Category: Creating - Mala Naidoo’s Book World

Why Writing Matters When Chaos Strikes

Writing matters in a world of chaos to reflect on the emotional, psychological, and social instability that arises from uncertain contexts – the chaotic context of the inhumane now we live in, globally. Writing becomes both a cognitive tool and a form of resilience. Writing is the salvation to preventing future generations from drowning in a well of hopelessness—writing creates meaningful connections asserting that our struggles unite us.

At a psychological level, writing externalises thought. When ideas, fears, or emotions remain internal, they are often fragmented and difficult to process. Writing forces organisation and coherence: it turns scattered impressions into ordered language. This enables the noise of the voices that perpetuate chaos to be represented in the language of the human heart— the struggling, suffering, starving, dying masses who cannot articulate their pain in fear of the horrific outcome emanating from speaking out, exposing, and resisting chaos. The written word structures thoughts through language to enhance clarity as timeless documented memory on the historical unfolding of chaos and its impact on human survival.

Writing also preserves meaning across time. In chaotic periods, events can feel fleeting or distorted under the gunfire of misguided political rhetoric. By recording experiences, individuals create a stable reference point—a narrative that resists confusion. This archival function is central where written accounts become the foundation for understanding past crises, from wars to personal struggles.

Socially, writing enables communication when direct expression may fail. In chaos, spoken communication can be reactive, emotional, or misunderstood. Writing introduces deliberation—the opportunity to refine ideas, choose precise language, and convey complex perspectives.

Writing also functions as a form of agency. When external circumstances feel uncontrollable, the act of writing restores a sense of authorship. It allows individuals to frame their own narrative on the chaos experienced, rather than being passively defined by events. Writing personal stories during crisis times reclaims identity and empowerment.

Even in isolation, written words can reach others across distance and time, creating shared understanding. Literature, essays, and even personal reflections remind individuals that chaos is not experienced alone. Through writing, private struggles during chaotic times become part of a broader human dialogue to hold onto our prized values that make the world a compassionate inhabitable place for all.

Essentially writing matters in a world of chaos because it transforms disorder into meaning. It is not merely a method of communication, but a way of thinking, remembering, and asserting control—an intellectual and emotional anchor when everything else feels unstable.

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7 Practical Suggestions on Creating a Compelling Sense of Place – Part 3

Writing a compelling sense of place means making the setting feel alive—not just where the story happens, but how it feels to be there in the moment during a significant event or situation, and why it matters. Here are some practical suggestions on ways to do it

Engage more than sight

Strong settings use multiple senses.

Sound:distant traffic, buzzing insects, echoing halls
Smell:rain on a grassy patch after a hot day, old books, salt in the air
Touch:gritty sand, humid air sticking to skin, cold metal
Taste (limit use) :dust in the mouth, bitterness of smoke

Example:

The fan creaked and groaned as if knowing it faced a losing battle against the summer heat.

Filter the place through the character

The setting should reflect who is experiencing it. Two characters in the same place will notice different things.

Consider:

What would thischaracter care about here?
What makes them edgy, angry, or nostalgic?

Example:

The summer heat made Moira faint, the infernal sun created a cremation site in their backyard. Her cousin, energetic and unaware of the rivers of sweat dripping off him, kicked the ball around the yard multiple times.

Choose specific, concrete details

Make a place believable. Avoid generic words like nice, busy, or beautiful.

Food carts hissed with steam while cyclists threaded through stalled taxis, bells ringing in sharp bursts.

Rather than, ‘it was a busy street.’

Let setting interact with action

Weave the story into what’s happening.

Example:

He shoved the door open, and warm bar air spilled onto the cold sidewalk, carrying laughter and the smell of fried onions.

Use setting to support mood and theme

The place should reinforce the emotional tone of the scene.

Tension → narrow spaces, harsh light, noise
Calm → open spaces, steady rhythms, soft textures, natural romantic landscapes
Isolation → emptiness, distance, silence, derelict buildings

Example:

The field stretched empty in every direction, the sky so wide it made her feel smaller with every step.

Don’t over describe

A few strong details are more powerful than a full inventory.

Rule of thumb:

1–3 vivid details per paragraph is usually enough
Let the reader’s imagination do the rest

Make place matter to the story

Ask yourself:

Would this scene work just as well somewhere else?
If yes, the setting might not be pulling its weight.

Ways to make it matter:

The place creates obstacles
The place holds history or memories
The place mirrors change in the character

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Create Complex Characters as People Who Feel Real – Part 2

Readers don’t fall in love with plots—they fall in love with people. That’s why complex characters are the lifeblood of compelling fiction. They’re the ones who linger in our minds, the ones we cheer for, cry over, or angrily debate with friends.

But what makes a character complex? And how do we write someone who feels less like a cardboard cutout and more like a fully formed human being?

Give Characters True to Life Contradictions

Humans are walking contradictions. We want love but push people away. We crave success but sabotage ourselves. We believe in honesty but harbour secrets (Plantation Shadows –what is Milly’s secret?). These contradictions make characters interesting in their imperfections. Characters must grow from hardship, struggles, loss, etc to become the best versions of themselves. Readers need to identify with real life situations to connect with characters who echo aspects of their own lives.

Consider the following when crafting a complex characer

What do they think they want vs. what do they need?
What are their competing internal desires?
Where does their behaviour conflict with their beliefs, morals, or values?

Create a Backstory on Key Points that Advance the Character’s complexity

Build their history for yourself so you understand:

What shaped their worldview
Why they react emotionally the way they do
What they fear, avoid, or chase

Be selective about what is revealed in the backstory, offer teasers to your reader instead of telling it all. (Plantation Shadows)

Give The Complex Character Agency-Don’t Describe their Personality

Actions speak louder than a long list of adjectives.

