....

            Cheers....

                        T.R.E.

ps - re-brained PC humming like total contentment !!  Ahhhh - bliss !!

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Things you ask...

        Don't you just LOVE technology? Yep, when it's bloody-well working!

        The new PC - I put in about eight days setting it up just the way I like it, and then it had a nervous breakdown and had to be sent to the hospital to have a brain transplant. Brilliant!! A big name tower too, 4th one I've had, and no bother with the others.

        So, I reinstated the old one, which was ready to be passed on to a mate, so all my own files are only on backup. So no project work, just blog and research.

        I use Google a heap, as I like to ask questions, and always interesting what their trained AI beast will come up with as it trawls the cosmos for answers. All of which should be weighed and double checked if possible. These are the mixed bag of stuff that has kept me occupied this past week....

< >

What are "cosets"?
        I happened to see this word on the front of someone's Uni papers left lying on the next cafe table. Sorry I asked. Answers might as well have been in Ancient Sanskrit, all Deep Maths stuff. Totally boring.

What does Putin REALLY want?
        Just about sorry I asked this one as well, but no surprises, something about reinventing the USSR with him in Stalin's old chair and dominating Europe.

How many Aussie Bushmasters have been sent to Ukraine? And how many have been destroyed?
        About 120 sent (at about $1m to $2.5m each) but they've only lost about 20 - give or take.

Has Trump ever done military service?
        Prompted by his gaffe dismissing the frontline sacrifices made by the UK in a couple of fields of war recently, at America's side. Google this one yourself if you're interested to know the answer. Oddly enough, it didn't surprise me.

Was Mary Mulvane a real person?
        We re-watched that great 1978 mini-series "Against The Wind" the other night, and was curious about the "real" Mary (played brilliantly by Mary Larkin). It's amazing how many contradictory answers there are about this Irish convict girl - transported in the late 1700s - and her life in the colony of New South Wales during that time when "white" Aus was struggling for survival and identity and a future. You'd have to make up your own mind on this one.

How many Gazans have died since Oct 7 2023, how many of them were kids, and how many actually Hamas fighters?
        About 70,000 total, 20,000 of them kids, 13,000 Hamas fighters.

How many Israeli IDF and how many Israeli kids have died sine Oct 7 2023?
        1.100 Israeli soldiers have died, but there is no comments on how many Israeli kids.

Can happy people write great fiction?
        Ohmygod that opened up a can of worms. If you're at all interested in the (many) answers, give it a shot! Interesting intellectual literary exercise.

Does a 35th wedding anniversary have a name?
        Yep, it's "Coral". NO idea what any of that means, but my dau/s-i-l have theirs this week. Just in case they don't know where they're up to.

Who have been the 10 most influential people of all time?
        Lots of different opinions here, no surprise, but lists include Muhmmad, Jesus. Abraham Lincoln, Hitler, Aristotle, Napoleon, Shakespeare, Gutenberg, Cyrus The Great, Buddha, Confucius, Isaac Newton, Pericles, the Apostle Paul, Mother Theresa.... check it out.

        Well, that's all, just thought I'd share my boring waiting thumb twiddling life. I may take up whittling. Signing off from Old Reliable (re-brained new one starts all over again tomorrow).

        Cheers...

                Trev

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The first of five...

"ANTARCTICA" - Claire Keegan (Ire / UK 1999)

        This is the first of Claire Keegan's published works, a collection of unrelated short stories, and looking like they were written between when she was in her late 20's and early 30's, to some acclaim, and reprinted several times, this edition being in 2023.

        There's no doubt in my mind that Keegan knows how to put a story together, and of the 15 I only skipped over 2 I found that didn't get me going, the rest good to excellent, set mainly in Ireland (where she was born in 1968), in England, and in USA where she has spent a lot of time, including university.

        A couple of my reactions -  males, whether brothers, fathers, husbands - mostly seem to come away looking a touch like shite, several stories have sex as a key or background element of the storyline (she was in her late 20s - back when sex and aspiration  are the primary driving forces of life?), and one or two alluded strongly to the poor treatment of children.

