Janet Cameron

Omniscient Viewpoint in Fiction Writing

2012-01-15T10:23:00.000-08:00

Image by Janet Cameron

The omniscient viewpoint can be approached in three very different ways. A new writer needs to choose the one that will work best for him/her.

One of the most important decisions a writer must make when approaching a new work of fiction is that of viewpoint. If you feel you would like to write from an omniscient viewpoint perspective, then you have a few more angles to consider. It might be a good idea to play around with your first chapter by trying out a few different methods to see what works best. At least then you can make an informed decision.

Omniscient Viewpoint

In this third person viewpoint, the author and/or narrator knows everything that goes on in all the characters’ minds, all their thoughts, plans, ideas and motives. This viewpoint has a clear picture of what’s being plotted from every angle.

The problem is that the focus is constantly shifting and this can make it difficult for the reader to identify with and warm to a character. Most readers are looking for a character, or a few characters that they can root for, or at least feel concerned about. What happens to the character(s) must matter to the reader, otherwise they won’t want to read on and discover the outcome of the story.

In addition, you need a very complicated mind-map to cope with this all-encompassing omniscient viewpoint. If you feel this method is for you, extend your synopsis into a comprehensive chapter-by-chapter outline so you don’t lose track.

Limited Omniscient Viewpoint

This viewpoint is more manageable for most authors. You can select certain characters, say the main protagonist and a couple of others, and they become your "viewpoint characters." This allows both you and the reader intimacy with two, three or four characters. Other characters who are necessary for the forward movement of the plot can be lightly drawn, or only mentioned briefly in passing.

Apart from allowing the reader to identify with the characters and begin to care about them, this must also help the writer. If you become attached to certain of your characters and want them to succeed, this will be apparent in your writing and will be an inspiration for your readers. The enjoyment becomes a two-way process.

Limited Omniscient with Single Viewpoint

An extreme form of limited omniscient is the single viewpoint, which is different from the first person subjective viewpoint because it is narrated in the third person. Like the first person subjective, the limited omnscient with single viewpoint is also subjective. This is a difficult viewpoint to write from, especially for a beginner.

A novel or story told in the first person subjective will be told by one central character/narrator from the “I” viewpoint. All other characters can only be known through the narrative of this central protagonist in the story.

A novel or story told in the limited omniscient with single viewpoint will be told in the third person, ie. from the 'he/she/they' viewpoint, except that it is a single viewpoint, in other words it focuses on just one character's perceptions. Therefore, the same limitation occurs as in the first person subjective viewpoint. Because it is only a single viewpoint, all other characters can only be known through the narrator, who is simply the teller of the tale, the author.

Sources:

Own work, training and observation.
The Creative Writing Coursebook, ed. Julia Bell & Paul Magrs, MacMillan, 2001.

Ernest Hemingway - Characterisation

2012-01-15T10:12:00.001-08:00

Image by Janet Cameron

Ernest Hemingway's prose in The Old Man and the Sea proves that simplicity of style and true honesty can produce the most sublime and meaningful writing.

One of the first exercises we undertake when we begin to write is the art of creating three-dimensional characters, perhaps a composite of people we know, a little from ourselves and something more from our imagination. Ideally, the result will be a character the reader can identify with. The human personality is a mish-mash of ambiguities and idiosyncrasies that make our characters real and sometimes endearing.

Involve your Reader

Most writing tutors advise against hijacking a whole, real person as a model for a central character, as it seldom works. If you have a specific motivation for your central protagonist and s/he is based on a real person, this might inhibit you from developing your character in the way you have planned. Whatever method you use to people your fiction, remember that without that all-important sense of recognition, your reader may not become emotionally involved. We need at least one character to root for. Also, remember, the reader becomes more involved when left to make his/her own judgments, rather than being told what to think.

Write About What Hurts says Ernest Hemingway

There's a postcard on my kitchen wall bearing my favourite writing quotation: "Write Hard and Clear about What Hurts." The author of the quotation is the incomparable Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), whose novella The Old Man and the Sea remains one of my favourite reads. For me, this book changed the way I viewed my life.

In simple prose, it explores what is most meaningful and painful about the human spiritual journey. Its central character, the fisherman Santiago, develops a relationship with another creature, the enormous marlin, which he hold in great respect for its courage, endurance and beauty – while trying to hunt it down and destroy it. Eventually, Santiago's central purpose shifts and the great fish's destruction is more about Santiago's pride than his hunger.

Hemingway has been quoted as saying, "I tried to make a real old man, a real boy, a real sea and a real fish and real sharks. But if I made them good and true enough, they would mean many things."

Certainly, they are good and true. The fish represents religion, while the struggle between man and marlin is symbolic of the struggle for faith and meaning as the two central protagonists become strangely attracted. Although Santiago, metaphorically speaking, reels in his prize, by then it is no more than a carcass since the sea, representing life, has sent sharks to consume the beautiful fish. Santiago's greed has been punished, although his courage and spirit remain triumphant.

Interesting as the allegorical levels of this book are, it is the simplicity of Hemingway's prose that makes the characters, man and fish, especially real. There are several methods you can use to empower you to create real people to inhabit your fictional world.

Hemingway Gets Real with Body Language

Body language can suggest what a person is thinking or feeling and can be used to show how your character operates. People say one thing, but mean, think or feel something quite different. Observing body language is a more accurate barometer of human intention than speech, as explained in Body Language by Allan Pease, and although most of us subconsciously recognise and react upon these mannerisms in others, we're not always able to define them. Surf the Internet for a book about body language to help you make full use of it in your writing. Besides Body Language, Allan Pease has written other excellent books on closely-related subjects and can be found on Amazon.