Show the reader the inner persona through:

Their choices
The risks they take
What they refuse to do—even when pressured

The character does not have to be aggressive, A passive character can be intriguing if their passivity is a choice, not a default.

Flaws can Hurt the Complex Character and Others

Give characters real, consequential flaws. Flaws are the engine of character-driven storytelling.

Ask:

What is their most harmful belief about themselves or the world?
How does this flaw sabotage their goals?
How does it hurt the people around them?

Flaws that create conflict are flaws that matter— they are signposts to something deeper/larger.

Let The Complex Character Grow, Regress, or Transform

Complex characters are restless. They might outwardly hide their intentions. Slow feed how they react to events, change their perspectives, and sometimes take a back step before a point of growth.

Explore:

Positive arcs(cynical → hopeful)
Negative arcs(idealistic → corrupted)
Flat arcs(unchanged internally but influential to others)

The character’s internal evolution when shaped by their experiences makes them believable and endearing because the reader has been drawn into their inner world.

Make Relationships Challenge The Character

A character’s interactions with others reveals more about them than any internal monologue.

Mull over:

Who pushes their buttons?
Who brings out the softness they try to hide?
Who forces them to confront truths they’d avoid alone?

Dynamic relationships create dynamic characters.

Mystery, Ambiguity, and Private Thoughts

You don’t have to reveal everything about a character immediately. People hold secrets—from others and from themselves. Let readers uncover the layers gradually. (Plantation Shadows – who holds a generational secret?)

A character is compelling when some of the interpretation is left to the reader.

Empathy

Complex characters when discovered, come alive through empathy. When a character is crafted as a person with their own desires, wounds, contradictions, and agency, the story deepens naturally. Allow them to surprise you, frustrate you, and challenge your drafting of their lives.

Look at the world around you, it abounds in complexities, and contradictions that carry the potential for growth, transformation, or regression—that makes characters human.

Make your complex character, live.

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Make the First Page Your Drawcard – Part 1

Novel or short-story, poetry or playscript— they begin with a blank page and courage to believe that you have something worthy to share.

The burning question on a first attempt at writing a story is—how do you begin?

The opening of your novel is your invitation to the reader. It holds a promise of what’s to come. When given deep thought, and crafted well, it can capture attention, set tone, and ignite curiosity before the reader even turns the page.

What are the ways to start your novel with confidence and creativity?

Hold Your Reader’s Attention Immediately

The first paragraph is your moment to grab attention. Make the reader want to know more.

A strong opening line can create intrigue, emotion, or atmosphere in just a few words. Think of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four:

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

Curiosity is sparked by the suggestion of something impossible in the tone of abnormality in this world.

One of the ways to create an effective opening to a novel is to ask: What feeling do I want my reader to have within the first few sentences? Then work with whatever ignites your imagination, craft an image, immerse yourself in the opening lines and write whatever comes to mind. Remember, it all begins with one word after another after another as all great novels begin.

Conflict or Curiosity

Curiosity is peaked when the reader wants the answer to a question. Inner conflict can be emotional, moral, or even unspoken, or external — it does not have to be a shoot-out on an urban street, it could be an observation of a situation, or an overheard conversation.

Draw the reader in on what’s at stake—invest in the readers emotions, make them care. Ask yourself/your muse, what does your protagonist want? What threatens that desire? A small hint of tension can pull readers in.

Who’s telling the Story? Make Your Character’s Voice Shine

The best openings don’t just show what’s happening — they reveal who’s telling the story.

A distinctive voice can turn an ordinary moment into something unforgettable. Consider Holden Caulfield’s sardonic tone in The Catcher in the Rye, or Elizabeth Bennet’s sharp wit in Pride and Prejudice. Their personalities come alive instantly.

If your reader connects with your character’s voice, they will be hooked even though nothing much has happened yet.

Ground the Reader in Setting and Mood

Make your reader feel where they are. Invite readers into your world with just enough description to draw them into the landscape you create.

A few vivid, specific details can convey an effective atmosphere. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the sleepy, sun-soaked town of Maycomb to foreshadow the slow, simmering tension of her story.

Ponder on: What your setting says about the mood or theme of your novel?

Start Where the Story Truly Begins

Begin the story at the moment of change in your character’s life— when something new, strange, or difficult begins. Hold back on a lot of background before the plot really begins.

Make a Promise to Your Reader

Your reader should have a clear sense of what kind of story they’re reading. Genre matters: Is it a love story? A thriller? A literary exploration of identity?

Sustain tone, pace, and style as they send signals about what to expect. If your opening is dark and brooding, readers won’t expect a lighthearted comedy — and vice versa.

Your first pages are a sort of contract with your reader, promising a certain kind of experience.

Note: The First Draft’s Beginning Isn’t Final

The opening lines in your first draft probably won’t be the one your readers see, or you might just strike that brilliant note in your first attempt.

Sometimes the perfect opening scene is hiding somewhere in the second or third chapters.

Get words down. You can refine later as writers do, as you must do — perfection begins with imperfection—it gets better as you walk the way, one step at a time.

Pitfalls You Might Want to Avoid

Starting with the weather (unless it directly ties to character /motif/theme in your story)
Dream sequences that confuse more than they intrigue.
Info-dumps — long paragraphs of backstory before the readers are vested in the characters.
Too many names at once, which can overwhelm your reader.

Use the KIS method (Keep it Simple) by aiming for clarity, connection, and curiosity.

Here are a Few Prompts to Jump-Start Your Opening

Start in the middle of an argument.
Open with something ordinary described as if it’s terrifying.
Begin at the exact moment your protagonist makes a life-changing decision
Begin with a lie your main character tells.

An idea triggered from one of the above prompts could grow into your perfect first scene.

The Only Wrong Way Is Never Starting

Every writer faces the same fear at the beginning—that imposter syndrome feeling that what they write won’t be good enough. Remember: you can’t improve a blank page.

