I AM A BOOK

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a book? Well, this past week I had an opportunity to be one: a "book" in a "living library". When I was first invited to participate in this unusual all-day event, to be held at a local high-school, I was not only pleased to be asked but very curious as to what this would mean and what the exact concept was of the "living library". You know that saying "You don't always know a book by it's cover"? Well, this is kind of like that. It's a unique group participation developed in Denmark to break down prejudices and misconceptions about people. The 'books' in this 'library' have many different titles, just as people have many different roles in their lives. You might look at a book and say "I don't want to read about that. That's a boring/unpleasant subject". On the other hand, once you open the book and start to read it, you might find it is very interesting and intriguing and not at all what you'd first thought just by glancing at it's cover.

Every 'book' in this 'living library' had several titles, just as there are many various titles for books that might cover similar or the same subjects. Or some books might have several different stories within it's covers. It's the same with people. You never know the whole story until you have heard/read it. You'll be surprised at what's inside some of those 'books'.

The idea of the 'Living Library" began in Copenhagen, Denmark initiated by five young people after a mutual friend was stabbed in a brutal attack. These five kids wanted to do something to raise awareness and to use their peer group to educate them against violence. So a youth organization called "Stop the Violence" was formed. You can read more about it and the history of the ''human library" at http://www.humanlibrary.org

Moscropt Secondary School in Burnaby, BC. is the only high school in North America to offer the concept although a few colleges have tried it. You can read a blog about our experiences as 'books' in the "Living Library' at www.beyondthebeadedcurtains.blogspot.com

After participating, I would say that ALL high schools should think about offering this 'living library' opportunity to their students. It might break down a lot of barriers, open up possibilities and help to eliminate prejudices and misconceptions about people. It might
help stop bullying!

The people invited to be in the Living Library were asked to come to the Moscropt School a week before the event would take place so we could be briefed on what was going to happen and what was expected of us 'books'. We chose titles (there could be more than one) and later on, wrote those titles on a paper. Then we all went around and wrote our idea of what those books were about (what kind of people those books were.) It was quite surprising to see the results, some of them rather harsh. Those comments would be later put into paragraphs for 'bios' of the 'books' and circulated to the students who would be visiting the Living Library the following week.

My titles were: "Elder" "Travel and Historical Fiction Writer" and (here's the one that caught the kids' attention! "Wanna--be Crime and Investigative Journalist."
Other titles were: "Anti Capitalist Activist" ,"Adopted as a Child", "Young Adult Gay Male Survivor of a Brain Tumour" , Costume Designer/Former Figure Skater" "Omni Sexual/Drag Queen/Photographer: "Ex Gang Member/Ex prisoner/ Ex addict
/son of a KKK father" Big and Beautiful/ Formerly size 5 and bulimic", "Politician/MLA" "Person with a Disability" Gay Lawyer/Farmer/Figure Skater" "Plumber" (this was a single parent woman!) and many others. We were given tips about"what makes a good book" and "how to be a bestseller", how to initiate discussions with the 'readers' and the general protocol of being a 'book'.

On the day that the Living Library program took place, we met at 8.30 in the school Library and were given cardboard signs with our book titles and sat at tables where the kids would come to 'read' us,. The school classes took turns coming into the library and were escorted by volunteer students to whichever 'book' they wanted to 'read'. Usually there were two or three kids at a time, although occasionally only one student came and, in the case of the ex-gangster/addict/prisoner/son of a KKK father, he had swarms of kids around him all day long. And so did the gay books. You would never know to look at the 'books' who they were or had been so it was very interesting to hear the questions the kids asked and see their reactions. I think this is an excellent way of educating people about others who live very different life-styles and in this way it breaks down those prejudices and misconceptions.

My 'readers' were mainly interested in travel, where I'd been and good ideas for budget travel for students. A few were really interested in the writing aspect of my life and were kids who aspired to be writers too. I answered questions about 'voice' and 'setting details" One special coincidence happened when a young fellow said "I don't write but my grandfather does. He used to be a writer for the Vancouver Sun". It turned out that his grandfather was a reporter/BC history writer who I had great respect and admiration for when I was a copy runner at the Vancouver Sun newsroom back in the 1950's. Another young man, who is from Bangladesh, expressed an interest in visiting surfing beaches. I told him my grandson was a surfer who lived in California. This boy has never surfed but that is his dream, and part of the dream is to return to Bangladesh where there are some good surfing beaches. One of the volunteer students sat down with me at the end of the day and it turned out he was a Macedonian Greek from Thessaloniki. We had a vibrant chat about places both he and I love to visit such as Thassos Island. I thought that he was much like my Iskander in Shadow of the Lion -- not only with his intelligence and curiosity but his looks were what I visualize Iskander to have been like.

The entire day was an amazing experience and although I came home at the end of it feeling exhausted, I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I not only learned a lot about my 'readers' but I hope they learned something from 'reading' me as well.

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WRITING IS WORK!

Don't kid yourself. Writing is work. And it can be very difficult work that requires a lot of concentration and skill. Some people think it's 'glamorous' to be a writer, believing that somehow novels are produced by osmosis or some kind of magical abrecadabra system. It's not true. Writing IS work.

