This week we have:
Jodi Taylor Reads an Extract from Lights! Camera! Mayhem! - this year’s Christmas Day story
A news update from Jodi Taylor
This week’s History Briefing is about Myths and Legends Surrounding Helen of Troy as the Trojan Wars are the theme for Calvin Cutter’s latest extravaganza in Lights! Camera! Mayhem!
The last date for ordering signed books for Christmas is the 17th November
A joke from the Silly Sunday thread in the Fans & Readers Facebook group
There’s plenty to read this week and you can see everything new on the blog too. CLICK HERE for the blog.
Enjoy an extract from this year's St Mary's Christmas story Lights! Camera! Mayhem! It's drama, darling! In this year's festive tale, the nation's favourite film producer, Calvin Cutter, returns to darken the doors of St Mary's once again... Jodi Taylor and the disaster magnets of St Mary's return with a story of chaos and catastrophe, to wish you a very Merry Christmas.
I’ve just typed THE END under the last paragraph of Out of Time – Time Police 6.
It’s not the end, of course. That’s just the first draft. A first draft is a technical term for the lumpy, disjointed, over-wordy, tangle of twisted story lines where I’ve thrown everything including the kitchen sink at the narrative on the grounds I can sort it all out later.
Later has now arrived. Tomorrow morning I sit down with a mug of tea and a plate of toast and try to make sense of what I’ve written. Mostly, at this stage, it’s more a question of taking things out than putting them in. Stripping out all the repetition, pointless dialogue, bits that don’t go anywhere and so forth.
Then I have to decide the order in which various scenes go. Is it a better story to put that scene nearer the end so the protagonists are operating in ignorance? Or have it at the beginning so everyone knows what’s going on? Clearer and easier to write but then where does the big finish happen?
Decisions like this can take years off an author’s lifespan. And then, half way through I’ll have a better idea and that will involve a considerable amount of rewriting and why didn’t I take that nice job at the abattoir instead? Seriously, I have likened this stage to trying to shove a double duvet into a single cover, in the dark, while wearing boxing gloves.
I have two author heads – the first one is me in fine, rollicking form, hurling words around, getting the narrative down at all costs. Making sure the storyline works. That all the characters are lined up in the right place and doing the usual stupid things. I can be as wild and whacky as I like. This stage is good fun.
Tomorrow, I don my second head. And yes, before anyone asks, I do take the other one off first. Tomorrow is the beginning of nit-picking stage. Are people saying the right things? Are they having breakfast on page 131 when they were having lunch on page 130? Or worse – two breakfasts on the same page? That does happen. Are people having actual real conversations with each other instead of just stating the facts necessary for moving the plot along? Is everyone being consistent but not predictable. About half way through I usually encounter the Oh God, this is rubbish now what am I going to do? stage. That’s always fun. Especially for those around me.
After all that comes fact-checking. Yes, I do that and yes, the occasional error still slips through.
After that will come the read through. And then the next read through. And then another. Until I’m satisfied with the continuity and everything more or less hangs together.
After that comes the spelling and grammar check.
By now I have something I can reasonably send off to my publishers for them to deal with as they please.
The next stage is called the procrastination stage. Perhaps I should leave it for a few weeks then come back to it and read it with a fresh eye. That’s always useful.
This is balanced by the OMG my laptop’s doing crazy things again stage. Although this is a real threat. I’m hard on laptops. They rarely last longer than two years. Looking at my keyboard now, I have worn letters, a bald patch on the space bar and once again, the delete key is coming loose. All sitting in a nest of toast crumbs. I once lost two thirds of a book to laptop madness. Hazel got it back for me because by then I was beyond rational thought or action. Thank you, Hazel.
The situation is not helped by my third head – yep, there’s one of those, as well – being filled full of thoughts for the next book. In fact, I’ve usually made a start by now. Full of enthusiasm and optimism and lots of other author isms, I’m flinging words around for the next book. Not helpful at all when trying to finish the first one.
That, and the threat of laptop madness usually win and finally, off goes the manuscript. Needless to say, two days later I have a fabulous idea for a new ending. Too late now …
History and Happenings - click here to view more posts
Myths and Legends Surrounding Helen of Troy. Was She The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships?
Helen of Troy is one of the most iconic figures in Greek mythology, often referred to as the "face that launched a thousand ships". Her story is surrounded by numerous myths and interpretations, making her one of the most intriguing characters in classical literature. Though largely mythological, Helen's tale is filled with themes of love, beauty, betrayal, and divine intervention, deeply embedded in the cultural heritage of the ancient Greeks.
According to Greek mythology, Helen was the daughter of Zeus, king of the gods, and Leda, the queen of Sparta. The myth of Helen's divine birth is one of the many layers of her story that adds to her allure and mystique. Some versions state that Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduced Leda, resulting in Helen's birth. Helen's beauty was said to be unparalleled, and she was often described as having an almost supernatural allure. This beauty became both a blessing and a curse, as it ultimately led to her becoming a pawn in the games of gods and men.
Enjoy a joke from the Silly Sunday thread from the Facebook Fans and Readers group.
Thanks to Sally Till for this one…
I left my mobile phone under my pillow last night and when I woke up it was gone and there was a pound coin there. I think it was the Bluetooth fairy.
The Reading Companion and History Briefings eBook for Just One Damned Thing After Another. The eBook is 99p or FREE for subscribers.
It contains:
A foreword by Jodi Taylor
Background information on the characters
History Briefings giving information on the four main jumps in the book
Floor plans of St Mary’s Institute for Historical Research
A list of British idioms and expressions
How to make tea like a Brit
A recipe for Toad in the Hole
A full series guide and reading order for The Chronicles of St Mary’s series
Available in both epub and PDF formats. You can also download full-size images of the floor plans.