        The story "Men and Women" was probably my favourite, like all of them, cleverly put together, with an obvious mastery of the English language.

        I'm now looking forward to the following ones, that I'll do in date order just to get a feel of the development of her writing, but I don't know anything about any of them, except "Foster" (her fourth), which I'll read again anyway as it's been a while. And I want to hang onto the sense of context.

        Find a copy if you're into short literature, we can all learn much from talent.

        Cheers....

                T.R.E.

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What am I ?

        I'm 87. Couple of weeks ago. No fanfare, no message from the King. But it makes you think. About getting "old". I've given up climbing on the roof. I struggle with eating nuts. And seafood. Garlic is off the menu. And chilli. Not much else. Forty degree (plus) days. They're absolutely no fun at all any more.

        But, I still love the fun of writing, sitting alone, pen at the ready, with ideas, people, words, dancing around in my head, a compulsion. Some may say addiction. Makes me feel 17 again-->

        But of late I've been asking myself - Now that I'm not defined by my occupation (geez, it's been 23 years!), what am I? For the past 50 years I've seen myself - outside of work - as a Writer, except for back when I was getting smiled upon by the Gods of Words and Blurbs and Serious Marketing and I thought I was an Author. 

       So, I'm older now. I know better. I see the world (and myself, and my addiction) more clearly.

        Truth is, I'm really a teller of stories. A Storyteller. Sometimes even maybe no more than a Recorder. An Explorer who Records, ever since The Ghost got stirred into life and I went chasing after stories stories stories, some cut straight from Real Life, some totally made up, some a bit of both and sometimes hard to tell which is which - Fiction stories, Ancestor stories, Travel stories, Scraps-of-passing-life stories. It's been brilliant.

        And I can't stop myself from looking for more. I have piles of e-files with bits of notes that I'll never get to in the time I have left. I must cull out some more of the better ones and put them in The Scrap Heap (over right). Give them half a chance to fire up some one else's Ghost. Which is what I also love to do, see up-and-comers (and old timers!) get on with this marvellous business of exploring and recording and making stuff up in (hopefully) an entertaining way.

        And if anything, the all pervading objective has been to be entertaining. I rarely get any feedback from my stuff - price you pay if you're a loner who likes being a loner - so I can only live in hope that you've been getting something entertaining - maybe sometimes enlightening - from what I've put on the page these last 50 years. Maybe I should turn on the Comments and see what happens!

        Ummm, that's all, just a few passing thoughts...

              Cheers.....

                     Trev

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Revisiting thoughts on ss writing

          Just in case it can help someone who's struggling, I've had some more thoughts on putting fiction on the page - well, how I go about it anyway - making notes on it while I've been doing my current short story. And I think just about everything below would be how I go about a novel as well. Except that it's 2 years rather than 2 weeks.

        1) I get the idea, mull it around in my head for a day or two.

        2) I open a blank Word file and put a title at the top - anything relevant will do for the start as it may change later - then save the file as that title to my /Writing Shorts WIP folder.

        3) I set the file's font to Courier New, 11 point, with 1.5 line spacing. This is best for roughing out and with multiple print-offs later it saves on printer ink.

        4) I type a heap of ideas, roughly in the sequence of the story, doesn't matter how it sounds, get the feeling down as fast as I can, and leave big spaces between the bits for later scribblings.

        5) Print it off, back it up, make a desk-top short-cut, put that in my Current folder on the side of the screen. (Backing up - I NEVER use the Cloud, but I keep a good-sized USB stick always plugged in, which I swap every few weeks. Better than having it in some basement in Romania. Pedantic I know, but I leave nothing to chance).

        6) I put the draft and a biro in one of those clear plastic A4 folders with the press stud flap, do a name tag in texta on a scrap and slip that in too.

        7) At any time of the day, when the thoughts or lines or paragraphs comes to me, I scribble that down and shove it in the folder, or do it straight onto the draft somewhere.

        8) When it's my solitary writing time, I sit in my recliner with the draft on a stiff back-board and a sandwich and a Johnnie Walker-laced coffee at hand, get in the zone and write write write, whang in notes all over the place, anywhere they'll fit, lots of loops and lines and arrows, scribble scribble scribble.