It took me a long time to reach the point where I could say "I'm a full time writer", but that doesn't mean I just laze around home all day, playing at the computer, going on adventures, spinning tales. No. I really have to work at it if I want to make my writing 'pay'. Unfortunately this isn't as easy as a non-writer might think. For one thing, it's a big deal just trying to stay focused on what I'm supposed to be doing. There are countless distractions and I'm an expert at procrastinating or finding something more interesting to occupy my time. How many times a day does one need to check their e-mail or visit Facebook? That's just the beginning of all the numerous ways there are to avoid doing the 'work'.

In spite of teaching classes at which I go over the 'rules' of being a successful writer, I don't necessarily pay attention to them myself. Rome didn't get built in a day. Neither did a best selling novel.

Writing can be very discouraging work as well. If you are working on a novel, it can seem endless. Don't kid yourself into believing that a novel can be whipped up in a few months. It sometimes takes years! And don't think just because you have a good idea for a story that you'll be able to spin that story out in just a draft or two. Writing, rewriting, editing...it's endless!

Just to remind myself of the pitfall of writing, I will write down some of the basic 'rules' here and perhaps in doing so it will stimulate me to start paying attention to the task(s) at hand, because I have to do this in order to make any new headway on the novel (which is still not completely finished) and to also make time for the travel writing that I must do. As the travel writing (for Planet Eye Traveler and freelance markets) is one of my sources of income, this is very important. I also teach writing classes, another source of income that allows me the privilege of being a 'full time writer', but this also takes a lot of preparation. So it is most important to be organized and discipline. Someone recently wrote a statement that 'writing is 5% talent and 95% perseverance' Well, in the first place you need way more than 5% talent to write successfully otherwise it's a waste of your time. But you definitely need a lot of perseverance, maybe even 100%! Writing is not easy and it can be downright discouraging. So be be successful you must persevere.

What does it take to be a writer? Basic ability is not enough. You must observe these 5 D's: DESIRE, the desire to write that novel more than anything else! DRIVE: the drive to get started. DETERMINATION: the will to continue whatever the stumbling blocks and difficulties encountered along the way (there will be lots!); DISCIPLINE; The discipline to writer every day, whatever your mood; DEDICATION - to the project until the very last page is finished. At all costs, avoid this 6th "D" DISTRACTIONS: the enemy of all writers. And then there is the very important "C": COMMITMENT. When you start a project such as a novel, you must be committed if you want to finish the work. Sure, sometimes you need to take a break, do some other kind of writing, or tend to personal affairs, but if you are serious about your work you will come back to it refreshed and with new ideas that will help you COMPLETE your project.
This novel will be with you for a long time, so you better have thought about it beforehand. When it's ready to be written, you'[ll know. It will be with you day and night. You'll even dream about it. So, if you prefer painting, cooking or watching TV, forget it! Now, get busy and start WORKING!






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DOES ANCIENT GREECE EXIST?

 

The first morning I arrived in Athens, Greece, in October 1979, I left the Tempi, my five-story walk-up hotel on Eolou Street and stepped out to the narrow cobbled roadway. I had no idea of my location, but when I looked up I saw at the end of the street, a high stone buttress and on top of it what I recognized as the Parthenon. I said to myself “Feet, just take me where you want to go!” and I started to walk.

I went down a block, past what is the ruins of Hadrian’s Library, turned right and kept on going down the narrow lanes until at last I was at the entrance to the ancient Agora. I stepped inside the gate, and stopped, transfixed. In that hot morning sun, what I saw the Agora exactly as it had been centuries ago. There were no ruins, just buildings and cobbled roadways and beyond it rising high against the blue Attic sky, the magnificent Acropolis crowned with it’s shining temples. I suddenly began to cry and could not stop. I knew then, that I had come ‘home’.

Some may say that ancient Greece does not exist. But I know it does. For that whole holiday I explored not only Athens, but other places nearby. And on future trips I would visit almost every important archaeological site in the country, as well as the beautiful islands with their golden sand and the brilliant blue Aegean Sea where once triremes and merchant ships plied their sea-routes.

If you have never been up on the Acopolis, seen the Parthenon bathed in the golden light of sunset, walked the shaded pine-scented groves of the Hill of Nymphs and stood on the Pnyx where the ancient Assembly met, you have not experienced the real Greece. Ancient Greece.

 

I have had many déjà-vu experienced in Greece such as that first one I had in the ancient agora of Athens. On my first visit to Delphi, traveling by bus with a Greek friend, we arrived at night and threw our sleeping bags down on the hillside, sleeping under a sky so clear and dazzling with stars you felt as if you might reach up and touch them. It was a full moon night, too. Totally magical.

In the morning I went to visit the sanctuary where for many centuries pilgrims came to consult the fabled Pythian in the Temple of Apollo. I, too, followed the rituals: first cleansing myself in the clean, pure waters of the Kastilian stream, then climbing back up the hill to enter the sacred ground. Even now the Greeks treat this site as sacred and demand respect from visitors. You feel the presence of the gods there, but you must see it on a day when there are not hordes of tourists. I have been many there many times. I make a pilgrimage to Delphi each time I visit Greece. And I know the gods do dwell there.