Forget About Upsetting Your Mother

Making your characters deal with real-life uncomfortable, embarrassing, painful or confrontational situations presents a different challenge, often demanding a degree of personal bravery. On a Diploma Course in Creative Writing held in my home county, students were told: "Write for yourself, without restraint. Forget about upsetting your mother." (Actually, I think most mothers cope reasonably well, contrary to what their children believe.) You cannot write to the best of your ability and the depth of your understanding if you are constantly worried about who you are upsetting with your emotional honesty. It's restricting to feel you cannot choose a confrontational voice. Emotional honesty helps promote human understanding. If we never acknowledge dark forces at work in our psyche, our sense of awareness becomes diminished; we are less rounded as people, as writers. Issues can be highlighted and opened up for discussion, helping us to know we are not alone in our anxieties.

Examine all motives from an informed viewpoint, avoiding what is contrived or self-conscious. Whatever your personal writing goal, it will always work better if it strikes the reader as sincere, real, written straight from the heart and devoid of restraint or false sentiment.

Authors you might like to read (or read again) are Harper Lee, Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, Zadie Smith, Andrea Levy, Nick Hornby, Ian McEwan.

Sources:
Pease, Allan, Body Language, Sheldon Press, London (1988)
Hemingway, Ernest, The Old Man and the Sea, Scribner, (1952)
Postcard, published by www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom

Simon Brett's Writing Tips

2011-11-16T13:13:00.000-08:00

Photo by Sylvia Kent

Top Writing Tips from a Master Crime-writer: Author of three critically acclaimed detective series featuring Charles Paris

'One of the wittiest crime writers around,' says historical novelist, Antonia Fraser, in praise of versatile whodunnit author, Simon Brett. Other accolades directed at this prolific novelist and screenwriter include: 'I stayed up till three in the morning and chewed off two fingernails.' (Daily Mail) 'pure pleasure from beginning to end.' (Birmingham Post) and 'a master at subtle characterisation.' (Booklist). Surely every aspiring writer dreams of such glowing tributes from the world's media.

Simon Brett has produced three series of detective novels, each featuring its own protagonist, the amateur, drink-swilling detective, Charles Paris, a shady widow, Mrs. Pargeter and a pair of amateur female sleuths from the fictitious village of Fethering. Also a successful sitcom-writer for radio and TV: (After Henry, No Commitments, Smelling of Roses) Simon was responsible for producing the first episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy while working with the BBC between 1968 and 1977. His 1984 novel about a vengeful business executive, A Shock to the System, (Mcmillan) became a film starring Michael Caine. The latest book to appear on Simon's site is Blotto Twinks and the Dead Dowager Duchess, published by Constable, (2010).

What's more, he's still going strong. What is the secret of such enduring success?

Simon Brett Believes that Writing is Never a Waste of Time

With seventy-five titles now on the shelf, he admits, 'I wrote four very properly unpublished novels before I had one accepted for publication.' He hopes this will encourage new, aspiring writers, but he's also anxious to point out that no time spent writing is ever wasted. 'The more you do of it, the better you get at recognising what you should do, and, more importantly, what you shouldn't.'

'Rushing' is definitely one thing you shouldn't do, and Simon learned this the hard way, writing in his limited spare time while working as a producer. 'I had a tendency to rush at things. As a result, my files were full of the first thirty pages of novels, which is as far as I could go without any planning.' Nowadays, he will first identify ideas with potential development into works of fiction, noting them down and allowing time and his thoughts to bubble away on the back burner of his consciousness. Despite the pressure on his time, producing helped Simon with his writing as he had to edit and improve other people's writing. He learned what worked and what didn't.

'One rule I have in my writing is: if it's boring me, it's sure as hell going to be boring my readers,' he says, proving once again that the most successful writers are those able to self-evaluate with honesty. 'I'll be writing a scene that I'd planned to be a long one, and after some exchanges of dialogue, I'll get bored with it. All the points that needed to be made have been made - in less space than anticipated. This is the moment to stop the scene and move the action on.'

Writing Competitions - Absorb and be Flexible

Committed to helping other writers, Simon is much in demand as a judge of writing competitions and is generous in his feedback to hopeful entrants. His advice is to read as much as you possibly can. Listen to anything and everything on the radio, watch television. It's not idle time-wasting - it's research! It will help you identify what you like/dislike and help you develop your own style. 'Write stuff that you would enjoy reading.'

When a new idea can suddenly turn your thinking on its head, Simon Brett believes you should follow to see where it leads. He will plan what to write but will change it if he gets a better idea. 'Unpredictability is one of the recurrent excitements of writing. Those unexpected better ideas are the ones to cherish, when suddenly you're going into territory you've never been before.

It's scary but it's also a wonderfully liberating moment.

Simon's Tips for what Distinguishes a Professional Writer from an Amateur:

Accept that writer's block is not an amateur's disease but one of the inevitable cyclical rhythms of a writer's life. Sometimes it's exhaustion from a piece of work just finished, or lack of preparation for a work you're about to start.

Don't rush at the writing process - allow time and creative thought to do their work in your consciousness.

Never forget that writing is an organic process and a writer has to be flexible enough to follow where the story goes.

Remember, reading, listening to radio and watching television is research.
The instinct to make something longer is almost always bad; the instinct to make something shorter is almost always good. Everything you write benefits from editing.

Avoid elaborate covering letters when submitting your work. Don't tell your life history. Give basic information about the piece you're submitting and say you look forward to hearing the recipient's response.

Don't be disheartened by rejection - remember that every writer started out an amateur.

Sources:

Brett, Simon, A Shock to the System, published by Mcmillan, 1984.
Brett, Simon, Blotto Twinks and the Dead Dowager Duchess, Constable, 2010.
Brett Simon, personal interview.
Website: http://www.simonbrett.com/books/
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, originally a sci-fi comedy radio series, first broadcast in 1978.

Article first published with http://janetcameron.suite101.com

2009-12-03T06:26:00.000-08:00

PRIDE AND PROGRESS – LGBT BRIGHTON AND HOVE by Janet Cameron

A gay history of our City. Displayed: front-cover photo.

‘Janet Cameron writes with humility and understanding. A good read, a compelling read…’ Ann Perrin, Brighton writer/comedienne.