Start somewhere. Trust that your story will reveal its best beginning once you’ve written your way into it.

Now, take a deep breath, open your journal or laptop and begin your novel.

Your story deserves to be told — and only you can tell it with authenticity.

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The Inner Child – The Artist

Have you ever wondered why some of your most brilliant ideas come not when you’re trying hard, but when you’re simply daydreaming, or letting your mind wander? That spark—that unfiltered, unashamed burst of originality—comes from a source we often forget: the inner child.

In a world that prizes productivity and perfection, the inner child can seem frivolous or even inconvenient. But for the artist—for anyone who seeks to create—this part of us holds the key to boundless imagination, raw emotion, and fearless experimentation.

The Fearless Inner Child

The inner child is the part of our psyche that retains the wonder, vulnerability, joy, and spontaneity of childhood. It’s not just nostalgia or memory; it’s an active presence within us that remembers how it felt to draw without worrying whether it was “good,” to sing loudly without caring who was listening, or to invent imaginary worlds without limits.

When we reconnect with our inner child, we tap into a part of ourselves that’s naturally curious, intuitive, and brave. This is the energy art demands.

The Creative Inner Child

Does not fear failure
The inner child isn’t worried about reviews, likes, book launches, or gallery shows. It, sings out of tune, draws stick figures, and writes stories with angels and dragons harmoniously coexisting. The creative inner child creates to see what happens, to imagine a world into existence, on a page, canvas, as a musical score or song.
Lives in the now
True creativity flows from being present, playing in the now, experimenting without expectation.
Sees magic everywhere
A puddle becomes a sea. A walk to the park is an adventure. Reframing the ordinary into the extraordinary is at the heart of artistic vision.
Feels deeply
Emotions are unshackled. The inner child loves fiercely cries loudly, laughs uncontrollably. The inner child basks in the light and colours of life’s prism to create art that resonates.

Ways to Reconnect with Your Inner Artist-Child

Play

Do something creative just for the fun of it. Paint with your non-dominant hand. Dance like a maniac. Make up nonsense poems. The goal is not quality—it’s freedom.

Journal Wonder

Every day, write down three things that amazed or delighted you. An ancestral face in a cloud, a child’s or elder’s honest or wise question. Work on seeing the world with fresh eyes.

Revisit Childhood Joys

Think back to what you loved as a five or ten year old. Was it playing hide-and-seek? Was it peeling an orange while sitting in the sun in your backyard? Recalling childhood activities carries the magic to rekindle your most authentic creative energy.

‘Perfection in Imperfection’

Perfectionism silences the inner child. Shut out criticism and grow curiosity. Bury the inner critic that whispers, ‘I could have done this better,’ by focusing on, ‘Let me celebrate the multiple possibilities this holds.’

The Artist is a Forever Child

Great art doesn’t come from the intellect alone. It comes from the melding of experience and innocence, discipline and play. As Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

Invite your inner child to the table and observe how the magic unfolds.

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Perspectives on Truth and Conflict

Conflict casts a shadow on truth telling, giving rise to versions of the truth over time .

Plantation Shadows unravels the truth through competing perspectives or on point revelations captured for posterity to convince the reader on a particular point of view.

The crafting of characters influences how the reader receives fictional truths. The proven trustworthy character holds the stronger sway in truth. Often, the social standing of a character influences following the ‘esteemed’ character, which might, unfortunately, lead the reader down the rabbit hole to a multiplicity of mistruths.

Who should the reader trust, the doctor, gardener, or domestic staff? Truth is not devoid of emotional strains, and memory creates versions of the truth depending on who demands it, narrates it, and receives it.

Plantation Shadows unearths the inner and outer conflict spanning three generations in a family drowning in secrets. The women living in a patriarchal community on the canefields of Natal, South Africa, take the forefront in narrating the truths that unfold one perspective at a time. The only male perspective has no blood ties to the conflicted family he serves. Edgar is the all-knowing eyes and ears between the two plantation houses, embroiled in secrets withheld in the living years. What ancestral truths will the grave yield?

There was internal strife that I was privy to, but I kept my head down and my ears open… Part Three, Edgar, ‘Plantation Shadows’

In unraveling the truth in a land buckling under colonial domination and rising resistance, is the twisted patriarchal mindset genuflecting to colonial expectations by preventing women from being heard. It is not until the fourth generation breaks the cycle of control, by assuming the courage and conviction to address and accept the long-held secret of an imploding family, hope rises.

Creating fictional women as untainted characters in a controlled society is to deny their right to break with convention in choosing the path they desire. Plantation Shadows is a closely held sisterhood of hidden truths among grandmothers, mothers and daughters.

Truth is a double-edged sword—it names and shames but creates understanding and gradual acceptance. Are generations of secrecy ever allowed to rest in peace?

Read Plantation Shadows, to feel and understand the secret hearts of the aging Milly and her dead mother.

Secrets diminish with death – Part 3, Edgar, ‘Plantation Shadows’

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AI or the Human Touch

Whether we accept it, remain neutral, or deny it, it’s already present.

When it comes to creativity, how do you balance AI and the human touch?

Ernest Hemingway said, There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at the typewriter and bleed. If this is so, why is AI necessary when the writing process is humanely natural?

For centuries, storytelling has been a cultural tradition in every corner of the world. Who is the best at sharing their personal experiences through storytelling?

Is it possible for AI to display raw emotions?

Some argue that it’s authentic, while others contend that it’s programmed and thus not genuine.

The subjectivity of creativity begs the question: can it be programmed?

The dilemma is that some humans conceal truths and wear masks to create a fake identity. The theme of appearance vs reality in Shakespeare’s plays exposes how easily humans can be deceived. Will AI be yet another mask for machine-generated creativity? Who receives credit for the positive reception of AI-generated work? Another door to truth and ethics is unlocked.

