Writing vs Writing About Writing

Annamaria on Monday

 

I am inspired here by critical biographies I have been reading: about Michelangelo and about two writers: William Shakespeare, who needs no introduction, and Isak Dinesen, who under her real name—Karen Blixen—appears as a fictionalized character in my Africa series.  The readings are part of research I have taken up with my life-long friend Kate, who shares my predilection for pursuing study just for the fun of it.

 

In these endeavors, we began with my favorite ever book about the Bard—Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt.  Because so much of Shakespeare’s life remains mysterious, it is extremely difficult for scholars to work out how the glovemaker’s son got to be the greatest of writers.  In his brilliant study, Greenblatt takes the few facts we know about Wil—the boy and the man, the history of the England that surrounded him, and the details of what was going on in London and its theater world when Shakespeare was one of its major players.  For instance, we know that the Brits beheaded their criminals (and political opponents, for that matter) and displayed their severed heads on London bridge.  It is impossible to imagine that Shakespeare lived in London and never walked over the bridge.  Greenblatt then shows us vivid scenes from the plays in which heads rolled. The nice thing about his book is that Greenblatt says he is working with conjecture.  It’s fun to imagine how the sights Will saw influenced what came out in the plays.  But Greenblatt’s connections come only as suggestions.  

 

When Kate and I went on to Michelangelo, we read one critical biographer who pushed his luck with me. Perhaps to dazzle us with his depth of study, he points to all kinds of resemblances between images on the Sistine Chapel ceiling and works of other artists he is certain Michelangelo had seen, or perhaps only probably was familiar with.  In his book, he presents the resemblances as direct, conscious copying (the author said “quoting”) from the works of others.  In other words, he is saying—so to speak, “I know exactly where Michelangelo got the idea for the position of Ezekiel’s head in the Sistine chapel.  He saw it in a fresco in the Church of Santa Croce.”  Really, you know that for sure?

 

My beef with this is that some people who study an artist or writer’s creative output think they so perfectly understand their subject’s creative process that they can trace exactly where the ideas came from.

 

Maybe.  I guess.  SOMETIMES!

 

Then, on my own, I have been reading a biography of Karen Blixen that also got my hackles up.  The author describes people that Karen met in Africa and finds people with similar characteristics in the tales of Isak Dinesen and concludes that Karen intentionally put a carbon copy of a real person into a story decades later.  What bothers me is the mechanical nature of all this.  Given that there is not one creative process, that it differs from person to person, how can people who very likely never met their subject be so sure that they understand exactly they went through the writer or the artist’s mind when they were making their art.

 

In these to me overly confident analyses, the creative processes is reduced to one idea in, the same idea out.  I don’t think people as great as those cited could have gotten to their heights by such predicable means.  Perhaps I am so passionate about this because my own process is nothing like that.  I cannot control my fictional people.  They take over the story, and sometimes surprise me, and to me that feels more creative, not less.

 

 I am studying Karen Blixen’s life so that I can make my fictionalized version of her  words and actions jibe with the real woman’s.  No matter what, I will not have “my” Karen do objectionable things that the real Karen never did.  Other than that, when my fictional Karen talks, I just write down what my imagination tells me she says.  Sometimes, she says to my fictional people things the real Karen actually wrote to her mother.  But not all the time.

 

So what about you, my fellow writers.  Does your process allow you to consciously take people you have known and put them in your stories?  Do you purposefully summon them?   Or do you only recognize them after they have shown up of their own accord?  

The Murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky

Delayed Justice

Zoë Sharp

 

Listening to the news this week brought up the name of a murdered police officer I recalled from what seemed like many years ago, and prompted me to refresh my memory about the case.

 

The Crime

PC Sharon Beshenivsky was still a probationary constable with West Yorkshire Police when she was shot dead by armed robbers on the afternoon of November 18 2005. A former childminder, she had completed her police training only in February of that year.

 

PC Beshenivsky, along with her more experienced colleague, PC Teresa Milburn, had been just about to finish their shift when they responded to an attack alarm activated at a travel agency on Morley Street in Bradford.

 

There, they encountered a gang of three men—armed with a knife, a 9mm handgun, and a Mac 10 submachine gun. One of the robbers immediately shot both officers in the chest. PC Beshenivsky’s wound was fatal. PC Milburn, although severely injured, managed to press the panic button on her radio and remained conscious to give responding officers a description of the gunman.