 

That first visit to Greece changed my life. A couple of years later, after several more visits, I decided to go and live there. It was a big decision because I had to leave a good job and my family behind. But I knew I must go. And I have never regretted it.

I lived in the Plaka, right below the east flank of the Acropolis in what was Athens ancient city. Every Sunday I climbed the steep marble steps up to the Parthenon and sat contemplating, absorbing the atmosphere and feeling the ancients around me.
This time I was on a quest to find Alexander, the invincible Macedonian hero of my teens, the one who I had written about since I was in high school and was once asked if I had really ‘been there and known him and his companions’ because I had such a strong connection with them. In my work-in-progress novel “Dragons in the Sky” which I began writing just before I went to live in Greece, I made that connection. A Celtic girl, acolyte of the Druids, who is kidnapped by a renegade chieftain’s son and finds herself in Macedonia at the time Alexander was recruiting warriors for his invasion of the East. I have channelled Olwen to tell her story. But if you believe in past lives, then perhaps I am really Olwen.

Several times I have walked the ruined streets of ancient Pella, visited Mieza, the school where Aristotle taught him and his friends, explored Dodoni, in Epiros, where Alexander’s mother had lived. And eventually, I even visited the Royal Tombs where the remains of his father and son were found in their tombs. That had to be one of my biggest thrills!

One of my most memorable trips was to the Sanctuary of the Great Gods in Samothraki where I walked alone down the highway through fields of yellow flowers where butterflies flitted in the sun. This Thracian Sanctuary of the Great Mother, one of the oldest in Greece, was visited by Greeks and slaves alike. And this is where Alexander’s father Philip met Olympias and later married. I have visited Samothraki twice and again felt the power of the ancient gods. On one occasion I visited the remains of the small Temple built to honour Alexander and Philip, and dedicated by Alexander’s brother Philip Arridaios and his little son Alexander IV who were named joint kings after Alexander’s death in Babylon 323BC

I have been to other sacred sites, too, including Dion near Mt. Olympus, and I’ve also many of the ancient theatres and had the thrill of seeing the ancient plays performed there. The archaeology and history of Greece is one of my passions.
When I started writing my novel “Shadow of the Lion” I became more and more involved in that ancient world and getting to know the characters from history who I am writing about. I have spent as much time as I can walking in those same places where they had walked, played, studied and lived their remarkable lives. To me, ancient Greece is very much alive and I would challenge anyone who says it is not, though perhaps these are the unlucky ones who have never had the privilege of seeing it for themselves.

I BELIEVE: Going for the Gold.

Me and the Olympic Cauldron


“I Believe”, the theme song of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games keeps running through my head. Imagine Canada winning gold. Believe in and imagine all that you can achieve. Just IMAGINE and BELIEVE!

It's been a thrilling week so far. I've been caught up in the festivities and sports activities going on, writing one or two stories a day for Planet Eye Traveler. And still keeping up with my six classes a week. So there hasn't been any time now to work on Shadow of the Lion. You can read some of the stories at http://www.planeteyetraveler.com/travel/north-america/vancouver > or in the special edition City Guide http://guides.planeteye.com/vancouver

I've had a lot of fun braving the merry-making hordes of people who have flooded the city. I even had the luck to go to one of the medal award ceremonies, although I haven't actually been to any of the sports events. There's lots going on for free in the city and I've tried to cover as much of it as possible (without waiting in lineups for two or three hours!)

What has impressed me is the great Olympic spirit shown in the city, the hospitality and the feeling of extreme national pride. The colours are everywhere: Red and White, O Canada sung spontaneously in the midst of cheering crowds. But it's that song "I Believe" that stirs me every time I hear it. And the other Olympic slogan “Imagine!” And I imagine my novel, Shadow, being finished and published and winning a gold. I believe it is good enough!

I've occasionally, at random, looked back at pages I had written a long time ago, and felt a stir of deep emotion and wonderment. Did I really write that? It's great! And yes, I believe that when it is all finished, it will be great! Like the athletes, I’ve been ‘training’ for this moment, when Shadow of the Lion is complete and ready to be presented to the world. Yes, writers ‘train’ like athletes, practicing, rewriting, workshopping, striving for their personal best, just like athletes, imagining that they will achieve their goals. Believing!
At the end of this week, the 2010 Winter Olympics will be over and just a memory. Then I will go back and finish my novel. And I believe it will be a success. Yes! I'm going for the gold!

PROGRESS REPORT #62: DI$TRACTION$

PICTURES OF CANADIAN OLYMPIC ATHLETES ON THE BAY STORE

Progress on my novel, Shadow of the Lion, has slowed down considerably over the past couple of weeks. This is because I was offered some extra work by Planet Eye http://www.planeteyetraveler.com/

in addition to the four stories I week in The Vancouver Guide.

www.planeteyetraveler.com/travel/north-america/vancouver

The 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games has created a hubub of activity in the city. Barricades have gone up on the venues, road closures, so much security you'd think we were living in a war zone, and downtown things are shaping up to a circus atmosphere. I have been invited to help compile a city guide for Vancouver during the Games with things like hotels and restaurants near the venues etc. In addition to compiling these lists (some I have started on already) I will have to post at least 1 item a day plus the four stories I post blog-style in The Vancouver Guide.