Be curious and informed before leaping.

Artists create. They can express themselves through art in a multitude of ways — painting, writing, music, fashion, architecture, machinery, transportation, and beyond.

Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Leonardo da Vinci, Picasso, Mozart, and other masters of their crafts possessed scintillating minds and remarkable imaginations before AI.

How does AI affect the human brain and heart when it takes over our inherent rights to uniqueness, growth, and creativity? When AI ‘generates’ creativity, do artists’ voices and works lose their uniqueness that only the human touch can produce?

The books and authors that writers admire inspire them. Their mentors, past and present, guide them in honing their skills and style to create unique storylines. Imagination and voice make up a writer’s unique human fingerprint. It captures the reader’s attention. Have we reached a technological level where AI can imitate a writer’s style and imagination?

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will. – George Bernard Shaw

AI is a part of our daily lives, but we often overlook it. Bots have butted into our lives before we had a name for them. Just whisper ‘Ok Google,’ or ‘Alexa’ and they are ready to provide us with the answers we seek. Does this make the human mind lazy if we don’t physically do the research?

The uniqueness of a writer’s voice lies in the manner in which they tell the story. AI can mimic the tone and intonation of the human voice, but can it replicate the character and personality of the human soul to articulate life experiences?

Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought. – Albert Einstein.

As an artist, you live your passion, share your talents and skills, and develop with every piece of art created.

The ways and reasons for entering this brave new world of creativity are widely debated.

The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt — Sylvia Plath

Be curious and cautious to guide your choices in a rapidly evolving creative sphere.

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Trust the Process

When you begin writing a story that has whispered for a period, and then hauls you in—you have no idea how far you will go, or how many stories you will create in your lifetime. The process must be trusted and aided by dedicating time and space to allow the story to emerge.

Anything and everything is possible when you trust the calling first, then the process.

You may begin with a plan, an outline, and flesh out characters, but soon the story magically grows with you the writer, as the vessel, guided by a force you cannot quite describe. Some call it a ‘voice’ others call it a compulsion, or their divine muse that lays out the game plan drawn from the seed of imagination. The writer as a scribe leaves each writing session either exhilarated or surprised that a character has chosen to embolden their voice.

Once this arises, all thinking dwells on the place and society you are creating. The heart’s longing cannot be denied. The brain might test resilience, and negative emotions might slip in, depending on who is invited into your inner circle. Those external voices of doom and gloom, which might be your own if you allow it, kill inspiration. Shut them all out—regardless of who they are or what they have to say. It is YOUR story. Own it. Let the editors and ARC readers speak later in the publication process. Writing your raw story is your lone venture.

The heart’s longing cannot be denied.

You are never truly alone. Your main character will step up to lead you by the hand, and your secondary characters will vie for your attention, urging you to consider their point of view.

When many voices clamber for recognition, step back and surrender to a higher consciousness. Meditate for guidance on the next step. Clarity allows the selection of a voice that will be meaningful for readers now and years down the track.
Once the writer’s imagination and emotions blend with skilful writing, a great story is born.

The process is magical once you have plunged into the waters of creativity!

As Ray Bradbury said in, Zen in the Art of Writing, ‘…but one thing always remains the same: the fever, the ardour, the delight. Because I wanted to, I did.’

Allow the process to unfold, and above all, trust it. One idea at a time, one story at a time builds your body of work.

Happy writing, happy publishing, and happy reading.

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Romance Across Genres

The days of writing rigidly to a particular genre, crime fiction, detective fiction, sci-fi, horror, historical fiction, thriller fiction, and romance have slipped, crept, and rolled across the genre borders.

Romance has the potential to capture the coldest of hearts.

The basic elements of the genre remain. Mystery and suspense with a soft touch of romance add to the allure of the tale. Romance as a genre in its pure form has limitless power to create relationships that stretch and bend the imagination as far as it will go.

While romance engages the emotional side of the reader, it does not overwhelm the crime/detective/historical/sci-fi, which occupies the greater space of the genre.

The love story element in any story adds the desirous human connection.

Age is no deterrent to romance. It’s not restricted to young love such as that of Romeo and Juliet. Including older characters in the angst and joy of their romantic interludes creates an inclusive perception of love. It increases the appeal of the overarching genre at work.

The happily ever after isn’t always true. Fiction is a mirror of life. Testing the strength or commitment of a relationship between crime/detective fiction heightens its entertainment value. Romance, while not central to the story outside the romance genre, might add a satisfying element against the crime/detective fiction at work.

Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning ~Paulo Coelho

Wonderfully true — it is indeed our charismatic or struggling fictional characters who love, or are in love, that linger to remind us why love given and received should never be extracted from the soul.

There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart ~Jane Austen.

Magical! The reader is drawn to the story regardless of the genre.

I would like to be the air that inhabits you for a moment only. I would like to be that unnoticed and that necessary ~ Margaret Atwood.

Brilliant! This stirs ideas on how this would unfold in a crime fiction tale!

The gist of these well-known lines deepens the human connection in any genre.

Happy Reading. Happy Writing.

Please like, share, comment and hold on to a tender heart. We need it in both fiction and life.

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Paving the Crime Fiction Way

Why does crime fascinate the reader or the viewer? From a gripping novel to a suspenseful film, both mediums are loaded with intrigue, blood, gore, missing persons, and dead bodies, and they certainly hold our attention for more.

Pushing boundaries is the adventurous inclination invited by human fascination, as is vying for the person we want to set free from crime.

Crime writing, like reading crime novels and viewing crime films, is an emotional investment for the adrenaline rush we crave. Words on a page must do the creative hard work that diegetic or non-diegetic music elicits to keep us on edge, before, during and after the crime has been committed.

