Writer's Gramps

  While I’m busy with N.A.M. Rodgers naval histories around the Jacobite period, I need to start thinking of what the end will be – just an interest, or the basis for some stories. The first option might be to do a series of tales of Jacobite incidents that are related to Bonnie Prince Charlie’s grandson, (He’s buried in Dunkeld) as he travels round the country, in company with a Lowlander maybe.  It would start with Killikrankie and go on till Charlie’s escape to France. It wouldn’t be just the major events like Culloden but some of the lesser known ones like Eilean Donan Castle and Glen Shiel in 1719 and Miss Walkinshaw in 1745. The second was triggered by thinking of John Wayne and The Searchers and an abduction but has morphed into a young woman, Mary, escaping a massacre of McDonalds in The Glen (Shades of Glen Coe). Calum Campbell, a scout with the government forces, finds her and takes care of her. He takes her to a poor village which the McDonalds ravaged two years ear...

 I write quite a bit of historic fiction but I like it to have some historical base. Bubbles in the Cauldron is  set in the 1820 uprising but I've had a lot of fun with other situations. One of the sources I've used is the Bible. I did the story of the harassed innkeeper in the Christmas story with everyone from shepherds to Oriental gentlemen coming to the door and then there was Pharaoh's butler, who knows where to get a man to interpret Pharaoh's dreams but doesn't want to remind Pharaoh he's been in prison. I was so pleased with them, I put them into Bees in my Bonnet. Now what? There's the two spies sent to investigate Jericho. The gates are shut and they need to hide. Where? Well a prostitute isn't going to turn away a client. They promise she'll be safe but when they get back to Joshua, they find the walls are going to fall down and the prostitutes house is in the walls. Now they have to get in before the soldiers, who aren't likely to ask...

 I'd like to write a series of short stories about Cairndhu. I have the characters and a few incidents they would be involved in but I keep trying to make them into a novel. What I want is something like a story at bedtime, the kind of thing a person reads just before sleep, is not tempted to read another chapter but knows the characters will be there tomorrow night. I published a book of short stories, Bees in my Bonnet, and had several nice comments from people who wanted just something to relax with when they went to bed. It's a follow on from that I'd like but with the same people each time; a bit like Dr Findlay's Casebook, each little incident separate, but connected. I find that sort of thing fun to write and sometimes the wee stories can blend into a novel. Of course, some short stories can be expanded and be the lead into, or the final chapter of a much longer tale. What comes to mind is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and The Lemon Drop Kid, both turned into m...

 I've been editing a novel I wrote some time ago about a Highland drover sorting out the point of view for each scene and chapter. I'd thought it wasn't to important compared with the story line and plot but jumping about from what one person sees to what another is aware of tends to lose the flow of the narrative and distract the reader. For example - Rory drew his sword. Seamus drew his and threw the scabbard away. This would be a fight to the death. Rory took a step forward. Seamus swung savagely but Rory managed to deflect the the stroke. Fine of it is a fight between friends watched by a third party, or a remote narrator. But to involve the reader - Rory drew his sword, saw Seamus draw his and throw the scabbard away. So this would be a fight to the death! Rory stepped forward cautiously and was able to deflected Seamus's first wild swing. Now the reader is part of the fight and involved in the outcome. In addition, having worked hard to get the readers on Rory...

 I'm in the middle of making a wardrobe. I could have got one in flat pack but I wanted it to fit the space I had for it. I knew what I was doing, just didn't bother to draw it out and think over the problems of each step. Now I sit with a think like a booth for a market stall that's so patched to make sure it doesn't topple over, it's a monstrosity and is undergoing radical redesign. I jus hope it works as well as the chaos going under the bridge. I've found it the same even with writing. I'd never have tried to write minutes without notes but I'll get into a short story, and especially a novel, with an opening and nowhere to go. I've been particularly guilty of that during this lockdown - frantic to get something done. The wardrobe has ben an eyeopener and I'm going back to a solid plan. Of course there is a danger that a solid plan will produce stodge but I've found if I give the stodge time to digest I can put some fruit in it and a bit o...