At first I was slightly overwhelmed when I assessed the amount of work I was getting myself into. But practicality told me "Writing is your work, and this is an additional 'job' -- with pay! So go for it!" As I stood there one evening clipping articles about events and venues from the newspaper I was immediately taken back to myself, age 19, working in the Vancouver Sun news library, clipping stories to file in the crime and biography files that I was in charge of. I've come full circle. Back then, I wanted to be a reporter. I ended up in the news library instead. But now, all these years later (still clipping newspapers) I am actually a 'roving reporter' snooping out news for The Vancouver Guide. And here's a whole new opportunity to add to my resume.

BARRICADE FENCES UP AROUND THE NEW CONVENTION CENTRE

Needless to say, I was not about to let this opportunity slip through my fingers. So I've had to put the novel on the back-burner for a couple of weeks. Meanwhile I am squeezing in a bit of time for editing and have the notes ready to write the next chapter segement. Then there will be just one chapter to complete plus work on the prologue and epilogue. I had thought I'd be finished by now, but practically speaking, I need to make money too. So I have accepted this new challenge.

I will be going around to as many venues I can get to, those will be the Free Live sites as I certainly can't afford to attend any of the sports events. I'd hoped they could get me an unacredited media pass but I don't think that's going to happen. So I'll just have to put on my Roving Reports cap and do as much snooping for news as I can. I've already figured out a list of stories I can write and pre-post for the Vancouver Guide. It's quite overwhelming when I think of all there is to do, but I gathered my wits and made an organized plan.

So keep an eye on The Vancouver Guide, and when the Vancouver Olympics City Guide is up on the site, I'll let you know. Let the Games begin!

THE OLYMPIC RINGS LIT UP IN THE HARBOUR

PROGRESS REPORT 61: Sidetracked with Research and Other Tasks

THE RUINS OF AMPHIPOLIS FORTRESS

This is the fortress of Amphipolis where Roxana and Iskander are being held by Kassandros. I visited these ruins several years ago. It's high on a hill (which would have been the towns 'acropolis' hill. A river runs below, forking off around it and eventually reaches a lake. There would have been lots of marsh lands - the perfect spot for boar hunting. So I'm trying to set up a scene where Iskander, Orion and the boys with their Greek tutor go on a boar hunt.

It's been a busy week and I am falling slightly behind in my plan to complete SHADOW OF THE LION. However I have been jotting down notes (bits of dialogue and thoughts). And I had an interesting time researching for a scene I am writing when the boys go boar hunting. Rather than go through all my notes, I decided to check into You-Tube and see if there would happen to be anything about boar hunting there. It turned out, there were a lot of videos. Watching them answered all my questions, including the feasible age of boys who might indulge in such a dangerous sport. The youngest I ran across were 8 years old (including the kid in the photo and one who actually killed a boar with a knife! The kid was 8, the boar was about 200 pounds! Imagine that! So boys back in Macedon hunting with javelins, bows and arrows were not even in as close that that kid was!

By watching the films I was able to observe, make notes including the sounds of the hounds baying, the boars squealing and shrieking, the men shouting (or whispering as the stalked their prey). It was quite a visual experience and saved a lot of time looking through notes I'd made some time ago. I also googled about the Boar hunt though and jotted down a few more details, such as "dos" and "don'ts" which will be helpful when I flesh out that scene.

This week my classes started up and as it takes me a long trip there and back to each of them, eating up my time, I haven't had much time at the computer to write. Today was a 'free' day but as it was pouring rain and I needed to catch up on sleep, I didn't get up as early as usual and ran behind, but that's okay, I did achieve bits and pieces and will now spend a few hours making more notes so I can complete that last little chapter segment. Then, it will be the final chapter of the novel (part of which is written). So I am pacing myself, not rushing it. Did a bit of editing today on a previous chapter and trying to focus and get a fresh start on this next part.

A NASTY-LOOKING BEAST! VERY DANGEROUS!

PROGRESS REPORT #60: RETRACING STEPS

LOOKING BACK AT MOUNT OLYMPUS

Sometimes when you get stuck and find you are blocked by that old writer's enemy 'Resistance', just simply looking back at where you've just come from, retracing your footsteps, will help you sort out where you are headed for. I've had to do that a number of times while writing SHADOW OF THE LION, and the other day when I got stuck, that's exactly what I did. Sometimes it means reviewing your research (I did that), reading back over previous chapters (I did that, too) and rechecking your plot outline (it's definitely a help to have a road map when you're on a journey!)

In my case I have often got baffled with the complexity of the politics I am dealing with as I am not a political science student and the ancient politics with all the plots and sub-plots and twists and turns is often very confusing. So I go 'back to the drawing board' so to speak, bring out my research notes, read through them again and again, until finally I clarify just what exactly went on and when.