Descriptive language, sharp, short sentences, sensory imagery and specific punctuation, create and elevate the mood that befits a crucial scene in a novel. The intrigue must be deep enough for the reader to push on, chapter after chapter, well into the night, or wee hours.

Crime fiction often draws inspiration from actual crime, which allows for greater reader appeal. Research is vital to achieving a realistic, entertaining selling point.

Attending a criminal court hearing is a valuable catalyst for storylines to kick off. Make a friend in your local police station and shadow the police person to walk in their shoes for a few days. What better way to get inside the aftermath of the crime?

Visit a prison, and if allowed, ask to interview a prisoner. Getting inside the minds of criminals fuels the creative urge for the realistic crafting of your MC.

Research profiles of victims of crime and seek a psychologist or psychiatrist to gain a greater depth of understanding of why the victim might have been targeted.

Visiting crime sites long after the investigation and conviction enrich the landscapes in a crime fiction story.

Live research is valuable for the unique imaginative triggers they invite. Equally, reading crime novels of note is vital to the crime writer.

Crime documentaries are accessible anytime if physically going to a prison or crime site is not an option.

Don’t go too far. Grab the daily newspaper, and a new crime of the day or week holds our attention as we seek more on the investigation.

Unending thirst for crime novels and films continues to expand, weaving through different genres and is an inroad to writing for aspiring creatives.

Writing the right crime pays.

What are your favourite crime novels and films?

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Fiction and Reality

Pen, a fictional story and aspects of the scribe’s life, spills onto the page between fiction and reality. Angst and joy collide in the unfurling of the emotive content of the story. The emotional hooks in a story invite readers to open their own wounds and happiness for a well-penned story.

In my novels and short story collections, dogs feature as necessary in human lives. A lifelong love of dogs finds their way into the lives of significant characters I create.

In the Sequel set Across Time and Space, and Vindication Across Time the wonderful Ted is the adored pet of human rights lawyer, Michael Morissey, and aspiring writer Meryl Moorecroft. Michael advises and befriends schoolteacher Marcia Ntuli, caught in workplace professional racism. Ted is the first to understand the growing romantic involvement between Michael and Marcia. His sensitivity to Marcia makes him even more adorable.

Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth. ~Albert Camus

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Two hours later they emerged from Michael’s bedroom, laughing at Ted’s quizzical peaked ears and worried frown.

In Souls of Her Daughters, Patience, a social worker has two dogs, Ajax, and Sprite. She adopted them while her sister Grace was overseas at a medical conference. Patience witnesses her sister’s battle with her past demons and hoped Ajax and Sprite might offer her healing and joy. We may read this novel as a stand-alone novel or as a trilogy.

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They were abandoned in an old building on the south side of town. I could not take one and leave the other. They are high maintenance in the love department but adorable to come home to.

Life’s Seasons, a short-story collection, includes a valiant dog as title story – Toby. This story was first published in the short-story collection, The Rain, where Toby, a brave dog, living on his owner’s family farm is confronted by a treacherous storm. Instinct guides Toby when the safety of his beloved human family is threatened. Toby’s heroic, selfless act unwinds minute-by-minute to melt hearts.

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He gripped the harness between his teeth, prostrating to give the children a lift, to allow them to be pulled up with ease.

The Bardo Trilogy has Woza and Khaya, the loyal companions to the mysterious doyenne Tempest, on her mission to offer safety to women and children who are victims of crime.

Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Living in isolation was difficult, but her parrot, Caramba, a keen white watcher of the skies and her two Rottweilers, Khaya and Woza, filled her lonely hours.

The act of including dogs in each of these novels and short stories is a subconscious inclusion drawn from experience.

Pets are companions who combat loneliness, fulfil a caring need, aid healing from grief and bring joy during life’s challenging times. Both fiction and reality meld to create balance to live in unison with the universe.

Now there’s nothing like one’s writing companion puppy snuggled at one’s feet as words and new worlds rise and fall on the page.

Happy Reading. Happy Writing.

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Experience and Writing

Does life experience matter for writing a book?

There are two answers to this question (In my book, anyway).

Experience matters in writing to represent an authentic voice, if the story/plot pertains to a particular generation/profession/life situation etc – authenticity will draw the reader into the story. A sense of place if core to the tale, and references a real place rather than a fictional setting, the experience of having visited a place, such as a town, beach, farm, a particular building etc, will add lustre to the place described. This makes the reader feel they inhabit the fictional setting.

If life experience, in the numerical sense, is absent, the young aspiring writer will achieve as much as his or her experienced counterparts if the novice writer reads widely and writes extensively. It is universally understood that to write well, one must read widely and often. What one reads is important to add believability to a time, place, or character beyond the true-life experience of the young writer.

Both actual life experience and vicarious life experience hold value in the depth and authenticity in the stories writers create. The experience gained during and through the composing process enhances light, shade, depth, and adds colour to the prose.

Writing is not life, but I think that sometimes it can be a way back to life. ~ Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

Seasoned and aspiring generations of writers have much to gain from each other. Writing groups offer a wealth of opportunity to sharpen the ability to write through the voice of any age or place, or past life experience. Wisdom is not age/number bound, neither is the capacity to learn a new way to meet the market of readers ready to devour new releases that offer meaningful connections.

The value of experience is not in seeing much, but in seeing wisely. William Osler.

Research, like reading, broadens the ‘life experience’ of a writer. Interviewing people who are of the generation, time, and place before that of the writer is valuable for crafting a character, place and society that is alive on the page.

Mind, manners, and morals of a time before one’s own is accessible, not only via digital means, although the digital connection helps the researching writer find a genuine contact who might willingly be interviewed. To honour the sharing of memories of a time past is often rewarded by a mention in the author’s acknowledgement of sources consulted. Writers take great delight in doing this.

Similarly, when writing crime or detective fiction, visiting police stations, attending court cases, interviewing police officers, or shadowing an officer/detective on the beat is a hands-on way to gaining their work life experience.

