Quotes - Mala Naidoo’s Book World

From Prose to Poetry

Poetry excites, calms, awakens, regenerates

As a thriller fiction writer, poetry has been a significant aspect of my recreational reading and inspiration for my writing. Poets of the Romantic era notably Shelley, Keats, Wordsworth and Coleridge are among my selection of favourites as has been Yeats, Sylvia Plath and Emily Dickinson. African poets Mongane Wally Serote and Chinua Achebe, to name a few. All held my attention both as a student and educator. More recently, I turn to the inspiration of Orna Ross, an Irish poet and author. I relish reading poems from a global range of acclaimed published and aspiring poets in the rapidly growing group, How to Write for Success. This attests to the thirst for new voices to be heard and fundamentally the need for poetry in an era of uncertainty where we need to be reminded of beauty and wonder.

In a post titled Poetry Educates Prose I highlighted the benefits of poetry reading and writing to enhance style and succinct writing in prose.

After writing poetry for an audience of one and gradually venturing out to my better half and immediate family circle and a few trusted friends, I took the plunge to put together a collection of my light and shade poems. It has taken a year to sift through, rewrite and refresh and refresh once again, and no doubt that process will continue as skills develop along the way. A collection titled Random Heart Poetry: Light and Shade is the window to my soul

The moon has a significant impact on creativity, and culturally the celebration of auspicious events are determined by the aspect of the moon as per the lunar calendar. Some of my Instagram posts will reveal my fascination with the moon whenever she is in my realm. The cover of Random Heart Poetry captures the essence of Light and Shade through the full moon, representative of the light we seek. The poetry collection reflects upon culture, identity, gender, race, migration, relationships and the wonder of nature.

Random Heart Poetry: Light and Shade is available at Amazon and instore at a few select retailers.

Thank you for your response. ✨

Rear View, Front View

We hear and read much about goal setting with the onset of a New Year.

The rear view must be kept in sight to negotiate the lift-off to the front view, to minimise errors and risks that need refining − that backward glance reminder is significant as the new year begins

https://youtu.be/W7LeO7bfpgU

Looking back on the not so distant past year, its exit makes it a rapidly fading memory as we are caught in the fountain of eternal fireworks that kick-starts the New Year if we linger on the threshold of the New Year, we might not move forward fast enough.

With everything in life, we get better at it when we do it over with a new spin, a new attitude and a passion to achieve the best we can.

We are human after all, we can only get better with a little effort and skill.

How do we keep the rear view in focus while running to the front view?

– Make a list of your past successes
– Make a list of some past shortcomings
– Match them against each other
Now decide what is worth pursuing and what should be culled. Work at culling first and shutting down that rear mirror. Pick up the shortcomings that need attention – make them a priority, review, add-in, refine and polish. Repeat the cycle a few times. Once this is defined as the way forward, look at the new front view, you want to see, and advance at a speed and pace that is comfortable for you.

Continue reading “Rear View, Front View”

Are you a dog with a bone?

In my world being a dog with a bone is sometimes needed to get the job done.

Persistence pays.

By the same token, I am aware how utterly annoying the person who is always a dog with a bone can be … gnawing at issues or situations for self-aggrandisement. They gnaw at the issue or situation with dogged intent. Is it with a power-laden agenda to prove a point and claim a hubristic victory?

An ego trip might well motivate a dog with a bone syndrome (my definition) hence such characters are quick at the ready to prove a point, make a statement or perhaps just want to be heard. A sad dog with a bone.

This excessive gnawing suggests self-obsession, the ‘look at me’ need.

You will find this character type in my novel, Vindication Across Time, or can you identify characters in literature you’ve read, where such attributes are identifiable?

How about some of these characters?

-Shakespeare’s Duke Orsino in Twelfth Night – hankering after love:

If music be the food of love, play on/ Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting/The appetite may sicken and so die.

– Shakespeare’s King Lear in the play by the same name, desirous of hearing how his daughters love him:

… which of you shall we say doth love us most. That we our bounty may extend.

A vain ploy, albeit by an aging king and father, to ‘buy’ profanations of love.

Note the positions of power in each of the above, male, duke, king, etc.

But what about the humanitarian goal-focused dog with a bone? What defines this person?

#courage
# resilience
# hope, authenticity, and determination
# achievement
# embraces challenges
# wants the best things in life for self and others

Shakespeare’s Cordelia, King Lear’s daughter, says:

I love your majesty according to my bond, no more no less.

This girl tells it like it is! She speaks from the heart in her truth. She stands by her truth like a saintly puppy with a bone, she is prepared to forgo her part of her inheritance from her father’s kingly estate in:

Nothing will come of nothing.

This is an admirable quality which has been included in my novel, Across Time and Space. Who is it?

Meryl?
Marcia?
Ben?
Andrei?
Michael?

I leave you to decide.

But while pursuing these noble intentions, individuals/characters might walk all over those who support and promote them by becoming consumed by their goals, to the point of frustrating others with their exuberance, self-centred, and misfired passion.

So how does one or one’s crafted character become a pleasant goal-focused dog with a bone?

# have a purpose that will also benefit others
# know when to take a break from the bone of self-promotion – in other words, give the jaw a break.
# consult with peers and others and share by being an active listener.

Where are these characters in literature?

