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Post published:January 21, 2019

Yew Trees and graveyards

In St Cynog churchyard in Wales there is an old yew tree. It's reckoned to be 5000 years old. Yews feature greatly in gardens and their longetivy is well known. But they are especially found in churchyards amongst the flowers, keeping the company of graves. Why?

Probably because the churchyard is enclosed by walls (less chance of grazing animals eating the leaves) and protected by laws, the yews were left, growing slowly and getting older. I'm writing a ghost story at the moment, and the yew and the graveyard are there together, keeping each other company for centuries. But yews also have their roots in pre-Christian culture in other parts of the world, as far away as the Japanese Shinto, who treat the yew as sacred. The Greeks connected the yew to the journey to the Underworld and gateway to death. The pagan druids in Britain believed that the yews being evergreen were part of the regenerative power of rebirth and perhaps therefore, the yew transitioned into the Christian church and became associated with churchyards.

~2019

Lincoln Cathedral

Lincoln is the location of my next release and it hosts a wealth of historical sites, including a castle, prison, courthouse (still in use), and the cathedral.

Lincoln Cathedral boasted the tallest spire at 525ft / 160m, which surpassed the Great Pyramid of Giza in height. For 2oo years it was the tallest building in the world until the central spire was blown down in a storm in 1548 and the remaining spires removed in 1807 due to safety issues.

The cathedral is the third largest in Britain after St Paul's and York Minster.

One of the four surviving Magna Carta's is owned by Lincoln Cathedral and on display in the castle.

How does a ghost story begin?

How to construct a ghost story. I'm thinking not so much a haunted house, though it's always fun to have clues in the building, but simply a ghost. Ghosts are often tied to places. You don't hear of the story where a ghost up sticks and moves house because they're in need of a better class of victim to haunt. I'm not really after that either, a mobile ghost. I like the notion of the imprisoned soul trapped in a corporeal body for decades; never ageing, never living, but not bound to a specific room.

I'm hunting for images of houses or scenes, trying to capture atmosphere, ambience. I want to smell, touch and almost taste what I'm writing. If I can do that, I know I'm finding the right path.

Autumn had arrived prematurely and the house seemed swathed in a fog of its own making; it puffed out of the windows and swirled around the sills, rising up the walls like a white creeper until it merged with tthe chimneys, releasing itself into the atmosphere.

~ 2015

Draft after Draft

I recently read Kate Atkinson's Life after Life and thoroughly enjoyed it. The life of Ursula is repeated throughout the novel and each time it replays, her various choices and outcomes lead her down different paths.

Reading this novel reminds me of the feat of writing one. If I'd titled a novel Draft after Draft it would go something like this:

Write opening chapter. Appalling. No grab. Characters asking me who they are all the time. Ditch it.

Write opening chapter again. No better. Writing style undeveloped. Words fail to materialise. Blindly rely on thesaurus. Falter. Ditch it.

Write opening chapter, then next one. A bolshie character is shouting at me. Telling me what to do. Yeah, it's working..... perhaps not... the rest of the ensemble of wandering around waiting to be written. Poking holes here and there. Characters disintegrate. ditch it.

I make it to chapter three, it's getting a head of steam. Chapter four. Chapter five. Major plot failure. Why didn't I see that coming? Ditch it.

Jump to middle of book. Lose the thread of who is who. Keep checking scrawled notes. Read countless blogs about how to write a novel. Realise doing it ALL WRONG. Head explodes. Ditch it.

Try something different to break writer's block. Write the last chapter. Except, miserable characters beg to be killed off - they're shells with no personality, no back story. Ditch it.

Start first chapter again. Totally different plot. Pantser it. Roll with it. Story arc is swerving all over the place. Flounder. Grind to a halt. Not my style - making it up as I go along. Leave that to Indiana Jones. Need an outline. Buy novel writing software. Spend ages watching tutorials, tweaking fonts, fussing about layout... nothing written for days and days.

Try writing the end again. Working backwards, concentrate on plot. Theme crumbles. Losing the will to write. Emotionally drained. Ditch it.

Take a long break. Read a ton of books. Write short stories. Tell everyone the book is going well. Lie.

Deep breath. Open blank file.

Revisit beginning. Introduce new characters, new plot threads. Keeping the faith, building confidence, finally flowing, can't write fast enough, on a high. Life is good.

Draft finished.

End result - big fat book.

Sequel entitled - Edit after Edit.

~2016

Coming soon!

Beyond the Yew Tree

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