The writer’s map has many points of entry… it comes down to individual choice ~Mala Naidoo

On another note, the broader necessary experience as a writer, the how, why, and the business of being a writer are accessible through Facebook groups, writing organisations, attending webinars, and signing up for a masterclass, as is reading a recommended book on how to write and manage a writing business. From a range of noteworthy groups, books, or organisations, the aspiring/new writer embraces and shapes what is needed to craft a unique voice/work of art.

Experience can’t be taught. Anonymous.

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Creative Time and Space

You work full time but have a raging desire to write that book buried deep inside you.

If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.’ ~ Toni Morrison

How can I make it happen?

Time and space are necessary, negotiation with your after work, home tribe is mandatory — your loved ones under the same roof need to know the rules of the ring-fence around your creative time. Tell them, the adults and children alike, that this is your scared time after dinner, and family time. It will be a stretch on your energy levels, it will erode your sleep time… but if you seriously want to, not hope to achieve your hidden dream, then lost sleep is a small sacrifice.

The space is as sacred as the time and needs a physical barrier around it to avoid little ones from tottering in to play.

Say you choose nine-thirty to eleven thirty each night, stick to it unless there is something serious that requires your attention. A no-phones-space or noise cancelling headset is all the additional equipment you need to lock in the time and space for your burst of creativity each day.

Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences ~ Sylvia Plath

Quality, rather than quantity, counts during this spiritual time to achieve what you have set out to do. Adherence to this time space includes weekends. Be prepared for a dent in your social life. Exceptions are granted for extra special occasions—birthdays, wedding anniversaries, graduation night, etc. These are outside the prohibited norm, and you might have a special occasion not included here. Limit these to those dearest to you. Dwindling social circles are inevitable if your social tribe doesn’t appreciate what you’re doing.

That’s all it takes, but regularity, commitment and determination are the way forward to having your book in hand. And what an exhilarating moment that is!

A word after a word after a word is power ~ Margaret Atwood

As progress happens, negotiate a reduced day job working hours with your manager as you create more time and space for your creativity to flourish.

The writer also needs time and space to read, read, read, all the poetry, craft books, and novels one can fit into a busy day to enhance the craft of writing. Shorten an office lunch break, stroll outdoors and add to the daily scribblings.

And there’s connecting with creative peers for inspiration. It could be a master class or a writer’s association. This tribe is essential to avoid total isolation and to validate your passion.

Soon you will spend more time in your creative space and limited time on your day job.

Go tell that story you have harboured for so long. The world is waiting!

You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write! ~ Saul Bellow

Happy writing as you create the time and space for holy writing hours!

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The Way We Were

The creative question asked is, where are we now? What have we done?

As we slow pedal to year-end, as opposed to manically motoring towards the shenanigans of the period, it’s time to reflect.

Lessons from lockdowns include pondering the way we were.

When freedom is aborted by the rapid onslaught of an unseen enemy, the subsequent mandated exodus from office spaces, a retreating from global, is a new way.

Home is the place to work, play, and rest. If graced with wide open spaces and human company, the retreat might be bearable.

The creative advantage is possible when the shutters are down, streets are emptied, and parks and beaches are deserted.

The creative muse tunes into stillness—if the eye and mind turn more deeply inward, away from the repetitive media message that induced fear and guilt every morning at 11.

When emotions are raw, thoughts tumble out in reaction to the siege on the way we were. Social interactions are prohibited and replaced by a hermit lifestyle, or heaven forbid, succumbing to the doom of extinction.

Global and national disasters, past and present—world wars, financial crises, bushfires, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and pandemics, shake up the world to stir the creative soul.

The documenting of histories during global upheavals through fiction and poetry, painting, or musical compositions captures the heartfelt angst of the moment. Creative works emerge from such a time to reverberate into the future. This has the potential to educate and strengthen the action of future generations.

We can never rewrite history’s truth.

Fiction and poetry fearlessly tell the naked truth. Stories created now, in any medium, hold the key to spreading awareness overtime on the traits, pitfalls, and reactions to disasters.

truth and despair – the creative gateway

Capturing today through visual images is vital. A history through words, however, is the ageless wisdom of the soul of our current human condition—life as we feel it, and breathe it in the now.

As we roll up the year, not a long way off socially and politically to where we were back on day one of 2021, let us reflect.

Reflect on the stories we should tell of this time. A time when the world faced a common threat, an enemy that morphs and attacks just when we hope we might return to the way we were.

Time moves forward, and the past is only a backward, behind-the-shoulder lingering glance at how we were.

Change is grain for an undulating creative harvest…

The way to make sense of the world is to read a good book or write one on the story of the world as you live it. There will never be enough stories told of a torrid era.

As you shed the skin of 2021, brace yourself with hope. Arm yourself with a good book, and share love, truth, and joy.

Go forth today in cheer, the world’s voices shake and threaten doom, but you, my friend, keep the spring in your step, the light in your heart and a smile upon your lips

~life~

Stay safe this season.

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Creativity and Grief

Creativity feeds off emotions both positive and negative. Words give vent to the language of the heart.

Grief after the passing of a deeply loved one, sucks the wind from the sails of creativity, for a while… Fighting it is futile, emotions are in a tangle when death is unexpectedly sudden.

Fit one day, gone the next. The mind is thrown into chaos as exhaustion sets in, slowing down the clock to a sonorous ticking of every minute, every hour.

Be gentle with yourself when grief blocks the creative edge.

Isolation and solitude are necessary to process the deeply felt loss. Within there is the need to comfort the nearest and dearest around one going through the same process.

But in those still, grieving, reflective moments, hours, days, and many weeks, creativity takes on a new face — creative expression on loss and grief. Picking up a pen and journal offers the promise of comfort when there is no inclination to turn on the laptop. Poetry emerges in the healing as words tumble out in emotional self-expression, mourning the deep-seated loss.