One problem with the last bit I'd written was that I had thought it sounded too similar to a previous chapter segment I'd written in the point-of-view of Polyperchon. However, when I read back I realized this wasn't the case. So instead of having to scrap what I'd written for my first draft I was able to keep it and proceed.

Another small problem was figuring out the dialogue between the Macedonian generals. What would they say in this particular situation? How would they react? How would Polyperchon, in particular, react when given the bad news he is about to receive. All the way through my novel this has been a challenge -- to make the voices of the Macedonians sound genuine, like the voices of rough warriors and not my own. As far as I know, I think I've nailed it, but often I have to stop and look through other novels of the same period (written by men!) to see how they handle the dialogues.

Another thing that often stalls me is figuring out the time-lines of events and trying to be as true as possible. I've run into this before and decided that as this is not a history book it isn't really necessary to be 10o% accurate because what is really 'accurate' according to those ancient time-lines considering that the histories were written several hundreds of years after the fact and the calanders of measuring time then is different than now. I still like referring to the line I read by another author in the National Post
"A historical fiction writer can take any number of liberties with the facts." Since running into criticism earlier on about this. I have now adopted this as my mantra.

So, with all these steps taken, I looked forward to see where I am going, and I found it really easy to complete the chapter segment that had stalled me on the road to THE END. Now I am ready to proceed with the journey. I even found myself jotting down random notes last night so I have a clear start for the next scene There's one more chapter segment to write and then one more complete chapter to finish. Then a bit of work on the Prologue and Epilogue. (Some of this has already been written.) So I'm that much closer to the end of my journey.

(NOTE: Some of the characters, such as Polyperchon, continued on long after the end of my particular story so their future activities will be mentioned in the Afterword so readers will know what became of them. Some died or were murdered. Some faded into oblivion. Some went on to become successful and famous. Amazingly a lot of the generals lived to very old ages. They were indeed a hardy lot of characters!)

MOUNT OLYMPUS

PROGRESS REPORT #59: A LITTLE BIT OF RESISTANCE

VARIOUS GREEK HELMETS

I seem to have hit a wall. Steven Pressfield calls it "Resistance". If you read back in my blogs I think he talks about this in the questions I asked him. It happens a lot with writers but I didn't want it to happen right now when I am so close to finishing! The main problem has been (besides the fact I have been quite busy with other things this week), I thought I had this next chapter segement figured out. I did all my handwritten notes but yesterday when I planned to sit down at the computer and get it all written, first I got struck by a bad stomach upset and it as difficult to concentrate on new writing when I had cramps. I eventually gave up although I did get a rough first draft done. Then I got thinking it over and realized I had begun this chapter segment much like one I had used a bit before so I probably needed to change my tactics, get a new setting for this scene. I've spent a lot of time thinking it over but the ideas are just not forthcoming. So tonight I sat down (after resisting even beginning!) and tried to write a few more notes. Usually when I am hand-writing the ideas a lot of new ideas come and I'll end up with whole paragraphs. Not this time! I am STUCK!

Should I skip over this just now and proceed with another scene? Or should I just relax, think about it and hope that a brilliant idea will come to mind so that I can carry on? Or...should I leave the chapter beginning just the way I have it and not worry about it being similar to a former chapter? Ah...decisions...all part of the resistance movement that can quickly undermine a writer's flow of thought and stymie the progress. I hate it when this happens!

Well, I have a couple of days coming up that are pretty free of any other distractions so perhaps I will just let it stew for awhile and hope to come up with something brilliant to get me out of the quagmire. Meanwhile, I am stubbornly stuck with Polyperchon as he awaits his bad news!

PROGRESS REPORT #58: THE END OF THE ROAD

ALEXANDER (close up of the painting below)

Over the past week, in spite of the holidays and round of social events, I've managed to complete a couple more chapter segments weaving new threads together to complete the tapestry of SHADOW OF THE LION. There's still a little bit of work to do but not much. Loose ends are being tied up, no dropped stitches. I have a resolution to write a bit every day on the novel although I realize that some days (like today) other things occupy my time. (However it does count that tonight I workshopped one of the new segments of the novel in my writer's group and got some good ideas on what I need to edit or add to make it complete.) And tomorrow another characters will come to the end of his road (for now as he will appear again in the 'afterword'). Every characters who has been given a 'voice' in this novel has to be accounted for. That's one of the more complicated things about writing in multiple point-of-view. And each character that I have to say good-bye to is like bidding farewell to a friend or acquaintance.

As I come to the end of the road, the finale of a very long journey, perhaps some of my hesitation is the reluctance to return to the 'present' world, having spent so much time in the 'past'. Alexander and his family and Companions have been part of my life since I was sixteen years old. This novel, SHADOW OF THE LION, has consumed my life for the past twenty. It isn't that I have been with them constantly, because I did other writing within that time including writing and producing a play (THE STREET: A Modern Tragedy), writing another play, House of the Muses (about Sappho), and many travel articles which I've published. Some people have thought that this novel was my 'life's work' but I have other irons in the fire: As soon as SHADOW is finished, while I am working on the final edits I will resume writing my Celtic novel, DRAGONS IN THE SKY and hopefully rework the Sappho play. And then I have another idea for a novel.