Product Description
Pride & Progress, LGBT Brighton & Hove is an exploration of the development of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community from its earliest accessible beginnings. As well as the personal memories and experience of local LGBT people, the book includes accounts from the History Centre’s comprehensive archives while literature is used to inform a representative sample of stories of the area’s prominent LGBT writers, artists, musicians and philanthropists from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to the present day.

There are accounts of prominent court cases, of wartime, and of mid and late twentieth century events, memories and personal experience. The book shows how LGBT people strove to ‘make change happen’ both individually and through forming organisations for mutual support and with specific aims. Later chapters draw on the personal stories of local people, including ‘Coming Out’, ‘Civil Marriages’ and the progress of ‘Brighton Pride’ from its difficult, political beginnings in the early nineties, to the celebration of today, attracting both goodwill and visitors from all over the world. There is still some way to go for LGBT people and the issues that still affect them – even in Brighton and Hove – but Gay Brighton is an encouraging reflection on the change and progress that has already been achieved.

Also:

PARANORMAL BRIGHTON AND HOVE

for those who love to be scared, a strange selection of spooky stories from across the City and its outlying villages!

Ideal Christmas gifts! You can pre-order from Amberley Publishing or Amazon.com

Brighton and Hove - Murders and Misdemeanours

2009-04-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

A look at the dark side of life, Victorian-style, when nothing was quite as it seemed and a public execution could be an entertaining family day out. Murderers, poachers, thieves, pickpockets and vagabonds all went about their business with impunity. Crime took place on the streets, on public transport, in homes, pubs, prisons, asylums, workhouses and brothels - it was all part of everyday life in Brighton and Hove in the late 1800s. Read all about the notorious railway murderer, Percy Lefroy, who appeared at his trial in full evening dress and went to the gallows in an old brown suit. Gasp at the audacity of a temptress who fell in love with a doctor and tried to poison his wife with strychnine laced chocolate. Then there's little Emily, a girl who received imprisonment with hard labour for stealing a few tempting pieces of gingerbread while a gaggle of disruptive young women loved causing a riot, flirting with men and smashing windows. It was madness and mayhem in those weird and wonderful times - and it's brought vividly to life by Janet Cameron in Brighton and Hove - Murders and Misdemeanours.

Murder & Crime Series - Medway - by Janet Cameron

2008-07-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

Murder in Medway
by Jenna Pudelek from Kent on Sunday w/e 15 June, 2008

Author uncovers tales from the dark underbelly of area's history.

Scheming temptresses, highwaymen, smugglers and the brutal murder of a young mother are just some of the dark deeds from Medway's past, uncovered in a new book.

Janet Cameron's Murder and Crime Series, Medway, explains numerous crimes and wrongdoings that feature in the rich history of the northern Kent around Chatham and Rochester. She said, 'I'm interested in anything dramatic because I'm a fiction writer so I'm fascinated by all human behaviour. I also think you have to look at the dark side rather than just focusing on all the good things. It makes life so much richer somehow.'

As well as regaling the reader with gory tales of murder, the author also reminds us of horrors of early prisons and corporal punishment, with children as young as seven hanged for theft.

Asked what was most striking while researching the book, Ms Cameron, who used to live in Bexleyheath before moving to East Sussex, said, 'I think the way the law has changed. You could get deported or hanged for things that later were not even really a crime. Some of the things people got away with as well, for example, cruelty to their children. It tells us something about ourselves then and now.'

Before 1834, the book states, the bodies of hanged prisoners would often be stripped and dipped in tar - they were then put in an iron cage and hung in a prominent place to act as a warning to people. Ms Cameron said, 'Sometimes the bodies remained until they decomposed or were eaten by birds.'

Another gruesome tale is the murder of Grace Holgate, a pregnant mother-of-one by her husband, Joseph, in 1894. Holgate beat her after a row over household accounts - even after she managed to escape to her stepfather's house he chased her and contued choking her until eventually he was prised away.

Later in the evening the 28-year-old suffered an epileptic fit, gave birth to a stillborn son and died.

Ms Cameron thinks the most interesting story in the book is that of Chatham-born Richard Dadd, a Victorian artist, who is famed for his paintings of faires and other supernatural subjects.

The Christmas Competition

2008-02-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth Pozzie (2nd) Janet Cameron (3rd) Jean Morris (1st) Patricia Pound (HC)
Photo: Ann Hamilton

Frog Heaven, (Clemence Dane, First Prize) has been added to the 'Writing Tips for a Princess' post.

Mother’s Little Helper
by Janet Cameron

My mother’s planning an American Lunch. How sad is that?

'It’s a way of integrating into the community’ says Mum. ‘Getting to know the neighbours. As it’s school holidays, you can be a real help to me.’

I know what that means; yours truly in the kitchen clearing up while a lotta weirdos out-natter each other in their plummy, Little Ripple voices. We moved here to Little Ripple by the Sea six months ago. It’s called Little Ripple by the Sea because of a stream running through the marshes. I hate it. Nothing happens here – nothing. Most places have an Ann Summers shop in their High Street but here we have - wait for it - Langton’s Underwear. You never saw such gigantic knickers in your life.

'Let me explain,’ says Mum. ‘You see, Kellie, a few people get together, plan a lunch and one does the starter, another the main meal, another dessert. Then there’s the cheese plate. I’m organising a meeting on Monday to plan it.’

‘Just supposing ten or more turn up! No one can scoff ten courses! That’s gross.’ I imagine an eating marathon, everyone being polite, gobbling their ninth or tenth dish to avoid offending the cook. Panic burns inside me as I imagine all that clearing-up.

‘Then we’ll have people sharing courses,’ says Mum. ‘One can do the meat dish, others veggies.’ Her voice wavers. ‘What if only one or two people turn up?’

‘You’ll never live it down. You’ll be a social pariah,’ I assure her. That doesn’t faze her because she starts composing little notes on lilac paper with purple flowery borders. Then she makes me go out and put them through doors.

Both Mum and I are on tenterhooks that weekend. Dad has to paint the walls in the lounge a nice pale lemon so it’s ‘fresh and welcoming.’ Filter coffee is bought from Tesco’s although we only ever have instant, and special shortcake biscuits and a farmhouse cake are baked.