How about Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet? He knew he could no longer prevent Romeo from wanting to marry Juliet, so he dutifully got them married.

And the upright, Atticus Finch, in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird who was relentless in proving the African American, Tom Robinson, innocent of the allegation by Mayella Ewell and her father Bob.

The dog-with-a-bone fictional characters make interesting case studies and create engaging plots with perhaps a moral lesson.

A valuable, and historic determination is Martin Luther King in:

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. ~ Martin Luther King

Be a dog with a bone or craft such characters but know when to give the gnawing a rest. Craft characters who echo tireless values that promote change for a better world, or expose the dark side through characters who invert goodness.

Some valuable motivational quotations to guide your characters’ actions:

I hope you enjoyed this and encourage you to comment and share your views on characters who have had an impact on you. Please share your thoughts in the message box below.

Continue reading “Are you a dog with a bone?”

To Speak or not to Speak

A writing life is one of solitude if writing in crowded spaces is not conducive to creative thought.

While writing fiction might entail living within the confines of one’s imagination, there emerges the gratitude for precious moments spent with close friends and family who understand the writer’s period of ‘absence’ from the social hub. The art of conversation keeps books alive as stories unfold, are morphed and recreated to generate hours of pleasurable reading.

Precious moments are often a coffee catch up and soulful reconnecting.

Being in the moment, in conversation with the person should be valued for the human connection with authentic people who do not pry, question only when needing honest clarification, and accept the sheer pleasure of personal engagement.

Being in conversation with someone, seeing their joy and fear, hearing their laughter and feeling their moments of distress is priceless-no mobile phone interaction or other social media platform can replicate the shared face to face rather than face-time interactions. To be able to reach out and touch someone’s hand to console them or share belly-aching laughter is the essence of human communication and interactions.

I recall some years ago being in a restaurant in LA, having an early dinner, after a day of sightseeing, when I noticed a young family, parents and two children at dinner with heads down, eyes glued to their handheld devices as they scrolled through their distractions, eating dinner in silence.

Cyberspace engagement in favour of human company is creeping into relationships, eroding the exhilaration of animated or quiet conversation between and among people. This makes those in company, particularly the elderly, for whom a virtual world does not equate with social engagement, feel ignored or unimportant.

Looking someone in the eye as they speak to you indicates you are present in the moment and responsive to what they are saying. Attentiveness says you are valued.

My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company. ~ Jane Austen

Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative~ Oscar Wilde

A single conversation across the table with a wise person is worth a month’s study of books. ~ Chinese Proverb

Are we slipping further and further into an age where the only conversation we might be exposed to will be the dialogue in a novel?

Are you keeping the art of face-to-face conversation alive? Share today what you value the most about conversations with good friends and family, or if you have a different view. Please share your views in the comment box below.

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Thank you for your response. ✨

Imagine Being There

Place in a story is vital to ground where and why characters react to or create situations which drive the plot of a story. Within identified locations, characters become loved or despised for the actions and reactions they indulge in.

People connect to a place for an array of reasons because it holds the memory of:

a brilliant childhood/not so brilliant childhood
first love/first break-up
marriage/honeymoon/divorce
travelling to landscapes or geographic locations where culture, cuisine, architecture, history or local people either inspire or horrify
favourite authors/celebrities who lived in those settings
the stories heard or read about places making them part of one’s experience
loss and grief
spirituality
the devastation of war and politics
personal heritage associated with a place
the comfort of home, a bedroom, a garden, study

The reasons are endless making it necessary when writing a story to anchor it in a specific place or a few places to create a sense of physical reality for the reader. Place, in fiction, does not have to be grounded in a real geographic location, the sights, sounds and smells – odours or aromas of a place will bring it to life for the reader based on how effective the sensory imagery is in connecting the reader to the context of the action.

The lines below portray an inescapable landscape that confines and stifles. The narration indicates familiarity with a place which makes it experiential for the reader through the author’s specific framing of location. Here, the place is named creating the reality the reader craves, when a place remains unnamed, evocative sensory imagery creates a link in the reader’s imagination.

The heat in the street was terrible, and dust was all about him, and that special Petersburg stench, so familiar to all who are unable to get out of town in summer –Author, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment.

In the creation of a fictional place the writer is the creative camera lens, beginning with a wide view, then zooming into backstreets before giving close up consideration to:

Demography – who will be created in this terrain- will it be a multicultural environment? What morals and values might come to light, is there an alternate way of thinking endorsed by a group?
What is the socio-economic dynamic of this place?
What’s the weather like?
What sounds are heard in this place?
Is this a city or rural setting- what other aspects will you include to define this landscape?
Is it a busy or laid back place?
Is this a contemporary world or a lost and forgotten world?

Let the reader reach his or her own conclusion but be sure to add drama to most scenes and emotions that characters go through- this will allow the reader to speculate why particular locations elicit human reactions the way they do.

I leave you with these lines that reveal the human condition through the words of Alan Paton in his novel, Cry the Beloved Country:

The great red hills stand desolate, and the earth has torn away like flesh. The lightning flashes over them, the clouds pour down upon them, the dead streams come to life, full of the red blood of the earth. Down in the valleys, women scratch the soil that is left, and the maize hardly reaches the height of a man. They are valleys of old men and old women, of mothers and children. The men are away, the young men and the girls are away. The soil cannot keep them anymore.

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