Category Archives: Just James

Anything I feel like putting online that may or may not relate to anything.

Too Much Happiness

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If you haven’t read Alice Munro before, then stop wasting your time with this blog and go and read her now. Go on, I’m serious. I’ve just received a master class in short story writing thanks to Mysty’s book club choice of Too Much Happiness. I didn’t think it was possible to cover so much in a story. Munro can switch generations in a sentence and capture a person’s entire life in one simple description. It’s an emotional roller coaster. But her best skill is the twists in plot and fate. She leads you in one direction and then just as you think you know what the story is going to be about, switches emphasis to a completely different character and situation. It’s a little bit like watching the opening credits to Six Feet Under, when you try and guess which of the opening characters are going to end up in the morgue. You think the person jumping off of the building is the main protagonist but it ends up being the person they fortuitously land on and crush, breaking their fall.

In lesser hands this could potentially seem contrived, like some technical skill learned by an overzealous MA student. But Munro’s writing is effortless, perfectly weighted and emotional. You really get inside the characters heads. Here’s an example of one story. A man is buried but we quickly discover he’s ‘beat’ his wife to it as she has terminal cancer. A few days later a man knocks at her door. She lets him in and he turns out to be a psycho. He insists she makes him a tea and gets threatening. With nothing to lose, she lies and tells the man she’s poisoned his drink. Shocked at her confident defiance, he becomes rattled and demands the keys to her car. She hands them over. Later the police knock at the door. They inform her that the car has been in an accident and the man has died. He’s wanted for murder. She acts coy and says she left the keys in the car. The policeman patronises this supposedly doddery old woman, telling her to be more careful. The reader knows what she has been through and you can’t help but admire her dignity as well as her will to live. The event gives her life so much meaning.

My synopsis might not convince you, which is more reason to read the book and see how bizarre twists can be perfectly sutured together. Deconstruction is also a useful writing tip. For the past month I’ve been going through my own book, writing a one sentence summary of each chapter for an agent who’s interested in it. He says this is essential to see where the story is going and it’s been incredibly useful. It’s got me viewing my work with more detachment. Try it next time you write something, but first of all get down the library. I’ll be resentfully returning my copy on Monday.

Wanted! Spoken Word Performers.

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Nottingham failed to live up to its violent reputation in the recent riots, proving we are far better at apathy than anarchy. I can only conclude from this that we’re all pretty happy with our footwear and so it wasn’t worth doing in the windows of JJB Sports. Or perhaps we just have more important things on our minds, like wondering if Steve McLaren will develop a Bulwell accent at his next press conference.

A group of people who weren’t out rioting were Safe and Sounds, a Nottingham-based collective committed to raising awareness, money and support for all those affected by natural disasters. ‘We find it hard to sit back and watch the lives of others – whose shoes we could so easily walk in – get turned upside down by forces beyond their control… and so we decided to do something, and have called upon a spectrum of talent to help.’ You could be part of that talent and score some Pearly Gate points in the process.

After a successful launch party in May – the proceeds of which went to the Japan tsunami relief fund – they have now set their sights on a much bigger venture. And so, on Sunday September 25th they will be holding an all-day, multi-venue event across the city centre, to raise money for the British Red Cross’ Disaster Fund, and six other relevant charities which will be decided by the public. Given the growing frequency of natural disasters, expect many causes desperately fighting over the pennies.

Artists, poets and writers aren’t traditionally the wealthiest of people as they are usually the first to feel the brunt of the cuts. Take BBC Radio 4. The short story in the Afternoon Reading was recently reduced from five days a week to three and now it’s going down to one a week. At this rate we’ll be down to 140 characters next. This is of course the same BBC that introduced the National Short Story Award a few years ago. So if there’s anyone likely to loot for trainers it is those with pen in hand. But the good thing about being skint and unappreciated is it gives you plenty of material to write about which you can then perform for free for noble causes.

The next Safe and Sounds event will be spoken word at Lee Rosy’s Tea Room (Broad Street, Nottingham) starting at 7pm (finish time tbc). Nicola Monaghan (The Killing Jar, Starfishing) will be taking part so it’s also a great opportunity to perform with an established author and local favourite. You can do this by filling out the contact form on their website or by joining their Facebook Group for more information. The woman with the big heart driving this project is Hannah Elizabeth Boylin. Respect.