‘I’ll die of shame if no one comes,’ she groans.

‘Don’t be defeatist. It’s so not like you!’ says Dad giving Mum a saucy slap on the bum. It’s so embarrassing, at their age. Mum drops the cake tin into some dirty washing up water, saying, ‘See to that, love, will you? Dad’s just running me to Tesco’s.’

‘You’ve already been!’

'I forgot the blue and lemon napkins.’

Then they’re gone. I stare into the brown, mucky water. Mum tends to be thrifty about using washing up water, till it seems the dishes would be cleaner unwashed. She prefers to focus on the doorknocker and net curtains which show. Great globules of grease float about from the cooking and the smell makes me feel sick. I consider tipping it and starting again, then hit on a better idea. A glance in the cupboard confirms there’s a stack of cake tins so I slide on a Marigold, tip out the water and grip the side of the tin between thumb and forefinger. It’s easy, straight in the bin with the tin. She’ll never miss it. We’ve plenty of cups and cutlery, so I bin those too, emptying the tea-bag caddy on top for camouflage. Problem solved.

Monday morning, Dad leaves for work. ‘Don’t worry,’ he tells Mum. ‘You’re being pro-active and that’s important. (Dad started talking funny like that when his firm got into male-bonding courses.)

‘Out of that bed, Kellie,’ yells Mum.

I hoover and dust and pick summer daisies from the garden. Everything’s ready by one-thirty and we have to wait for three o’clock. I’m bored out of my head, while Mum paces, biting her nails. It wouldn’t be so bad except she’s spent twenty-five quid having them manicured at Nails-R-Us, and what’s more, she’s had nasty little transfers on the cuticles. ‘You’re wearing out the carpet,’ I say.

‘No one’s coming,’ she groans.

Five past three, no arrivals, so I pour Mum some wine to relax her. Seven minutes past and she’s dusting. ‘I already did that,’ I complain. Ten past - ring on the doorbell. Mum draws an agonised breath and I follow her to the door.

She’s been practising her greeting inside her head, so she flings the door wide open, grinning like an insecure comedian. ‘I’m Harriet,’ she blurts. ‘Do come in. Thanks so much for coming!’

It’s the window cleaner collecting his money.

‘Three pounds fifty, love,’ he says. As she’s rummaging in her purse, he directs an insinuating wink at me. As he’s tasty, I run my tongue over my upper lip behind Mum’s back and I’m rewarded with a thumbs-up. Little Ripple has possibilities after all.

‘What a nice young man,’ says Mum, leaning out, peering up and down the road, hopefully. A face appears from next door, then two more opposite. ‘Are you ready?’ someone calls. ‘Hang on, just a mo,’ comes the reply and Mum looks as though her heart’s thumping like the washing machine when it goes wrong. I shoot inside, leaving Mum with her welcome routine. The loud, excited babble tells me I’m done for.

‘Hello, I’m Harriet. Come in. This is Kellie, my daughter. She’s fifteen. Kellie, make tea and put these flowers in water.’ I choke because the flowers are lilies and I’m allergic, not that Mum cares, that’s for sure. Shall I make tea first, or put the flowers in water? Somehow I manage both without spilling either, while Mum cavorts like a demented rabbit and cackles like an egg-bound hen. Sorry to mix metaphors, but honestly!

‘This is Jennie, this is Susan and Monica. Say hello, Kellie.’

‘Hello, Kellie,’ I say, wanting to be awkward. I’m so busy stretching my lips over my teeth, pouring tea, cutting cake, offering biscuits. Answering dumb questions. ‘Do you like school, dear?’ ‘What’s your favourite book, dear?’

‘Kellie, we’re running out of cups. Can you wash up?’ hisses Mum.

I collect the cups, tip them into the inevitable waiting brown suds and stare at them. I want to run down to the Ripple and drown myself. Then I peek in the cupboard where we keep the picnic things and find some styrofoam mugs. Brilliant! McDonald’s do very well with synthetic mugs and you get plenty of tea in them.

Somehow, in spite of all the cheerful chatter, they plan the menu, writing chosen dishes onto pieces of paper which are screwed up and tossed in Dad’s gardening hat. Each woman draws for a dish. The woman called Liz gets the steak and ale pie. That was going to be a foul tin to wash up! Glad Mum didn’t get it.

‘You should taste Liz’s pastry. Out of this world,’ comments a lady in a purple mini-dress, making a circle of her thumb and forefinger and kissing it.

Mum gets dessert. That pleases her as she has lots of dessert recipes that always turn out mushy and make mountains of washing-up. Actually, I think I have a genuine allergy to washing up. I mean, it makes me ill, but Mum’s not the progressive, new-age type. Then something terrible happens.

‘Usually,’ Mum tells her new friends, ‘with an American Lunch you go from house to house for each separate course. But as there are so many of us, perhaps you should bring your dishes to eat here, in my home.’

‘That’s good of you, Harriet,’ they chime.

Oh my God! I’ll be expected to wash up dishes for the entire meal! Perhaps I can fake a total collapse and spend the American Lunch day safe in bed instead of clearing up after this lot. If this is what it’s like planning an American Lunch it’ll be twenty times worse on the day.

As they leave, the ladies pat my arm, say I’m a hoot and they think the styrofoam mugs are cute, while Mum sends me daggers of such sheer evil I start to worry for her. I agree not to be a stranger and some old bird promises me a pot of home-made jam. I’m so not impressed. Then we’re alone. 'I’m not speaking to you, Kellie,’ says Mum. ‘And don’t bother with the washing-up, I’ll do it myself.’ I make myself scarce like I always do when Mum’s in martyr-mode.

Next day, I have a brilliant idea. (Sometimes my own genius amazes me.) I start with the purple mini-dress, who lives next door.

‘I’ve come for the ten pounds.’ She raises her arched brows, looking even more surprised than before.

‘What ten pounds?’