But time is running short for me, being one of the elders, so it means concentrating on my writing career and disciplining myself to write (hopefully each day) so I can complete these other tasks.

Meanwhile, I will strive to put "the end" on Shadow in a very short time. (I'm running four days later than schedule already so it means focusing and devoting every bit of my next week to putting the finishing touches on it.)

ALEXANDER BATTLE DARIUS AT GUAGEMELA

(It was almost the end of the road for Darius. He ran for his life.)

PROGRESS REPORT #57: TYING UP LOOSE ENDS

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY BLOGGER FRIENDS
and
HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL WRITING IN THE NEW YEAR

As the year draws to a close, it's time to tie up loose ends, the unfinished business of 2009 so there will be a clean slate to begin the New Year, 2010.

I have set a goal to write THE END on my novel by the last day of December, 2009. Of course, because I am working under a deadline it makes the task seem harder than usual. The only way I will achieve my goal is to make sure I write a bit each day, and so far I've managed to do that. However, I'll be away over the Christmas holidays so at the best I'll just make notes. This means that next week (from the 28th) there's going to be a big push on to finally finish it.

It seems more complicated now, although I took time to sit down and carefully map my way, untangle the time-lines with all the plots and sub-plots. Now I'm tying up the loose ends so there won't be any gaps in the story (holes in the tapestry). I realize some things can be left ambiguous, but others need some kind of conclusion.

It's like the end of an affair, really. I'm saying goodbye to friends, people I've created or those (historical) who I've breathed life into. And some of them I love very much. So I don't want to leave the reader feeling as if the last chapter of the story was ripped out of the book -- the way some affairs end (at least, one of mine did!). Of course, when I finish, and go back to do the final editing and cutting on this huge manuscript, I will have a clearer picture of how I have woven the tapestry, and if there are mistakes, I can correct them. For now, I want to finish but just like I'm weaving on a loom, I don't want to drop any of the threads and spoil the pattern.

So this is the way I am working: I go through what I've written, see if there is anything missing. Yes? Then I map out a scene to add. Just like I'm filling in pieces of a jig-saw puzzle, I can see where I need to add something. And I make notes. Then I work at the computer. Then I edit. Then I go back and do the same. I'll eventually workshop each of the new scenes and then go back to do more edits/adds/deletes. But at least, if I can write THE END by December 31, I'll feel as though I have accomplished one of the biggest, most important projects of my life so far.

What then? Then I will go back to my Celtic novel, the one that has been sitting in a box waiting for me to complete Shadow of the Lion, and I will try to finish it for next year's project.

PROGRESS REPORT # 56 : MAPPING YOUR PATH

AMPHIPOLIS

I used this illustration because this is where I am now, and this is where my story ends. I am only four chapters from the finish and most of that is already written. But coming to the end is not easy. If you leave holes in the tapestry, it will spoil the pattern. So you have to tie up the loose ends. It's okay if some things are left somewhat ambiguous, but you need to make sure that the small details are dealt with: characters can't just 'vanish' off the map. Where are they now? What will (or might) happen to them?

So I had to stop, look at the "map", see where I was going for the last four chapters. Where are the gaps? (I found a couple.) What do I need to add to clarify certain actions/scenes? And how much?

This kind of break in the action slows you down and makes you pause for thought. So I had to take a careful look at the last bit: time-lines, completion of scenes and episodes, all the time remember that I must not let the tension falter because even though I know how the story ends, I don't want to give it away too soon to the reader.

This little pause helped me to see things more clearly. Where I am heading. what needs to be added to complete the pattern of the tapestry.

Four almost completed chapters and two weeks to "THE END". Can I do it?

ANOTHER CHAPTER ENDS

LALA, Evvia, Greece

This week another chapter ended. Yes, I finished one more chapter of SHADOW OF THE LION,but this is a chapter in my book of friends and memories of my idyllic life in the village of Lala, Evvia where I spent many happy summers. It has been confirmed, a 'rumour' first heard about a month or two ago, that my Greek/Can. friend Antonia has passed away. I found out the details this week from one of her neighbours who confirmed that Antonia had died in June after choaking on her food, due to her Parkinsons. I later learned from her daughter that they had taken her body back to Greece to bury it in the little graveyard at Lala, the same graveyard where my shepherd friend Mitso had been laid to rest five years ago.

Funny thing, I was in Lala this past June and it was a strange journey back. It seemed as if the village was deserted, a ghost town almost, like aliens had come and taken away the people. Nobody was around. Many houses were obviously locked up for good and abandoned, some had signs of life, but I couldn't find a soul around. I went to the graveyard to put a sprig of pomegranate on Mitso's grave and noticed the graveyard was in a state of disrepair, lots of the graves broken. And when I went to find Mitso, he was gone! I'd forgotten that after a couple of years they remove the bodies to an ossiary. It seems very strange now, that just a month later my friend Antonia would be interred in this very same little graveyard up on the hill overlooking the tiny village.

