It's in the cards.

 I have a very long standing fascination with Tarot cards - so it was no real surprise that when the Warburg Institute announced that the opening exhibition for its new  gallery space, following a multi million refurbishment, would be a Tarot exhibition that I organised a quick day trip to London  to take a look. 

It was worth it. Not a large exhibition and with an academic flavour, as one would expect from an organisation that is part of London University, it was a wonderful glimpse into the history of these fascinating cards. Originating as playing cars for a game similar to Bridge, over time they evolved into the devices for divination that we now associate with the pack. The historic cards on display - some dating from Italy in the time of the Renaissance - were worth seeing and I was especially interested too in the small section that dealt with new realisations of the cards, using all sorts of art work, many originatng in the pandemic. The ducal courts of Italy had cards painted by the court painters  -luxurious and beautiful - but the deck that is most recognisable is of course the Ryder Waite Smith deck. Ryder the publisher, Waite the interpreter of the meanings and Pamela Coleman Smith - for may years barely acknowledged - as the creator who did the art work. Unacknowledged like so many women artists in the past, but now getting her proper recognition. I don't like the way the word iconic has become an overused buzz word, but in this case I think it is applicable. If you think of the Tarot this will be the deck that comes to mind.  

The Tarot features in the Work In Very Slow Progress and the exhibition, and the work I am doing for the current evening class on Paganism has crystalised how it will feature in the book. It is a great feeling when you suddenly get an insight of how part of the plot is going to work out. 

One of the best parts of being a writer. 

More legacy

 Last week I was looking at the big life changing inheritance - property. But an inheritance can be a much smaller item - and a whole heap of trouble. 

This one probably veers a bit more to the suspense/crime end of the spectrum. 

Letters and journals - opening a can of worms on family history. A piece of furniture - does it have a secret drawer? Jewelry - what is its history? 

You know what the say - where there's a will there's a wrangle. The possibilities are enthrallingly wide. 

A secret where the inheritee doesn't know what they have. A secret where they do know that there is a secret, but not what it is, and have to find it. A contested will - possibly resulting in a trail of dead bodies? 

Inherited paper opens a whole different scenario. I have debated with fellow writers that it is very difficult to write any kind of dual time story without a paper trail. The different time periods have to be able to communicate somehow and letters and journals are the easiest way. In time slip a piece of art - a painting or an object - might be a key. Dual times that revolve around family are essentially domestic - concealed  births and unknown families are favourites. DNA investigations are suggesting possible new routes to family mysteries, but I don't think we will ever tire of the good old lost diary. 

I haven't found the deeds to the castle in my decluttering but I haven't any diaries or lost jewels either. You probably need a much bigger scenario than the average family - most of us know where all this stuff came from. There are family stories and legends to accompany items that are passed down. Family secrets can be a bit different. I know of a few in my own family that might make the start of a book, if I ever wanted to write it. I don't think so - I'd rather use my imagination. Let the past keep its privacy. 

But you can't beat a good legacy for kicking off a plot. 

the legacy story

 Continuing the campaign to declutter the house, I am ploughing through shelves, drawers, cupboards. A lot of stuff is mine, but there is also a lot that has been inherited - my mother's wedding china, a Georgian rummer that was my grandfather's, tools that belonged to my dad, books, small items of jewelry, ornaments. 

It occurred to me while sorting all this stuff that many readers enjoy a 'legacy' story. I do myself - reading them and writing them. And they come in a wide variety from a basic premise. An inheritance. 

The big ticket item is obviously property. Although most of us know that there is no way that a mysterious unknown uncle is suddenly going to leave us a mansion, and that the odds of it actually happening IRL to anyone else are probably pretty steep, it is still an attractive day dream 

What if ...

I was thinking of the possibilities.

The inheritance that is not a mystery - a protagonist who knows they will inherit. This usually involves  keeping up a family home or business, with a lot of themes of responsibility and duty. A protagonist torn between expectation and following their own dreams?

That unexpected inheritance. All sorts of mysteries here, across the spectrum from romance to crime.  Finding out about the person who made the will, finding out about the property itself - it can be a cottage or a stately home, an historic mansion or  the modern equivalent of Sleeping Beauty's castle. A Gothic ruin ...

Lots of fun here. the life changing effect on the protagonist being only the start of the story. They have to decide to live there, or at the very least to visit. No fun if the place is put straight on the market, sight unseen. Often it comes when the hero/heroine is at a cross roads in their life. Decisions, decisions.  It perhaps means learning new skills like estate management (thinking historical here - usually involving an unexpected title as well). As with the expected inheritance it also can carry previously unknown responsibilities. It might involve a location the protagonist has never experienced before - lots of 'fish out of water' potential.

Then there is the mystery of the mystery 'Why me?' 