‘Overheads. As we’re doing the entire hostess thing, there are overheads. You see, my Mum’s not that well-off and it’s only fair. There’s napkins, hot water, kitchen roll, sundries, er... washing up liquid.’

She’s sceptical but coughs up when I tell her everyone else has. It’s easy. It takes an hour and I have one hundred and ten pounds. Ten minutes researching the Internet and one quick phone call. Sorted. Cash on delivery.

The dishwasher will arrive on Saturday in good time for the American Lunch.

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Writing Tips for a Princess!

2007-11-08T07:34:00.000-08:00

The Clemence Dane Cup for a Monologue 2007

CAMERON MONOLOGUE WINS CLEMENCE DANE

Regular Writers' Forum contributor, Janet Cameron, has won the prestigious Clemence Dane Cup from the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. The prize for the best monologue submitted by an SWWJ member is awarded in memory of the novelist and playwright Clemence Dane who presided over the Society in the 1930s. This year the Cup was presented by Princess Michael of Kent at a lunch at the National Liberal Club in London

Janet's winning entry, Frog Heaven, was chosen by judge Simon Brett. SWWJ Chairman, Valerie Dunmore said, 'It is a slick, moving, yet amusing example in a difficult genre. Clemence Dane's friend, Joyce Grenfell, also once President of our Society, is revered as queen of the monologue but Janet Cameron's winning entry is proof that she has the imagination and literary discipline to produce a script equal to anything in Joyce Grenfell's repertoire.'

Janet says that if she were to offer advice to beginners, it is: 'Never be rigid. Allow anything to work... and soon something will! And there is nothing to match the joy of your first published work - save for having SWWJ Competition Coordinator, Fiona Kendall, phone and say, 'Hi Winner.' (Writers' Forum, November, 2007)

The Writing Tip Story

After the event, Princess Michael approached me to say she thought my story was lovely. Then she asked me if I had any writing tips. I was stunned and could hardly reply; she's an experienced author in her own right and it was hard to think there was anything I could tell her. But it seemed she was interested in trying out monologue-writing for herself. So we talked about ways of writing monologues, where as a writer you have only the limited viewpoint of the narrator, but can allow your reader to 'read between the lines' and surmise what is going on behind the scenes.

Everyone found the Princess delightful. When she arrived, on seeing some of the ladies wearing their headgear, she exclaimed, 'Oh, should I have worn a hat?'

I wonder if it would be okay if I had 'By Royal Appointment' at the top of my working stationery.

The Story:

FROG HEAVEN

Jeremy’s in the garden, wearing red wellies and the cute mini dungarees I got him because they looked like Steve’s. He’s digging a hole and dashed in five moments ago to tell me he’s making a grave. I dropped a plate.

It’s not in the childcare-books, that sort of stuff. No hint of what to do when your kid’s digging a grave and there’s no dead hamster, guinea pig, even a small bird to bury. I let Jeremy get on with it, hoping this acting-out of an impossible concept is healthier than repression. Carefully, he removes another muddy spadeful, his body a small, plump question mark. Still bent, he discards his spade to inspect a worm.

I’m glad it’s starting to rain. From the window, I call Jeremy who swivels his short neck to look at me, half-cocked. ‘I haven’t finished my grave,’ he says. I say he can finish later, but resist asking what it’s for. Perhaps it’s enough just to have dug it. He understands burial because we interred his rabbit under the holly tree last Christmas with a cross of lollipop sticks.

Crashes of thunder overhead. Lightning streaks through an outcrop of trees fringing the field’s edge, a bright stage in a huge theatre. The horses go berserk, heads elongated, manes wild as irritable snakes, tails stretched full length. Distant hooves hammer my brain. Unfazed, flushed and damp, Jeremy struts to the back door, wispy fringe plastered to his forehead. I step out and gather him up, wiping the icy wetness from his skin. Needles of rain sting the back of my neck. Jeremy’s face, streaked with dirt, resembles a crumpled, gravy-streaked dumpling. I remark it’s raining cats and dogs, and Jeremy says no, it’s raining frogs.

I rub a towel over his head; he locks chubby arms around my neck. ‘Lots of frogs, no cats, no dogs,’ he chants. He says he likes dogs, but frogs are nice. As I glance out the window, anxious for the horses, my eyes never reach middle-distance.

He’s right, it is frogs. The lawn is covered with the dead, the almost dead, the merely stunned and those who’ve managed to survive intact. They keep coming. Great swathes of murkiness morph into seething masses of wet bodies flopping onto the grass. Crawling over their dead to escape living burial.

Instinctively, I shield Jeremy’s eyes but he whimpers, smacking my hand. ‘Mummy, can’t see.’ Quickly, I explain it was a strong wind which captured all the frogs from the swamp and carried them across the sky to us.

He asks what a swamp is and why the wind did that. My sister would say the wind is naughty. I don’t. I trawl my brain for scientific information to simplify. He asks if frogs go to heaven. Jeremy likes the idea of heaven so I nod, hugging him. Screwing his mouth, he says, ‘I’ll make my hole bigger for the dead frogs.’

I stare out at the skyline. Behind the meadow, the hills lift high till they crest, falling sharply the other side to the river estuary. Perhaps its mudflats were the provenance of the unhappy frogs. Some have already hopped off in a confused, lolloping gait.

How I miss Steve’s reassurance. That’s selfish I know. Sometimes I forget him, but the human spirit can’t grieve at the same intensity continuously. You’d go mad. I remember my guilt the first time someone told me a dirty joke – and I laughed. Yes, I laughed, and Steve hardly cold in his grave! I exist on this guilt-laden cycle of forgetting and remembering. What kind of woman am I to need Steve most desperately simply because I don’t want to deal with the frogs? How pathetic!

Jeremy’s plastic cup hangs on a hook beside Steve’s mug. WORLD’S BEST DAD. I catch my breath. Steve had his cocoa in it, while I had my Ovaltine in a china beaker. Once, my sister hid Steve’s WORLD’S BEST DAD mug but I went mad. ‘I need to feel awful when I see it,’ I screamed. ‘You silly cow, don’t you understand? It has to be there and it has to make me feel awful.’ I don’t think she understood, not really. Usually, it’s the bereaved who must make allowances for other people.
Handing Jeremy his juice, I perch him on the drainer, ease off the muddy boots, rinsing them under the tap. ‘Frogs, frogs, go away, come again another day,’ pipes Jeremy in his high-pitched twang.