Words comfort and clear the brambles of the heart.

Seeking solace in meditation while grieving might, at times, seem impossible when the conscious mind buckles, contorts in pain. The way out is through writing, giving vent to grief and anger and all the unanswered whys…

Memory beckons, draws one in to seek solace in understanding the heart’s tears.

Soon, day by day, time allows the soul to accept, to find a new way, to adapt, to be, by letting go of the familiar patterns of one’s life. As humans we are adaptable to change, if one allows the mind to remain healthy by turning to warm memories, and articulating emotions — pain eases, and limits sinking into the dark depths of despair.

Grief is the single most difficult challenge of life (as I see it) in coming to terms with the gentle, deep cadence of a voice one will never hear again, a face never seen again in the flesh – the Guiding Light of one’s angst no longer there to soothe troubles or share joy.

Time is a long-standing ally to a grieving soul.

Acceptance is not an easy path to tread when the void is palpable…huge… but healing will come with time as memories resurface in those moments when a birthday card or photograph falls out a book, or pops up on a phone or Facebook Memories to remind one of the love shared. Loss is never overcome, but heart-warming moments return when least expected in unexpected places, to catch a breath in quiet recall to ignite a smile.

Creativity hooks emotions — grief the impasse as the eye turns inward to gather new creative pace and space.

If you have lost a loved one, take heart, your muse never flees in the hours of need, but draws renewed vigour from your newest angel, ready to guide your creative light.

a month too soon

let him rise in peace

as he lived his life

sharing love and joy with those

who honoured his stature

a compassionate giving soul

taken gently in the early morn

rising swiftly into the arms of Divine Grace

(RIP Beloved Father of Mine)

I hope you find comfort and reassurance that grief borne needs time, so be gentle with your creative self by keeping the mind healthy to protect your heart for the wondrous, comforting glow of memory and renewed imagination…

Stay safe.

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Story-Telling… greater the art of ending

Writing is fun, art, a visceral experience.

A story crafted from bone to flesh takes many months, or years of vested time where emotional attachment is difficult to relinquish.

There comes a time in every delightful story where the writer cedes the pen (for a while before the editing clean-up).

Knowing where to start is as important as knowing when to stop.

Writing sequels, trilogies and series is a long-term relationship between the writer and manuscript. Characters become real when they consume sleeping and waking thoughts. A character wanting a bigger space on the pages of a story holds the writer to ransom.

Endings must be free of padding or info-dumping that feed the writer’s attachment to the tale, people or place, serving no express purpose to the story. Readers will thank the writer for avoiding the stuffing.

The original plan for the story veers off when a character wanting to be acknowledged calls out the loudest. Such a character is allowed a voice that directs the action on a different path. This is a natural part of the process, but rogue characters must be reeled in and put under a microscope to assess their primary role—is the character essential to the plot, does the character add an exciting plot twist or are they unnecessary?

A benevolent muse is the one to thank for all that arrive to prod the writer. If the voice/story/scene are ignored, they find a way into somebody else’s story. Lady Muse is a perpetual huntress.

Heed the call we must!

Writing is joyful, hard work. It takes committed diligence to keep going until the story is over. It will only ever be over when the writer is convinced it is time to stop. Soliciting advice from a trusted other, The Reader, is a good way to ensure that it is indeed the right point to type in ‘The End’.

Well-written stories will entertain audiences long after the writer’s time has passed.

When it feels right to end it — do it! If it is deemed not right later down the editing track — change it or add in a few subtle changes. To ignore that gnawing feeling that something is not right, but not worth the trouble to rectify it, is a mistake that comes back to haunt the writer.

Great is the art of beginning, but greater the art of ending ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet, educator, linguist.

Structure in a story is important, but the creative does not adhere to structure alone at the sacrifice of something unique that has the potential to hold the reader’s attention.

Should the ending resolve all issues?

Are all life’s issues resolved?

Fiction entertains but should mirror life to connect with readers on the universality of our fundamental humanity.

Walking in the shoes of the reader is a good way to access whether a story crafted over a length of time, the writer’s blood on the page, has value for the reader.

A story begins with action or change, and everything follows on from there, and it may end with change, the character’s growth or downfall, but ultimately it must guarantee reader satisfaction. If not, then a sequel or epilogue might do the trick, or leave it open to interpretation, but keep the element of surprise.

Tie up loose ends without deliberating over them

Would you write the ending first? This might be a sure-fire way to lead the scenes throughout the process of the first draft.

Please share the endings of some of your favourite books in the comment box below.

Happy Reading and Writing!

Stay Safe!

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Patience and Perseverance

As creatives, we are flexible in what we do if we are steering the vessel.

A sense of place and time is important to the creative, but in the unpredictability of current times, adapting to everything that comes our way is daunting.

Patience is the ultimate virtue in a creative life. Nothing happens overnight, now more than ever, with all that blew in with 2020.

It is the slow burn that needs a tender mind, hand and heart

Amidst waiting for the right time, there is the desire for the energy of the muse to enlighten the artist on how much, when, and what will be written/created. This wait is underpinned by the bend and twist of the tide of change that tests adaptability.

Shifting an established creative routine generates a splurge of musings when the noise and demands of new daily expectations receive attention.

A daily meeting with oneself in morning reflections on what is and is not working facilitates the coming to terms with how to create a new routine.

Reflection is the art of patience that sharpens the creative pen.

The writing muse happily visits if the mind is willing.

Patience takes hard work; it sits on the back of perseverance — one without the other is a no go.

To cultivate the art of patience, look at reactions/behaviours to situations outside of creativity, learn from it and readjust the behaviour. While patience is a virtue, it is also a personal inner medic, keeping creative work in check by allowing the body and mind to process situations without elevating stress levels.

