Book Club

Writing in tense times

by Alison Morton

Life can vary wildly on a scale from pleasurable, easy, mildly annoying and frustrating to stressful and unbearable. Hopefully, much of yours is at the first end. But big problems hovering in the background such as climate change have been reinforced by the not-yet-over Covid pandemic, rising prices and as I write, the brutal invasion of Ukraine. Many of us can’t help doomscrolling on our phones or switching on news bulletins several times a day. Short of fundraising, collecting relief supplies, offering accommodation and going on a march or demonstration, we feel powerless. The hum of background anxiety becomes louder, and we become afraid for ourselves, our children and our future.

If you write, the problem is how to stay creative in times like these. You may procrastinate, fidget at the keyboard or feel completely blank and uninspired.

Now I’ve depressed you, let’s look at some possible ways of mitigating it. The twin saving graces of humans are natural creativity and ability to adapt. Just look at how we’ve survived through history, or more currently, how Ukrainians are adapting and creating ways to address their multiple and devastating challenges. Creativity is not only a gift but also our relief valve when frightened and stressed. It’s a way to exercise our imaginations and express our ideas and wishes, but additionally it forms a channel to recount our bad experiences and worries and goes some way towards grounding them. Turning it round, creativity can be a positive place where we can enter a much more pleasant world (unless we’re writing dystopia or horror!) and more importantly, one we control. It’s up to us what we focus on and what characters inhabit our writing. And that space belongs exclusively to us.

Some practical stuff • Don’t worry if, when staring at a blank screen, nothing comes into your head. This happens to every writer at some time (or several times!). Try tapping out some notes about what you see out of the window or jot down thoughts about possible characters, however wild. The wilder the better! ;-) Use a piece of paper and a pen if that’s more comfortable. • Don’t stress about word count. Not doing your thousand words a day won’t sink the ship. Aim for five hundred or perhaps a couple of paragraphs. • Rather than try to be super-creative, revise old pieces of work you meant to develop further – that writing exercise you did on a course, a short story that didn’t get placed in a competition, a dodgy scene in your current novel draft.

• If you write a diary or journal, keep up with this as you can dump your anxieties on the page; just offloading will help. If you can add a note of something positive – the daffodils and tulips are out, you received extra points at the supermarket, you met a friend you haven’t seen for two years – then that brings balance, especially when you read it six months later.

• Watch somebody on television, their hat, a sentence they spoke, their bag, shoes or earrings and scribble down a few lines about how those things illustrate their character. Ditto with a landscape detail – a building roof, a shop light, strange script. Picking a small detail can help distract you from a larger worry.

• Read background stuff for your next piece of work. I know the fall of the Roman Empire isn’t for everybody, but I’m finding it relaxing – perhaps it’s the distance in time.

• Do soothing non-writing stuff. I took up embroidery during the pandemic, mended more clothes than I would have normally done, completed countless jigsaws and planned a new kitchen with my other half. Even emptying and sorting the airing cupboard or pruning and weeding in the gardening can be comforting. Happy (more relaxed) writing…

Alison has compiled a selection of articles from this column into ‘The 500 Word Writing Buddy’, available on Amazon (click here). Her latest thriller, Double Pursuit, part set in Poitou, is now out.

This Month’s Book Reviews

Villa of Second Chances by Jennifer Bohnet

Review by Jacqui Brown

My local author selection this month is the latest novel from Brittany based Jennifer Bohnet, even though in this uplifting novel, she whisks us off to a villa in Antibes. Villa Sesame’s owners, Delphine and Rebecca, might have known tough times in their personal lives, but they have dedicated their working lives to creating the perfect setting for weddings, doing all they can to ensure everything goes to plan on the day. As we join in the celebrations for Marcus and Freya’s slightly unusual late-in-life wedding, change is afoot for both Delphine and Rebecca, as well as the guests.

It was easy to picture the villa and its location near Antibes on the French Riviera. Luxurious but intimate, great food, a relaxed atmosphere and not forgetting a little healing magic too. This book is also packed with engaging characters whose intricately woven stories had me hooked. I loved getting to know Marcus, Freya and their guests - best friends for many years, Angela, Clemmie, Rufus and Hugo. The beginning of the book gives us just enough of their back stories and what had brought them to the villa for this special week of celebrations, I couldn’t wait to see where it would take them. There was love, heartbreak, jealousy, grief and guilt, but also time to heal and discover new paths for the future. There is nothing quite as refreshing or heart-warming as happy stories of late-life new beginnings, as well as willthey-won’t-they intrigue. The world is an unhappy place at the moment, but this book gave me a much-needed escape that lifted my spirits and made me smile. The Villa of Second Chances would be the perfect book to add to your summer 2022 reading list.

The Life You Left Behind by Debbie Howells

Review by Jacqui Brown

In this book about loss, grief, love, friendship and kindness, we follow Casey through two tumultuous years of change; the year she meets Ben and her first year after he has left her. The spark of a new romance and the excitement of discovering that special someone, contrasting against the dark days of loneliness and feeling lost. So much has changed, she is unable to go back to where she was just a year before, but she is equally as uncertain about where her future lies. I really enjoyed the way the past and present are interlinked and the slow reveal this gives to exactly what did happen to Casey and Ben.

With so many layers woven into this book, it creates a strong plot, with depth and emotions that left me quietly contemplating the bigger questions in life. It enriched my mind and my soul – powerful words for a book review, but it is a powerful read that touches on difficult issues but also gently maps out the journey, understanding and change that comes from losing someone special. Many emotive subjects are treated with a sensitivity that will hopefully help readers understand and be more aware. I learned a lot reading this book.

Casey’s journey is interlaced with that of her friends, and it is the power of friendship and its love that I felt strongly as I was reading it. It also raises important questions about the planet, the way we treat it, and how we interact with each other.

The Life You Left Behind is a beautiful read that I really hope you will enjoy and get as much out of as I did.

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