        9) First chance I get, I type it all up, fill it out and make more notes as I go, then do 5) above. Then 7), 8), and 9), over and over. Bit by bit it gets cleaner and better, with less and less changes.

        10) One day when I think it's finished, I print it off and put it away for a fortnight, then drag it out and do another edit. Or two.

            Okay, that's about it. Give it a try if you reckon you have a short story in you. And everybody does. Well, you and I do, the others just don't yet know the fun of putting it on the page.

            Cheers....

                    T.R.E.

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Going exploring...

        I don't usually explore a particular writer, prefer to jump randomly into anything half interesting, regardless of whose name is on the cover. There's just so much great stuff out there waiting to be discovered. And a novel is about novelty.

        There have been some exceptions - Russell Hoban, William Golding, Tim Winton, Spike Milligan, Roddy Doyle, but not many more - and it's always been as a result of reading a random book of theirs, loving it, and then chasing down some more from the same person.

        But I'm currently out on a limb, from a mixture of gifts and blurbs, and have started on the five books of Claire Keegan, which I've sorted into date-of-first-publishing order.

        Keegan was born in Co Wicklow Ireland in 1968, went to US aged 17 to study English and politcal science, came back to Wales in 1992 and did her MA in creative writing, all of which should do heaps for anyone's writing career.

        I already had "Foster" (her third, 2010) which I read and loved (reviewed here a while back) after falling over the excellent movie of it (titled "The Quiet Girl") and mentioned this to Smudge, who promptly rounded up "Antarctica" (1999), "Walk The Blue Fields" (2007), "Small Things Like These" (2021) and "So Late In The Day" (2023) as Chrissie presents. A full set. Which is the "gifts" part of it.

        But it was the exuberant blurb on "Foster" that originally sucked me in, how (Irish born) Keegan's first book "...announced her as an exceptionally gifted and versatile writer of contemporary fiction...", was the LA Times Book of the Year, and won her the Rooney Prize For Literature, and her second book "...was published to enormous critical acclaim..." and "...won her the 2008 Edge Hill prize for short stories, awarded for the finest book of stories in the British Isles."

        You just have to sit up a bit and take notice of that! And okay, with blurbs there is always an element of "Yeah? - well, we'll see.")

        So stay tuned, reactions will be along soon, as she tends to keep everything short. Which I have no problems with if it's quality. In fact, prefer it.

        Cheers...

                T.R.E.

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Just finished being gobsmacked by...

"EUROPE ON 5 KIDS A DAY" - Murray Edmonds (Aust 2013)

        Subtitled - "The Travel Diary Of A Hopeless Romantic & Father Of Five On An Epic Jaunt Through Europe In 1968" (there is no double underline for "Epic" but there damn-well should be), put together by his eldest son with the help of a couple of the others.

        In early 1968 Murray Edmonds (yep, he's my late elder brother) bundled up his wife and five kids and boarded an Italian cruise ship in Fremantle WA and set off on a multi-month journey of discovery around Europe on a budget that could only be described as optimistic. And we're not talking grown up kids either, the eldest turned 11 during the trip, and the youngest turned 3.

        Landing in England, they bought a very second-hand Ford Cortina and shoe-horned in two adults, five kids, several suitcases, sundry kit, and two blow up matresses. The Cortina blew a starter motor in Holland in week 6, and had to be push started for the next fortnight, with the help of passing tourists, concierges, and desk clerks. There should be medals for these kinds of enterprises.

        So Mick, wherever you are now, this is one helluva read, which I couldn't put down, but left my slightly obsessive self continually traumatised. Only you would've come up with this one, and then talked everyone around you into it. A life-influencing experience for all of them I'm told.

        The footnote is - the survivors now tell me that his wife and the two eldest girls kept their own notes and diaries. I look forward to having a peek at those. His compiler son dedicates the book (very limited edition)...
             "...to his father for instilling in him at the age of 8 an epic wanderlust that has helped him live a life of discovery and adventure and to learn that you should never, ever take home and family for granted."

        Good one Mike.

               Trev

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