I typically open any given manuscript I’m working on knowing one thing: I haven’t got much time to work on it.
Writing exists around that other time-consuming thing in my life: a full time job. And I love my job, so that’s OK by me.
But is does mean that when I come to work on a manuscript, I feel under pressure to do something Great with it.
I jump right in. Maybe I re-read the last few paragraphs I wrote, maybe I just get on with it. Maybe I pick up an existing scene, maybe I write a new one. Maybe it’s planned, maybe it’s not.
Whilst I have usually planned the plot out, I have always been someone more comfortable with winging it than properly planning it.
And that’s fine, except that I was reading
Candy Gourlay’s post from a few weeks ago and felt the need to try to do things a little differently.
Why don’t I plan more? Is it because it doesn’t work for me, or because in the limited time I have I prioritise the writing itself? Or is it – gulp – because I’ve never taken the time to learn how?
In an odd turn of events, I currently have the time, and it’s coincided wonderfully with having the inclination. Sitting next to me on my desk: Story by Robert McKee,
Writing Children’s Fiction by Yvonne Coppard and Linda Newbery (from whom I have already been lucky enough to glean pearls of wisdom and kindness generously gifted on an Arvon course), On Writing by Stephen King and Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose.
Just as importantly I have surrounded myself by my favourite books, and have gone through each wondering for the first time why exactly they stick in my mind as favourites. Michelle Magorian's Goodnight Mister Tom and Elizabeth Wein's
Code Name Verity for the depth of friendship invoked, Margo Lanagan's
Tender Morsels and Bernard Beckett's
August for their wondrous use of language, Amy Butler Greenfield's
Chantress for its use of setting to reflect the characters perfectly – the list goes on.
Reading these books again and trying to break them down goes against instinct, but as Sarah Waters wrote in a 2010 Guardian article, “Read like mad. But try to do it analytically – which can be hard, because the better and more compelling a novel is, the less conscious you will be of its devices. It’s worth trying to figure those devices out, however: they might come in useful in your own work.”
Diving head-first into learning how to write better, rather than spending the time writing the manuscript itself, feels somewhat intimidating, but cometh the time, cometh the writer. Probably.
Bernard Beckett’s Genesis is 1.99 on Kindle today. It was one of my favorite reads of the year a few years back:
After plague and war decimate the human race, a small group of survivors build a protected, isolated island community called The Republic, modeled on Plato’s vision of the perfect society, but rigidly totalitarian. We learn about the history of The Republic via the oral examination given by the somber members of the esteemed Academy to Anax, an earnest young scholar who has prepared long years for this event in hopes of admission. Anax’s subject of specialty is the revolutionary, Adam Forde, whose subversive actions brought down The Republic many years before. A serious and captivating aspect of Adam’s history is his relationship with a robot possessing highly advanced simulated-consciousness technology, and their discussions about the nature of consciousness are incredibly gripping and thought-provoking.
Bernard Beckett’s Genesis is 1.99 on Kindle today. It was one of my favorite reads of the year a few years back:
After plague and war decimate the human race, a small group of survivors build a protected, isolated island community called The Republic, modeled on Plato’s vision of the perfect society, but rigidly totalitarian. We learn about the history of The Republic via the oral examination given by the somber members of the esteemed Academy to Anax, an earnest young scholar who has prepared long years for this event in hopes of admission. Anax’s subject of specialty is the revolutionary, Adam Forde, whose subversive actions brought down The Republic many years before. A serious and captivating aspect of Adam’s history is his relationship with a robot possessing highly advanced simulated-consciousness technology, and their discussions about the nature of consciousness are incredibly gripping and thought-provoking.
Beckett, Bernard. (2006) Genesis. London: Quercus Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84724-930-2. Author age: young adult. Litland recommends age 14+.
Publisher’s description:
The island Republic has emerged from a ruined world. Its citizens are safe but not free. Until a man named Adam Forde rescues a girl from the sea. Fourteen-year-old Anax thinks she knows her history. She’d better. She’s sat facing three Examiners and her five-hour examination has just begun. The subject is close to her heart: Adam Forde, her long-dead hero. In a series of startling twists, Anax discovers new things about Adam and her people that question everything she holds sacred. But why is the Academy allowing her to open up the enigma at its heart? Bernard Beckett has written a strikingly original novel that weaves dazzling ideas into a truly moving story about a young girl on the brink of her future.
Our thoughts:
Irregardless of whether you are an evolutionist or creationist, if you like intellectual sci-fi you’ll love this book. How refreshing to read a story free from hidden agendas and attempts to indoctrinate its reader into a politically-correct mindset. And while set in a post-apocalyptic era, the world portrayed is one in which inhabitants have been freed from the very things that sets humans apart from all other creation, including man-made. Once engulfed in the story, the reader is drawn into an intellectual battle over this “difference” between man and man-made intelligence. The will to kill; the existence of evil. A new look at original sin. And a plot twist at the end that shifts the paradigm of the entire story.