MY SPITAKI (before renovations)
I knew Antonia from the late '70's when she and her family ran a cabaret called "The Waterfront Corrall" that catered to the many Greek sailors who came to the port. We became friends and later, when I went to live in Greece, she invited me up to her village where she loved to spend her time. Lala is a tiny mountain village 5 k. up the mountain from the port of Karystos on the island of Evvia (Euboeia).
They had a house there and next to it was a deserted little stone spitaki, a shepherd's cottage built originally in 1754. It was full of junk, used for storage, but Antonia told me if I wanted to clean it out I could stay there. So began my pastoral life in the village which lasted up until 1989. I lived there part time during my years in Greece in the '80's. As soon as I moved out they renovated, and sadly spoiled the ambience. "They have destroyed an archaeological site", their son told me. It was true. The spitaki was never quite the same as it had been when I lived in it. Now there was an addition added (right where you see the low wall in the pix above); electricity installed, the house crammed with used furniture and junk that Antonia loved to collect, except for one room - the bedroom -- which was sort of a museum of antique Greek furniture once belonging to her mother.

After 1989 when I went there to visit I usually slept out on the porch as I couldn't bear to be inside the house any more. The magic was gone, and the harmony was definitely missing. And finally I just quit going up to stay altogether and would drop by only for visits from the city (Athens). But this cottage, this village, the people and my friend Antonia and her family had become part of my life. So it seems very sad that now this chapter is finished, the book closed. Only the memories remain and they are indelible in my mind.

Antonia was an interesting character. I could write a book about her and in fact when I write my Greek memoirs, she will have a leading role. And perhaps next year when I return to Greece, I'll make yet another 'last' trip to the village to pay my respects at her grave site.

SAYING GOODBYE TO FRIENDS

MY FRIEND JABBAR


As I come close to the ending of my novel, SHADOW OF THE LION, I am saying goodbye to friends (characters) who have been with me for a long time, many years in fact. So it's a nostalgic time for me. Perhaps that's why writers find it difficult writing those last few chapters, knowing that when they come to THE END they will have lost those 'friends' who have lived with them and taken over their lives, for such a long time.

It's that way with real-life friends too, who have to leave whether they leave by their own choice, or if you have had to part from them by your choice, or if for some sad reason they have departed this earth.

For about ten years now I have been friends with a very talented man, an Iraqi artist, Jabbar al Janabi. From the first moment we met I knew he was actually a character I had written into my novel, the character of Nabarzanes, the Court Advisor from Babylon. Nabarzanes is a fictional character but one I have grown to love, so when I had to exile him (rather than kill him because of Olympias' jealousy), it was a difficult goodbye. Now, my real friend Jabbar (who I always call "The Babylonian") is leaving, because of the drastic cuts to the Arts in my Province. It will be our great loss, Toronto's gain. An interesting typo on the program of his show last night said he was 'going to Toronto for god" and perhaps this was an omen of good things to come for him.

Jabbar is an exile from Baghdad (Babylon) and has lived here since the '90's, a very talented artist who was well known in his own country before he had to escape from the evil Sadaam. He always says he is Sumerian, and if you see the ancient wall carvings you will see the likeness in him -- a regal figure, gentle, kind and handsome. Every year for the past several years he has directed a show called ANU, which is symbolic of the Sumerian sun god. The performance takes place in a circle with visual artists, musicians, singers, poets and dancers spontanteously performing when the spot-light shines on them. It's a unique form of theatre. Each year it has a new theme. This year's ANU, which will be Jabbar's last (although another person is taking over for him) was "With Love from Iraq" and featured all Iraqi performers.

THE ISHTAR GATE

There was traditional music and singing, poetry and visual artists creating while the performance went on. I was delighted to see that one of the artists was actually rebuilding the famous Ishtar Gate that was a feature of Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon. The Gate is mentioned in my novel too. And there is was -- blue and gold, with the guarding lions and bulls. I was overwhelmed with emotion when I saw this, along with the haunting music and the spoken word. I was, in my imagination, transported to the Babylon I have written about, and connected with my character Nabarzanes. When I thought of him, and how I have now said goodbye to him -- a character I had become so fond of -- and how now I must say goodbye to my real friend Jabbar, I felt so sad that it was hard not to start crying.

It's difficult saying goodbye, whether it's to your written characters or the real friends you have made over the years. I am full of nostalgia and melancholy these days as I come to the end of Alexander's world. But at least my characters will still live on the pages. And I know that my friend Jabbar, The Babylonian, is going to a city where he will be accepted and successful as the truly great artist that he is. Goodbye, my friend. I will cherish all the memories that I have of our wonderful friendship. And when I get the novel published, you (Nabarzanes) will be sure to receive a copy of it because you have been such an inspiration.

FIELD TRIPS

AT THE BUDDHIST TEMPLE

It's been a busy time for me between classes, house guest, field trips and writing. As of today things will slow down and I'll be able to catch up on my work on SHADOW OF THE LION. I am preparing to do some editing today and finish another chapter segment.