What to do about upward of a hundred frogs expiring on my lawn? Phone the RSPCA? The exodus from the garden continues as they sneak through hedges into adjoining fields. I remember there’s a sewer ditch nearby. The thunder has moved away and is only a distant rumble but the horses are still twitchy.

I get out Steve’s WORLD’S BEST DAD mug and make cocoa. I need to drink Steve’s cocoa for him. Stirring four teaspoons into milk, I top up the cocoa with boiling water. Orange juice gurgling down his throat from the upended baby-cup, Jeremy trails after me into the lounge.

He plonks onto the floor, enraptured at the Tweenies while I sip my – Steve’s – cocoa. I’m shaking all over and splashing my skirt. When a tractor clunks down the lane past the cottage, I stifle the urge to rush outside and importune the driver for a listening ear.

I take Steve’s watch from the mantelpiece. Its leather strap dwarfs my small wrist. Then I plop the blue baseball cap from the door-hook onto my head.
Jeremy’s shaking pudgy arms at the Tweenies; he leans against my knee, fingering the watch. Accuses me of wearing Daddy’s things, threatens to tell on me. How quickly kids learn to play one parent off against another. How reassuring I can see Steve's mischief in our son's eyes. People say let the dead go, but that has to happen when it happens.

Perhaps the rain will level off Jeremy's little grave and he won't remember it tomorrow. Perhaps if the sun comes out later, we'll go and feed apples to the horses.

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Brentwood Writers Circle - 3 Clemence Dane Winners

2007-11-08T07:09:00.000-08:00

From the Weekly News (Essex) Thursday October 11, 2007

WRITERS GET THEIR GONGS

Brentwood Writers' Circle is going from strength to strength and is now the foremost writing club in the South-East.

It celebrated its 66th birthday in May and over the years, its members have enjoyed many successes in the publishing world.

The circle meets monthly in the Fairview Drama room at the Ursuline Convent, Queens Road, Brentwood. The new chairman is Ena Love.

Recently, three members - Janet Cameron, Sylvia Kent and Dorothy Organ - were placed first, third and fifth in the International Monologue Writing Competition sponsored by the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. The magnificent David Lloyd George Room at the National Liberal Club in Westminster was the venue for a superb lunch on thursday, where the writers were awarded their prizes by the competition judge, Simon Brett.

Princess Michael of Kent was the guest speaker and at least a dozen Brentwood Writers' Circle members were there to meet the pair and their fellow society members.

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Kiddiwalks in Kent

2007-11-08T06:24:00.000-08:00

KIDDIWALKS IN KENT by Janet Cameron

Published in Paperback by Countryside Books
Price: £7.99
ISBN 9781846740275
Reviewed by Brenda Holbrow

Kiddiwalks in Kent - I had the feeling this book was going to be 'just the ticket.' Enthusiasm abounds on every page. It is clearly illustrated by words, pictures and maps. Children will love walking and exploring the woods and trails explained so well.

The historical outline for each area adds a touch of mystery and magic. Nothing like the walk to school - you will hear them say so! It is certainly a book to get us back on our feet, whether we are children, mums, dads or grandparents. The walks are not too daunting for old legs as well as younger ones.

Each walk includes a heading: 'Fun Things to See and Do'. Kiddiwalks in Kent gives everyone an excellent opportunity to watch for birds, discover hiding places in the undergrowth where pheasants and hares linger. See a lighthouse, a working windmill, a Viking ship, a chance to paddle in shallow streams, to throw bread to chuckling ducks on Goudhurst's lovely pond, to gather interesting pebbles and shells, listen for the marsh frog, maybe a ride on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway. Such exciting adventures with plenty of information regarding food and comfort stops. Even buggies can be accommodated on some of the walks. What more can one ask? These walks are very suitable for children and accompanying adults.

Well done, Janet Cameron, for putting such a comprehensive and sensible guide within our reach.

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PUBLICATIONS

2007-02-08T13:27:00.000-08:00

I have lectured for several years in Creative Writing for the University of Kent and previously taught for Adult Education. I finished my MA in Modern Poetry at the University of Kent in 2003 and my BA (Hons) in Literature and Philosophy with The Open University in 1996. I received my Cert.Ed (fe) in 1993.

I owe much of my recent success with my history and walking books to the support and advice of my friend and co-SWWJ member, Sylvia Kent. Thanks so much, Sylvia.

Photo: Janet Cameron at Ottakar's after a successful signing for Canterbury Streets.

The Competitive Woman (1988) W.H. Allen (Mercury Business Books). Translated into Polish, Serbo-Croat, Mandarin Chinese.

The Competitive Couple (1990), a sequel to the above, commissioned but dropped when the publisher went into liquidation. However, first serial rights were purchased by the Daily Express.

Canterbury Streets (2005) Tempus Publishing, a A-Z social history of the cathedral city.

Haunted Kent (2005) Tempus Publishing, an A-Z of Kent ghost and poltergeist stories.

Kent - Fifteen Pocket Pub Walks (2006) Countryside Books. A mini walking book to fit in your pocket with a guide to local eating places and points of interest.

Dover - Murder & Crime, (2006), Tempus Publishing. Criminal activity in Dover from witches and smugglers to the early 1940s.

Kiddiwalks in Kent, (2007) by Countryside Books. A walking book for parents and children with child-friendly suggestions for things to do and background details.

Medway - Murder and Crime, (2008) Tempus Publishing. Criminal activity in Medway.

Brighton and Hove - Murders and Misdemeanours, (2009) Amberley Publishing. Victorian crime stories.

Non-Fiction Articles published in Today, The Examiner, The Daily Express, The Sunday Telegraph, The Observer on Sunday, Writing in Education, Mslexia, Writers Forum, Bygone Kent, Scribble and other small press journals.