Finding what calms and settles the creative is the best way to grow in being patient rather than becoming a patient.

The writing world is competitive enough without adding layers of undue stress — the art of writing is profoundly therapeutic.

After writing a scene or chapter, the sense of exhilaration that follows such achievement is remarkable. Journal these moments to refresh a reflective morning that needs a reminder about why we do what we do.

To be a writer, requires barrel-loads of patience in how to nurture a story from seed to flower, chip back words and scenes, polish to refine the story and then publish.

Patience, perseverance, and adaptability are the keys to creating more stories and poems as is refining before a book/product hits retail shelves.

Step back, let time and place do the work, relax overthinking and communication to create valuable space to refine the manuscript. This aspect of the creative zone has the potential for success, abundant success if that is the desire.

Be gentle and patient with yourself, persevere with your creative goals and adapt to the ever-changing demands of a writing and publishing life.

Go well in all your endeavours.

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Creative Mojo

Being a people-pleaser often impedes the writing deadline.
Some perceive writing as not a regular day, serious job, and expectations are that the writer is always available, because the writer is self-employed, locked in the head of imagination that does not,(by choice of some), demand a fixed workspace.

Write as a free-flowing creative. Be the rigid business manager

If we do not rectify this thinking, impositions on the writer’s free time could seriously hinder writing progress to the point of murdering the writing mojo.

Know when to say No

The writing mojo is temperamental and disappears if there’s no plan, the time and process wind up bending to the noise and demands that soon override it.

Being flexible is paramount to the creative

If the writing mojo is showing signs of being at risk — set down a plan and stick to it as far as possible. Achieve at least 80% of your daily or weekly goals with consistency to make a writing life productive.

A writing life incorporates many facets and significant among them is audience/reader engagement. To flourish in this career, and a career it is, if given every opportunity of serious intention, then it becomes that sweet spot of primary income or multiple streams of writing income – a way of life.

Turn off the phone – block the internet

Creating blocks of time to have regular hours that are not sidelined by the daily demands of life happens if there is a set plan.

Here are a few pointers to keep the writing mojo on an upswing.

• create a routine and stick to it as you would any day job
• set the clock – have several /number of words per session/chapter a day goals
• take your working day coffee and lunch breaks – remember ONE coffee break in the morning and ONE in the afternoon.
• choose your most creative part of the day to get your words on the page.
• leave your phone in another room, muted to avoid its cradle cry.
• get some exercise – a walk outdoors for half an hour should get the mojo back on track
• track monthly, weekly and daily productivity.
• note potential distractions and cut them out.
• the space you write in must be free of distractions – • no internet – no television – no phone.
• have water and a healthy snack close by
• learn to say: writing is my work life.
• begin your day with a writing reflection, FREE Writing (Free, Raw, Exact and Easy) as Orna Ross, Founder of The Alliance of Independent Authors, teaches or writing morning pages as Julia Cameron advises in, The Artist’s Way – clear the cobwebs to open the creative path to your writing day.

Now, what is holding you back?
Get to it with a further nudge from these inspirational lines:

If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word – Margaret Atwood

Without great solitude, no serious work is possible – Picasso

Like an ability or muscle, hearing your inner wisdom is strengthened by doing it – Robbie Gass

Inspiration may be a form of super consciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness — I wouldn’t know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self-consciousness – Aaron Copeland

Happy Writing, Happy Reading!

Best wishes.

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Creating in a Challenging World

We have read it and heard it repeated everywhere we look and listen.

Change is — has been — will impact all facets of life. The current global change that has claimed 2020 has challenged the ‘do I dare?’ mindset of the creative. The muse is a sensitive soul. She feels the angst as deeply as the joy — inspiration is derived and mined from this seat — gold mined!

Health crisis, economic crisis, the uncertainty of life, the fear of not so much the outdoors but whether we can trust that everybody is doing the right thing.

For how long must we entertain fear as it enslaves us by forfeiting joy?

The creative forges on to leave the carbon footprint of these challenging times.

Dare and dare again and the muse shall heed the call.

The creative day, if allowed to slide, is a difficult one to recover but is possible with the determination of, ‘I will dare.’

TS Eliot’s poem, The Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock. conveys the uncertainty of modern times where ‘normal’ becomes unusual. Images of desolation pervade his poem:

Like a patient etherized upon a table/Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,/The muttering retreats

This echoes the current emotional and scientific uncertainty we face.

The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,

The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes

Eliot’s raw emotions capture the universal angst of his time where rapid economic and technological advancement changed his perceptions of life. And the yellow fog of uncertainty seeps into 2020 rising, falling …

The natural outcome is to be perplexed but navigation to the new normal through introspection is vital.

The pen is the mighty memory of our time, of all times, and writing must go on as must art and music and all creative pursuits.

In the making as creatives, writers, artists, we share a universal experience in that it is normal to be afraid, and it is brave to dare by creating new worlds that either mirror the present or transport us to worlds we dream of. In dreaming we bring those hopeful worlds into the conscious mind of the reader/audience who in turn subconsciously works towards making that dreamed, hopeful world, a new reality.

The writer’s pen will never dry or fade — words speak into the future from the past bringing meaning and understanding that this too shall pass.

The human condition is live with the possibility for new stories to be told, poems to be written, songs to be sung and paintings to be created to articulate and quell all fear.

Do I dare, and do I dare, — oh yes, we must, to make this life the best life we have had the courage to dream into our reality!

Today step forward — leave the fences and backyards of your mind and speak of your fears, insecurity, and uncertainty through artistic expression.

Take a chance. Live your passion.

This is a time for you to be YOU in all that you do without the fear of judgement.

Happy writing. Happy creating. Happy daring to channel your way forward for a life free of angst with the promise of joy.

What’s your creative plan?

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