One thing that keeps me on the move is being a "Roving Reporter" for Planet Eye. I must write four stories a week for The Vancouver Guide. www.planeteyetraveler.com/travel/north-america/vancouver so this keeps me on the go looking for new subjects and going around town on field trips. The other day Patrick, my friend from Germany, and I went to the International Buddhist Temple for a lovely afternoon. It's such a tranquil and beautiful place to visit. I wrote about it in the Vancouver Guide and I also wrote about visiting Victory Square cenotaph as it was November 11 and we went downtown to take photos of the wreaths in remembrance of our soldiers.

I've also been writing a story a week to do with the 2010 Winter Olympics which will be here in February 2010. I'm not a huge supporter of this because frankly I believe it's become more about money than sports and the phenomenal amount of money spent on building venues should have gone partly to housing the hundreds of homeless folk who live on our streets. I had planned to go to Cuba during the Winter Olympics, however I can't afford to do that so I'll be here caught in the chaos that is going to happen during that time.
Anyway, I trip to write about it as objectively as I can, doing my part for local tourism. But there's a whole lot of grumbling going on here about the way things are being run and the way we are being dictatated to in the name of 'security' etc. A sign of the times, for sure!

My Fall classes are finished as of yesterday, but I've started a new group in New Westminster on Monday mornings and I'm running writer's workshops at home on Wednesday evenings. This will all come to an end mid December, giving me a little break in which to catch up on my own work. I am desperately trying to finish SHADOW but falling behind due to my busy schedule.

I've had a lovely time visiting with my friend Patrick. He came here a few weeks ago, then went down to Chile to visit our friends there, and then returned here for a week. So it's been a whirlwind of social events and family visits. He just left to fly back to Germany so the house is very quiet and my bird is sitting up on the bookshelf content now that his Mommy's attention is no longer diverted away from him. He's such a possessive little birdie and doesn't like it when there are other persons in the apartment, especially men. He's the 'writer bird' and likes to sit on my wrist while I'm working at the computer.

Very soon I may post more about SHADOW OF THE LION. So watch here for the updates.

"WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THE STORY": Questions & Answers with author Steven Pressfield

I have been a fan of Steven Pressfield's writing for a number of years now, especially the books he has written about ancient Greece: "Gates of Fire", "The Virtues of War" "Tides of War" and "The Afghan Campaigns" to name a few.

Steve has been generous in his encouragement for me in my own work. He's also been a great mentor to many other writer's. His "The War of Art" Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles" is a popular book with techniques on writing (available on http://www.amazon.com/)

Recently I was privileged to be asked to contribute three questions to Mr. Pressfield about writing, and he would reply to them. Here's the questions I posed:

1) RE: FACTS vs FICTION and RESEARCH.
How close to the historical facts do you stick? Aside from the initial research before starting a story, how much do you do while the writing is in progress? (I know even the historians have conflicting information and I sometimes have found this really inhibiting when trying to be as accurate as possible.)

STEVE: Ruth, I'm not trying to be lazy but here's a blog piece from the site that's right on this subject. Look for Writing Wednesday #4 "A Single Sheet of Fool's Cap" It tells you all I know.

http://blog.stevenpressfield.com/category/writing-wednesdays/page/2/

This link takes you to Writing Wednesday #9 so scroll back to see page Writing Wedensday #4

Read this page. It is full of helpful suggestions and advice. "The more research you do, the less writing you do" and "The answer is 'As little as possible!". "WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THE STORY!"

2) WRITER'S BLOCK: I find that chapter beginnings and transitions between scenes can often slow me down. When you find yourself up against the wall what is your technique for overcoming 'writer's block'.

STEVE: I never mention that term. It's dangerous to even think about it. I banish it from my mind. Just keep writing. If you're stuck in one part of the story, work on another. Momentum, I've found, is a big help. If you can get rolling in one part of the story, when you come back to a 'sticking point'[, sometimes that mementum will carry you through it. Another trick is to give yourself only so long to lick the problem. Ten minutes. One hour. Something short so you don't get hung up driving yourself crazy. "We're gonna lick this between now and lunch!"

3) THE FINAL DRAFT: I'm almost finished my novel and already know it's far too long. How do you decide what to cut? Do you do the cuts and rewrites and then do the line editing (spell check, etc) as the final touch up?:

STEVE: This is tough. Sometimes you have to split yourself in two: the boss and the worker. The boss says, "Ruth, I want you to get 10% out of this sucker!" This gives you something to shoot for. But there's no substitute for skill and work. I was just working on a screenplay with Randall Wallace, who wrote "Braveheart". He is much better than I am. On the final day, he went through 'my' pages and whacked out massive amounts. To my amazement, everything got better. A lot better. I have yet to try that on my own stuff, without help, but it sure taught me that being ruthless can really work.

I am very grateful for this opportunity to pose these questions to Mr. Pressfield. And I know you will get as much as I do out of following his "Writing Wednesday" blogs. You can read more about him on his website http://home.stevenpressfield.com/ and order his book, "War of Art" from there as well as from Amazon.com.
http://home.stevenpressfield.com/books/war_art.asp