FICTION
Surrogate Lover, a psychological thriller published by W.H. Allen's Star Books in 1988, later translated for the German market.

Short Stories have appeared in Woman, Bella, My Weekly, The People's Friend, The Sunday Post, The Woman Writer,Scribble, Countryside Tales and Connections Arts Magazine.

POETRY
Poems have appeared in Acumen, Equinox, Logos, OU Poetry Anthology, Writing Magazine,Connections Arts Magazine.

I am a professional writer and tutor, recently retired from lecturing for the University of Kent in Creative Writing. I like to create a friendly learning environment for my students. Preferring not to specialise, I write mass market short stories, experimental stories, local history (Tempus Publishing), walking books (Countryside Books) and poetry (Acumen, Equinox, Logos). I have also published a novel and a book about women in business (both with W.H. Allen)both translated into several languages,and I am a regular contributor to 'Writers Forum'. I am a member of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. Please find details of my current books on this blog.

Workshop and Talk Commissions - email janet.cameron@btinternet.com

I am willing to undertake any writing-related commissions. Workshops are an extension of my normal routine and I have several suitable lesson-plans on various subjects, for example:

Writing for Women's Magazines (originally created for the Split the Lark Literary Festival in Deal, Kent, June 2005)

Other popular themes are: Telling Stories - Planning a Novel - Writing a Poem

I am happy to speak to groups and my favourite talk is entitled: Hacking It. It takes about one hour. Fees negotiable.

The following is a reference supplied for the Artscape education website:

'I understand that Janet Cameron is applying to be listed on the Artscape directory. I have known Janet for seven years and have worked alongside her both in adult education and at the University of Kent. Janet is thorough and conscientious in approach to her own writing, as well as to the literature and creative writing courses that she teaches. She is an inspiring person, keen to encourage all her students to achieve their potential in writing projects. She has a lively personality and makes classes fun, interesting and stimulating. I have no hesitation in recommending that you include Janet in the Artscape listings.'
Retention Programme Co-ordinator, Unit for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, University of Kent.

Comment on Janet Cameron's writing by Valerie Dunmore, Chairman of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists:

Joyce Grenfell, also once President of our Society, is revered as queen of the monologue, but Janet Cameron's winning entry (in the Clemence Dane competition) is proof that she has the imagination and literary discipline to produce a script equal to anything in Joyce Grenfell's repertoire.

Awards
John Walter Salver, (Humorous short story) 2007, THIRD PRIZE
Clemence Dane (Monologue) October, 2007 FIRST PRIZE
John Walter Salver (Article, Sense of Place) December, 2006 THIRD PRIZE
The Elizabeth Longford Trophy (Poem) May, 2006 COMMENDED
John Walter Salver, (Short Story) December, 2005 HIGHLY COMMENDED
The Elizabeth Longford Trophy (Poem) May, 2005 HIGHLY COMMENDED

MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS AND JOURNALISTS

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Haunted Kent by Janet Cameron

2006-12-01T14:03:00.000-08:00

Tempus Publishing, (2005) £8.99 www.tempus-publishing.com

ISBN 0-7524-3605-8

HEALTH ALERT - If you scare easily DON'T BUY HAUNTED KENT

Haunted Kent contains heart-stopping accounts of apparitions, manifestions and related supernatural phenomena which range over many years and span the county of Kent. Why do some people attract ghosts, spirits and poltergeists? Why can only certain individuals detect their vibration frequencies? (Perhaps you are one of these spirit-sensitive people.)

Haunted Kent celebrates new and well-known spooky stories from around the county. Contained in this selection are stories of the hunchback monk at Boughton Malherbe, the black dog of Leeds, Canterbury's faithless friar and Dungeness' mysterious lady, as well as the famous tale of Lady Blanche of Rochester Castle. This fascinating collection of strange sightings and happenings in the county's streets, churches, public houses and country lanes is sure to appeal to anyone wondering why Kent is known as the most haunted county in England. Ghostly experiences can be weird, terrifying, intriguing and sometimes touching. The boundaries of what we believe possible are exceeded; our imagination is stretched to its limits.

With an accessible format of stories arranged alphabetically under Kent place names and around 50 stunning photographs of spooky places (and two line drawings by the author) you will be inspired to go exploring for yourself. Since it was published at Hallowe'en, 2005 Haunted Kent has sold more than 5,000 copies and is still going strong. Read this book then ask yourself: WHAT DO I BELIEVE?

The book is available from good Kent bookshops, or go to the Tempus website address listed above. If you would prefer a signed copy direct from the author, please email her on janet.cameron@btinternet.com

Frequently Asked Questions:

What are ghosts?

The generally accepted theory is that they are souls trapped on our plane reluctant to leave it because of unfinished business or simply because they don't know they are dead. Sometimes, it's thought they are so disturbed by their manner of death they are unable to 'move on'. Perhaps they need to draw attention to their plight before they can leave the earthly plane.

Some people feel they are simply a superficial manifestation of energy which keeps repeating itself after an intensely-felt event, a sort of spiritual 'afterglow'. Although they can be frightening, simply because we don't understand their presence, it doesn't follow that they necessarily have evil intent. But sometimes they do! Read about the ghost with the horrible laugh in Haunted Kent.

What is a poltergeist?

The word 'poltergeist' describes another distinct ghostly manifestation and derives from two German words, 'poltern' - to knock, and 'geist' - spirit; in other words, noisy spirit. These spirits cause major physical disturbance. They appear to come in two varieties - either that of a traditional haunting activity, where items are moved around or light bulbs flash, or they may attach themselves to a particular place or person, and, in the latter case, even follow them around. They can commit arson, cause human levitation, throw stones and move large furniture. They can shriek, slam doors and turn lights on and off. Read about the terrifying Bromley Allotment Poltergeist in Haunted Kent.

Reviews for Haunted Kent:
_________________________________________
This spine-chiller must not be read when you're alone... Author Janet Cameron has hand-picked classic ghostly Kentish tales as well as researched traditional folk stories for her book Haunted Kent.