 

PC Beshenivsky, who was 38 at the time of her death, left behind a husband, two stepchildren and three children. That day was her youngest daughter’s fourth birthday.

 

The Gang

The robbers had arrived at the scene in a convoy of three cars, and fled the same way. Unfortunately for them, Bradford City Centre had recently installed automatic number plate recognition technology, which played a major part in identifying the vehicles involved, and their owners.

 

A week later, police named Somali brothers, Yusaf Jama – only nineteen at the time – and Mustaf Jama as prime suspects, along with Muzzaker Imtiaz Shah. Shah and Yusaf Jama were arrested within days. Mustaf Jama managed to flee the country on fake documents. It was rumoured at the time that he might have made his escape disguised in a burka. (Something he later denied.)

 

The gang was based in London, but had been lured up to Yorkshire by possibly false information that the travel agency had as much as £100,000 in cash on the premises. In the event, it was reported that they actually got away with little over £5000.

 

The Trial

In December 2006, Shah – identified by PC Milburn as the actual shooter – was convicted of murder, robbery, and firearms offences. He was sentenced to Life imprisonment with a minimum term of 35 years. Despite not actually pulling the trigger, Yusaf Jama was also convicted of the same offences, and received the same sentence.

 

Both men later had additional time added to their sentences for other crimes which came to light – firearms offences and conspiracy to rape. They were also involved in an incident in prison in which another prisoner was stabbed.

 

Cleared of murder, but found guilty of a range of crimes, including manslaughter, robbery, and firearms offences, were three men who served as getaway drivers and lookouts. For these crimes, they received sentences anywhere from eight years to Life.

 

The Fugitives

Mustaf Jama fled to Somalia, where his father was allegedly a local warlord. This might be considered ironic, as Mustaf Jama had avoided being deported to the African country only six months earlier, after finishing a sentence for driving offences, robbery, and affray.

 

Somalia had no diplomatic ties to the UK. Nevertheless, when Mustaf Jama was given ‘most wanted’ status, a deal was struck between the Somali government and the British Foreign Office and Home Office. Mustaf Jama’s vehicle was ambushed in the desert by local militiamen. He was snatched, flown to Dubai via private plane, and then on to the UK. The day after his arrival, he was taken into custody at a police station in Leeds, and charged with the murder of PC Beshenivsky.

 

It took a further two years to bring him to trial, in July 2009. He was found guilty and sentenced, like his co-conspirators, to Life with a minimum term of 35 years.

 

By this time, the police were also looking for another man, Piran Ditta Khan. Khan was thought to be the mastermind behind the robbery, but had fled to Pakistan. A lengthy battle followed to force his return to the UK to stand trial.

 

In January 2020, Khan was arrested by the Pakistan police. And last week he was flown back to the UK and formally charged with the murder of PC Beshenivsky. Other charges included robbery and firearms offences.

 

The Aftermath

When she died in 2005, PC Sharon Beshenivsky became the seventh female UK police officer killed in service, and the first since PC Yvonne Fletcher in 1984. PC Fletcher died after a shot was fired from the Libyan Embassy while she was stationed outside monitoring a demonstration against then-Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi.

 

Efforts were made by a right-wing organisation to classify the murder of PC Beshenivsky as a racially motivated crime. Opponents pointed out that there was no obvious racial motive, and that the robbers were as likely to have fired upon any responding police officers, regardless of their ethnicity.

 

In January 2020, PC Sharon Beshenivsky’s daughter, Lydia – by then eighteen, told an interview with the Daily Mail that she intended to join the mounted section of the police service. I have not been able to verify whether in fact she has done this or not.

 

(For once, Mrs Google has failed me!)

 

This week’s Word of the Week is quincunx, meaning an arrangement of five objects, with four of them forming the corners of a square or rectangle, and the fifth in the centre, as in the spots on a dice or a playing card.

 

April 22 2023: Zoë Sharp will be appearing with Caro Ramsay and Sarah Ward at Ceredigion Museum in Aberystwyth as part of the Gŵyl Crime Cymru Festival. Their panel will be Event 6: Trade Secrets, 10:15 – 11:15 on Saturday, April 22 2023. “Writing a long series has its own difficulties, as does writing under two names in two different directions. How do you keep track? What are the things you know from your other lives that you bring to your writing? Learn a few trade secrets from three of the best. Panellists: Caro Ramsay, Zoë Sharp. Chair: Sarah Ward. Close Up Reader: Nigel Williams.”