It's not surprising that it is a popular plot device. 

And no - I haven't found the deeds to a castle in the highlands amongst my grandmother's collection of Victorian novels. 

Not yet, anyway.

The story behind the story.

 Backstory. 

Every book has one. 

Sometimes they are more visible than others. Writers are warned against the 'info dump'  - leaving a pile of  background information lying in a heap at the beginning of a novel. Information should be released slowly and carefully, threaded through the narrative like a string of jewels. Hah! I'm getting poetic! 

Basically, let the information out slowly. 

Except when you don't let it out at all. 

Sometimes the backstory is something the author needs to know, but it doesn't have to be revealed to the reader - or only in the most subtle way. It helps the writer, but it's not part of the story they are currently telling.

I had one in A Villa in Portofino. Megan inherits property from her great aunt who disappeared from the family records after the war. A little of the story of how this came about appears in the novel, but not the whole thing. I know exactly how it came about, and how she met and fell in love with an Italian Prisoner of War and then eloped with him. I've told myself I might write that love affair as a short story one day. Maybe. The idea came from a tiny detail about POWs that I found in the Council records when I was researching the PhD. 

And it seems to be happening again for the WIP. I'm not sure yet but as part of my research I'm delving into the history of Tarot cards, by way of an evening course at the university. The origin of the cards, and the beautiful hand painted ones that were produced by artists for ducal courts in 15th century Italy has attached itself to an idea that I was already working with for the book. 

It's not fully formed yet. but I have that faint tingling up the spine that happens when I know something is organising itself in my head. Will it be part of the book? In an overt form, I don't think so. But it is giving shape to something that was already there.

It's a buzz that comes from the creative process. It's one of the reasons that I write. 

 

The paper mountain

 There are times in the life of every author when 'Life' gets in the way of the writing. I'm having one at the moment, which is why the WIP isn't. It will be back on track, but not at the moment. My current bout of Life is self inflicted. I am trying to declutter the house in a major way. I'm also having a variety of building work done, but that is another story.  The decluttering is proceeding at a slow and stately pace - and I have to say that much of it involves paper. The house is groaning with it. I am clearly a paper dragon, collecting it and sitting proudly on top of my hoard. 

Well, it has to go. 

Bills, bank papers, a connoisseur's collection of rejection letters - all now ceremonially shredded - the floors have a light covering of confetti style paper slivers. On the basis on what I am turning out the year 2016 clearly went on for at least 36 months. I am attempting to do it in a measured way, hence the stately progress, but I do feel that I am winning. One of the most interesting little clumps was my ideas folder, a hefty zebra affair which had expanded to fill a large wicker shopping bag. Outlines for books of which I have no recollection, fragments from books that sadly will probably never be written, press cuttings that might be useful, notes of talks. It was an entertaining evening going through them. I have weeded, not decimated, and I will be looking at them again in due course (what a lovely bureaucratic phrase) to see what gems there might be lurking. Talking of gems, there were some delightful surprises - no less that six new or nearly new notebooks!!!!   

As I said, I am winning, although I have just remembered the tin truck upstairs that has all my notes and drafts for the PhD in it. That will be a few afternoons worth of work. 

And probably no pretty notebooks.

Unusual research

 I'm an academic at heart. Which is why I gravitate to taking courses when I want to research something- or maybe just for fun. Alright, yes, I am a nerd. 

This term I am doing a course from the Cardiff University Lifelong Learning programme - evening classes to you and me. It is Neo Paganism, taught by one of my favourite tutors - folklore expert Dr Juliette Wood. She gave an entertaining talk last week as part of the University's regular monthly public zoom lecture series - not part of this course - on vampires. The history from classical times was traced all the way to modern depictions on film and in books. All the famous screen portrayals were mentioned - Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Tom Cruise, Robert Pattinson. Questions and discussion at the end went on for nearly half an hour including  whether it was possible for a vampire to be vegetarian. And as vampires are fictitious, why not?  I won't be writing any vampires in the near future - although I have been asked - and I have friends who write them. I have to say Christopher Lee is 'my' Dracula. I still remember the BBC's late night double bills of Hammer Horror on a Saturday evening. I was living in Uxbridge at the time and as many of the outdoor scenes were filmed in nearby Black Park a lot of location spotting went on. 

 But I digress. The ten weeks on Neo Paganism will cover a variety of topics. No vampires, but witches, druids, popular fiction, art, the Tarot cards ... I'm very interested in them, as they are playing a part in the book I hope eventually will emerge. The object of the course, as I understand it, is to trace how these occult topics have become a part of current popular culture. 

I'm looking forward to it and I'll keep you posted on what I learn. 

Wales romance day.

 Extra special post for 25th January. 

Forget St Valentine - today is St Dwynwen's Day! 

Dydd Santes Dwynwen Hapus