Borrowing from the American movie rating scale, this story would be a PG. Just a few instances of profanity, it is a thought-provoking read intended for mature readers already established in their values and beliefs, and who would not make the error of interpreting the story to hold any religious metaphors. The “myth” of Adam and Art, original sin and the genesis of this new world is merely a structure familiar to readers, not a message. The reader is then free to fully imagine this new world without the constraints of their own real life while still within the constraints of their own value system.
Genesis is moderately short but very quick paced, and hard to put down once you’ve started! Thus it is not surprising to see the accolades and awards accumulated by Beckett’s book. The author, a New Zealand high school teacher instructing in Drama, English and Mathematics, completed a fellowship study on DNA mutations as well. This combination of strengths gives Genesis its intrigue as well as complexity. Yet it is never too theoretical as to exclude its reader. See our review against character education criteria at Litland.com’s teen book review section. And pick up your own copy in our bookstore!
Genesis
by Bernard Beckett. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2009. Audio: Brilliance Audio, narrated by Becky Wright. 2009. Reviewed from audiobook supplied by Brilliance.
The Plot: Anax is facing an incredibly difficult examination. She wants to enter the Academy; and is now facing three examiners, in her area of choice, history. Not the far history of the 21st century and the conflict, wars, plagues; not the founding of the isolated island, the Republic, but later, as society tried to adjust to its new way of living, a new civilization. In particular, her speciality is Adam Ford. Every schoolchild knows about Ford; but Anax believes she has a new, unique viewpoint. Will the Academy accept her?
The Good: A entire book that is one character's test to get into school?
Wow, exciting.
Except -- it is. Because it's a history none of us know, even though Anax knows it fully, and we are eager for each detail of her past, our future. An eccentric millionaire who knows enough to buy, populate, and control a remote island and who is called Plato! Can society really be changed by one man? And who is Adam Ford, why is he so important? Is Anax right, to see him in an entirely new light? Why does Ford's imprisonment with a robot matter?
If Anax questions the official history, is she proving herself worthy to the Academy? As we find out about the past and present, and try to figure out what is happening in this world -- discover a past where children would be killed if they weren't going to grow up the right way -- an isolated land that killed the refugees who tried to get there -- we begin to wonder, does Anax's different viewpoint put her at risk? Can she talk her way out of the danger?
Is Adam Ford a hero? A rebel? A murderer?
The entire book is Anax talking to the examiners; weaving bits of history, and her own story, together. Using original documents and holograph recreations to show her view of history. Battling anxiety and fear as the five hour examination continues.
A science fiction book that my be set in a utopia or a dystopia. It's hard to tell, as new things emerge in Anax's story. Along the way, philosophical and ethical questions are raised.
The narration is brilliant; Wright perfectly captures Anax's mix of confidence and questioning. When Anax plays back tapes, sound effects add to the overall mood.
Watchalike: because this is about Anax talking, I was reminded of My Dinner with Andre
Possible spoiler: the ending was extremely satisfying; I had my suspicions, as time went by, as to what Ford did and his impact on Anax's world. Your SF watchers and readers will be very satisfied, not only with the world Beckett creates but also the questions he raises. Also? While chock full of wonderful things, questions answered and unanswered, it is very short, just 150 pages. Short doesn't mean easy; it means concise, and each word, thought, statement matters.
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© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Recent Reading Matters guests John Green and Bernard Beckett talk to Sarah le Strange at Radio National’s The Book Show about writing YA. Good people to take advice from. You can hear the conversation here.
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I REALLY liked this one - it was such a trip. Like you said, as a reader you're so absorbed in the history and the philosophy and you're trying to really understand it so you become absolutely invested in it. Then the end happens and it's just...jarring in the most satisfying way. I wonder what reading it a second time would be like knowing the ending - better or worse? Better to pick up on the subtleties?
I might have to try listening to it on audio now, too.
I really want to read this now. I've added it to my "Books to Keep an Eye out for" list.
How would you rate it on cleanliness? Namly profanity.
I read this many months ago and it still sits in my pile of books that need to be reviewed. It was recommended to me by a fan of SF as compared to YA however it seems to have attracted the YA crowd as well. I wonder why that is honestly, not because it's a bad book I liked it very much, but because it just strikes me as odd that the YA crowd would weed it out. It was actually shelved in the SF section in my BN where I purchased it. Perhaps it's the power of the blog?
Anyway, I found this to be an interesting read as well.
Kelly, I also wonder what a reread would be like; as you said, the little things, the assumptions of the reader. I didn't want to get into the big reveal too much, because I'm the type of reader who starts guessing based on that tease (and, truth be told, had considered the reveal as a possibility, just not all the details, of course).
Enna, I wasn't reading for that (ie, language) so my best answer is, I don't remember any cursing. It does have plenty of mature themes and topics (is it right to kill refuges wholesale and protect your country?), but I don't recall any cursing.
Michelle, I believe this was published adult SF in Australia (or New Zealand?) by an adult SF author & the imprint decided to go with the YA/crossover angle here, much like was done with both TENDER MORSELS and THE BOOK THIEF.