 

Hot Off the Press

May 02 2023: A quick plug for John Lawton’s latest Joe Wilderness espionage thriller, Moscow Exile. Lawton will be launching the fourth novel with his thief-turned-reluctant spy in the lead role, at The Mysterious Bookshop, 58 Warren Street, New York, NY 10007 next mont. He will be in conversation with fellow author Mark Ellis, who is celebrating the upcoming publication of his latest DCI Frank Merlin wartime thriller, Dead In The Water.

 

Moscow Exile

‘Charlotte is a British expatriate who has recently settled in Washington, D.C. with her second husband, but enviable dinner parties aren't the only thing she is planning. Meanwhile, Charlie Leigh-Hunt has been posted to Washington as a replacement for Guy Burgess, last seen disappearing around the corner and into the Soviet Union. Charlie is surprised to cross paths with Charlotte, an old flame of his, who, thanks to her gossipy parties, has a packed pocketbook full of secrets she is eager to share.

 

‘Two decades later, in 1969, Joe Wilderness is stuck on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, held captive by the KGB, a chip in a game way above his pay grade – but his old friends Frank and Eddie are going to try to spring him out of the toughest prison in the world. All roads lead back to Berlin, and to the famous Bridge of Spies...

 

‘Featuring crackling dialogue and brilliantly plotted Cold War intrigue, Moscow Exile is a gripping thriller populated by larger-than-life personalities in a Cold War plot that feels strangely in tune with our present.’

 

Tomorrow is Greek Easter, Again

Saturday––Jeff

 

Over the years I’ve written about the traditions of Greek Easter many times.  This year I decided to let someone else describe those celebrations.  I found that explanation on the Facebook page of the oldest Greek Bakery in Queens--located in the NYC heart of America’s best-known Greek neighborhood, Astoria.  Here’s what the Victory Sweet Shop has to say:

 

For Greeks worldwide, Easter (April 16th) is the biggest religious holiday of the year.

 

HOLY WEEK is the week just before Easter that extends from Palm Sunday until Holy Saturday and marks the last week of Lent. It is full of symbolic events, festivities, and traditions followed by Greeks all over the world.

 

On THURSDAY, Greek Easter bread called Tsoureki is baked and the traditional red Easter eggs are dyed. This sweet bread is usually braided with three pieces of dough, which represent the Holy Trinity. The tsoureki symbolizes the Resurrection of Christ and rebirth as the flour is molded into shape and rises and takes on life as it transforms into its final shape. The red-dyed egg which is placed on top of the braid symbolizes the blood of Jesus. Nowadays, most people can easily buy the Easter Tsoureki at a Greek bakery.

 

On GOOD FRIDAY you’ll hear the church bells ring for the funeral of Christ. After the church service, the symbolic body of Christ, fashioned out of bundled sheets, is taken down from a cross and placed in a makeshift tomb called the Epitaphios, which is draped with an ornate tapestry and adorned with many flowers. The Epitaphios is then carried outside the church and paraded through the neighborhood before returning to the church for a closing ceremony. 

 

 

SATURDAY is the last day of lent and it is filled with preparations for the midnight meal, including a traditional lamb offal soup called “Magiritsa” and a red egg cracking tradition called “Tsougrisma”. Just before midnight on Saturday everyone gathers at church with their Easter candles (Lambathes). The liturgy on Holy Saturday night is a truly unique experience. The churches are usually packed, and you will often see people spilling onto the church’s streets with white candles, which will be lit later with the Holy Light brought all the way from Jerusalem.

 

The Resurrection of Christ is celebrated at midnight sharp; the priest proclaims “Christos Anesti” (Christ has risen) with bells ringing and fireworks lighting up the sky outside. People greet each other with a “Christos Anesti” (Christ is Risen) and its reply “Alithos Anesti” (He has truly risen), lighting their candles along the way. Each person carefully carries their lit candle home in order to bless their home by drawing a cross with the flame on the doorway. Afterwards, they enjoy the Magiritsa soup and play the Tsougrisma tradition.

 

On EASTER SUNDAY, family and friends gather for a big Easter meal, which typically includes lambs roasting on a spit, loads of mezedakia, Greek salads, music & dancing. The Easter meal is truly special and a feast of joy and happiness.

 

Kali Anastasi!!! Καλή Ανάσταση!!!

Happy Easter!!! Καλό Πάσχα!!!

 

Thank you, Victory Sweet Shop

 

––Jeff

The blog that wasn't!

 As you have gathered, there's a very late almost not existent blog today.

The fates conspired against me.

