Charles Dickens, in David Copperfield said that ‘the power of observation in numbers of very young children is quite wonderful for its closeness and accuracy.’ From an early age I became adept at observation, encouraged by my Grandma to question, watch, listen, seek out and as a consequence I became a curious child, eager to know things. I would never intrude in a conversation but would like to observe and eavesdrop; I would steal, glean, collect information and anecdote and always felt that in some strange way, I was storing these impressions for some future date. To this day I still love to watch people and to listen to them and continue to record my impressions in a writer’s journal. I am fascinated by human behaviour, people’s mannerisms, accents, nervous tics, facial expressions, a curl of the lip, the arching of an eyebrow, a throbbing vein: significant details which are so invaluable for a writer. I will sit behind a couple of elderly women on the bus, overhear a snippet of conversation in the doctor’s waiting room, discreetly observe the angry customer berating a poor shop assistant, and store them at the back of my mind for possible future use. I can’t do anything about it; after so many years, I am programmed to do it. I am still like a magpie obsessively collecting interesting material and feeding off memories.
One of my favourite writers is the underrated Leo Walmsley author of Phantom Lobster, Master Mariner, Three Fevers and many more cracking novels, Walmsley became so absorbed in the life at the fishing village of Robin Hoods Bay in the yorkshire coast that this provided him with the basis for his writing. He had a loving eye for detail, a deep feeling for the strong and stern character of the fishermen and was awed by the immense natural forces of the sea and the elements. As a youthful reader, I loved his descriptions, fast moving plots and interesting characters. He had the following recipe for training as a writer: ‘loving, doing things, exploring but not necessarily far from home, above all observing places and people first hand.’ So, to be a sharp observer of people and places is an essential requisite for the aspiring writer and I would add:
- On the back of reading is writing so read, read, read and read. Writers hone their craft by reading how other writers do it and modelling their own writing on good authors and poets
- Keep a writer’s or journal in which you record, ideas, impressions, observations and snippets of overheard conversation, material that can be developed and used later in your writing
- Accept constructive criticism. Those close to you - friends and family – are not best placed to give you an honest opinion of your work and will, understandable, be positive about your efforts. Seek the opinion of someone with some expertise in and experience of writing to comment on your work.
Comments
Interesting to read your pieces, Gervase. Having booked you for Leicester 'Talking Heads' conferences at Stoke Rochford, and cruised with you on P&O 'Artemis', I have enjoyed your skills as raconteur. As an aspiring writer I wonder whether it is really necessary, as you say, to 'read, read, read, and read'. I am more in favour of observing life and people, as you say.
Susan Finlay: Difficult ones to answer Susan. I make time for my writing. When I studied for a further part-time degree, I disciplined myself to getting up early and working before the children woke up and I needed to get off to school to teach. I have continued to get up early and I watch little television. I also go to bed late and sleep deeply thinking about my characters. I relax by reading and listening to music, visiting the theatre and meeting friends but I set aside quiet times each week to write. Sometimes I rattle things off, at other times I produce very little. I don’t get ‘Writer’s Block’ because I have a wealth of material in the many notebooks I have filled up over the years and if stuck for an idea I browse through them. I do enjoy my own company with time to think without interruption. I don’t have a pet. An affectionate dog, demanding walks, to be fed and seeking my attention would be a distraction. With the deadline looming, I sometimes disappear periodically to a small secluded cottage on the Yorkshire coast (no television or radio or neighbours or shops) with my laptop. My wife says, ‘My husband has a mistress you know - it’s his writing!’
Writing is a solitary occupation. You were a teacher surrounded daily by children, parents and other teachers. Do you enjoy your seclusion? Do you have any tips to avoid writing 'white-out'? Any pets to keep you company? What I am really asking is:- 'How do you keep focussed?'
I lecture on cruise ships and in the past have been asked to write one or two travel articles about the places I have visited. One was about my experiences on the journey through the Panama Canal.
Travel articles, I feel, need to be entertaining and informative, not just a list of statistics and details of the churches and museums to visit, with a bit about the life and culture of a region. To write travel articles does involve some research – reading guide books, speaking to local people, using Google – but I tried, rather than merely being informative and descriptive of a place, to be original, perhaps to put a new slant on the visit.
For example I have just written something about my recent visit to South America and was asked to write something about the rain forest. I took an aerial tram through the rain forest and saw the most amazing variety of vegetation and animal life: towering trees which grow five metres a year, blood-red tree frogs, shimmering blue butterflies, sloths and snakes and strange reptiles. These features I described and said something about the threat to wildlife and the need for preservation. My guide was a professor of ecology so he was a mine of information with interesting anecdotes and observations. He asked me where in England I came from. When I told him Yorkshire, his eyes lit up.
‘Yorkshire!’ he cried, ‘the home of the great Charles Waterton.’
I was then informed that Waterton inspired Charles Darwin and many other scientists and was England’s first eco-campaigner, an outspoken pioneer and conservationist, a passionate man who despised the destruction of the natural environment, especially when wilfully done. He was a hero in those parts. Embarrassed, I had to admit that I had never heard of the said gentleman.
Back home I undertook a little research and the focus of my article, illustrated with a series of photographs, was about this pioneering man.
do you have any tips for illustrated feature articles, particularly for travel articles
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