Emily Hall, Kent Messenger, 28 October, 2005.
_________________________________________
Mysterious sightings in Pub. Tale of lady in grey published... As the wind whistles across the bleak landscape and the waves crash on the deserted shore, Dungeness certainly seems like the perfect setting for an eerie tale.

Kathryn Tyre, Romney Marsh Herald, Early November,2005.
________________________________________
Beautifully timed with Hallowe'en, I took my children along to a nearby Ottakar's to hear Janet read from her book. I was surprised at how many of the audience were willing to share their own spooky experiences but if the recent plethora of supernatural shows on television is anything to go by, it would appear that the popularity of ghosts is far from dead.
The author offers the reader something different to the compendiums that have gone before. She chooses to take her lead from Kention and its Celtic meaning 'on the edge' remaining less concerned with the usual paraphernalia surrounding such detective work in favour of good old-fashioned research to unearth a story.
We're offered a whistle-stop tour where we're free to step down at any point and wander the lanes or passageways. Rather like Henry James, we may stop and wonder if such tales are really intrusions from an uncanny and unseen world. Or we may turn a handle of a door with de la Mare and see an internal vision, where death still has a significant part to play.
As we wander, we'll be sure to find a tale that lingers on. Even Daniel Defoe found himself haunted by something he heard on his travels through the county. Along with an all-star cast from Pluckley, otherwise known as 'the most haunted village in England', feel set to resonate: 'the things which are seen as temporal. But things which are not seen are eternal.

Melanie Waterfield, The Woman Writer, February, 2006

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Dover - Murder & Crime by Janet Cameron

2006-12-01T13:04:00.000-08:00

Tempus Publishing (2006) £8.99
www.tempus-publishing.com
ISBN: 0-7524-3978-2

Those who fell foul of the law in Kent faced a horrible fate, some were thrown to their deaths from the top of Dover's iconic white cliffs, while others were hanged, quartered, burnt or buried alive, yet still the criminal fraternity of Kent went undeterred.
This fascinating book contains tales of thwarted rivals and wicked soldiers, desperate mothers, licentious monks and disreputable women. From the highwayman caught when his wig snagged on a branch to the killer who confessed when the police found silver coins hidden in his underwear, here is a survey of crimes ranging from murders most foul to salacious waltzing and 'having an evil demeanour'.
There are chapters on witchcraft, smuggling, wrecking, press gangs, highwaymen, poachers and sheepstealers, immorality, yob culture, shootings, fraud and mutinies.

'These personal stories demonstate the darkest side of the human character, but they also offer glimpses of the resourcefulness and, ultimately, the development of ordinary people that sometimes culminates in acts of great compassion and heroism. If we only look at the 'nice' side of life, then I think we are only half a person, because we are all, deep inside, a mixture of dark and light in varying degrees - like the world we live in, past, present and future.' (Janet Cameron.)

With more than 50 photos and illustrations, this chilling catalogue of murderous misdeeds is bound to captivate anyone interested in the criminal history of the area.

Dover - Murder & Crime is available from good East Kent bookshops or by using the Tempus Publishing website address above. If you would like a signed copy direct from the author, please email her at janet.cameron@btinternet.com

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Poems

2006-12-01T11:13:00.000-08:00

POEMS BY JANET CAMERON PUBLISHED IN ACUMEN, EQUINOX, LOGOS

LIST

I like the sound
when soft winds play pizzicato on wing feathers
of swans in flight.

I like the songs
of sunset when starlings audition
for Aerial Idol.

I like the sight
of sanderlings prospecting in the shallows
like grouchy old men.

I like the fresh smell
of a new day,- the taste of sea spray
on my lips

and of you on my tongue.

(Janet Cameron, from Acumen No. 51, January, 2005)

7 WAYS OF LOOKING AT 15 MINUTES

The author would like to thank
her family - and Mrs. McDowell who actually read her book.

Her agent
who spoke for more than sixty seconds
on the telephone
and signed a card
'With Much Love...'

The author would like to stick a
Long Pin
in the heart of the academic
who remarked, 'Oh well, nowadays
they publish
such rubbish.

And the 'friend' who asked how much it cost her!

Figments and fragments -
the seeds that gave birth to the composite children
of her imagination,
whom she grew to love.

And her muse,
so insistent, she can't wait
to start her fiction.

that lush green field planted
on her side of the fence,
where she is producer, direction and absolute boss
and can be as
Bloody-Minded as she pleases.

(Janet Cameron, from Acumen No. 54, January 2006)

AIR MINES

(A flock of swans flew into power lines in January 2003 on the Isle of Thanet. Most were electrocuted or fell to the ground and died of their wounds)

no one gets a medal for this
except perhaps the red badge of
carnage.

I saw her last Sunday
lazy on a slim stream where warblers make
song in reeds
maybe among the slaughtered who

dropped
and later died from wounds
were three who skimmed
my head as i tramped over marshes
i heard their rich vibrato
i knew them personally.

i make light, trivialise, tell myself
they're merely big white ducks
with crooked necks, and lucky
on account of an arbitary accident of
extreme beauty
not to compete with turkeys at christmas

no importance compared to the war in iraq
less newsworthy than kate winslett's diet

a flock of swan needlessly massacred
for want of a few markers
on power lines
over a kent field
in winter

(Janet Cameron from Logos 9, Spring 2004 & Equinox 9, March 2004. Highly commended in The Lady Longford Poetry Competition 2004)

A SPACE TO GROW
There’s a fist in my head,
so I pick up a plate and smash it,
pause with thick deliberation
and sling another
and a pyrex I’ve had for yonks
and a pudding bowl so the floor is
invisible for fragments.
Strewn with shattered glass, surfaces
shimmer, the hallway
glimmers. China pieces
ricochet round a corner,
wake up the weary carpet in the diner.

Admiring the beautiful mess I feel pampered,
soothed by self-indulgence –
it trickles, syrup sweet
into the core of my sanity.

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