Well, it  started with weather.

We woke up in our lovely motorhome ( not paid for out of political party funds in case anybody's

 asking). That is a Scottish comment that is a political hot potato, so more about that as folk start to get arrested. Sorry, MORE folk get arrested.

So we woke up to snow.

 A lot of it.

And I was driving down the twisty turny lochside road to  get to work by 1pm.

 And was nearly late.

There was an army convoy and a boat. Both on the road.

This was good for novel writing purposes.

Not novel writing purpoises, that would be quite different. And wetter.

I was going to blog about some medical research that has been published lately.

Folk who grow up with dogs have a much lower incidence of Crohn's disease in later life.

Why is that?

All sorts of variations of epidemiology  were tested. Cats? Rural? Milk consumption?

And the clever peeps think it comes down to a variation in the gut bacteria.

And the robust gut bacteria seems to afford some protection from the auto immune changes.

Another blog - half written- was about just how Scottish the United States was.

And the answer is, a fair bit.

War Generals, founding fathers, rock stars etc.

Loads of them seem to have mothers from Greenock.

Greenock is down the road from me and yes, it's a port and a boat going anywhere away from there would be a good idea.

So Johnny Cash traced his ancestry back to 1130 before  he came to something Scottish.

I guess he was bored.

I know of Loch Cash, I suspect there might be a Glen Cash.

I shall drive about and photograph it if I find it.

And Walk the Line.

Then I read about Donald Trump's mother and felt the need to apologise.

But, in good tartan news this week - two pictures of the Loch Ness monster have  been taken.

Cheers

 Normal service next week.

The Facebook Rapist

 Michael - alternate Thursdays

Thabo Bester

To hear him tell it to the judge in mitigation, Thabo Bester had an awful childhood. His mother deserted him when he was very young and left him with his grandmother who was a domestic servant. He was abused from the time when he was sent for ritual circumcision. And so on. No doubt much of this is true. Something turned him into the monster he became. However, the point is that Bester’s profession is confidence trickster. He was in a gang when he was young and found he had a talent for it. Tales of needing bus fare to get home escalated to million dollar fraud, rape, and murder. The judge didn’t buy it. She observed that he had expressed no remorse for the damage to his victims; he was sorry only for himself.

When all is said and done, if a rapist is picky, then Facebook would seem to be a good way to look for victims. Bester is picky. He likes models, and he developed a very successful way of linking up with them. He made contact via Facebook supposedly as a talent scout from overseas looking for potential modelling talent for the international market. He had a clever twist. On Facebook, he pretended to be a woman. That made it much easier to set up private meetings—meetings that then went violently wrong. The amazing thing is that he repeated the scenario several times before he was caught. Did the women not report him? There couldn’t have been any doubt in anyone’s mind that it was rape. He did it at knife-point and stole anything valuable that the women had with them. Or were the police totally incompetent?

The privately run prison where Bester was held

But all things come to an end, and Facebook, is not, after all, a very private way of communicating. Thabo Bester was arrested in 2010 and tried in 2011 for two rapes and in 2012 for murder. He didn’t contest any of the charges, and was sentenced to essentially life in prison. Normally, that would be the end of a short and nasty story. But for Bester, his career was just beginning. He established and ran a fraudulent events company from the maximum security prison where he was incarcerated. He even addressed meetings by internet, telling them that he was in the US attracting big name talent to South Africa. He never brought any of the big nmaes in. What he did bring in was “investment” cheques.

Thabo Bester and Dr Magudumana

Another good thing happened to Bester in prison. He renewed his links with Dr Nandipha Magudumana (“Dr Nandi”), whom he’d met while she was studying at university and who worked part-time for a modelling and promotions agency he was running at the time. Since she was the one who renewed the links with Bester after his trial, presumably their relationship was not merely a professional one.

Then, in April 2022, Bester claimed that he was being targeted by a prison gang and that his life was in danger. The warders put him into a solitary confinement cell supposedly for his own safety, but later they discovered a corpse burnt beyond recognition covered by a mattress. There was a smell of petrol fumes. The prison authorities reported the death as suicide. A sad end to what remains a short and nasty story? Nope.

Every unnatural death in South Africa requires an autopsy. The autopsy determined that the person was dead before the fire had broken out, in fact he had died from a blow to his skull. Dr Nandi claimed to be his “customary” (common law) wife and demanded the body for a customary burial, ignoring the counterclaim from Bester's mother. She collected the body from the mortuary, but at this point, in view of the autopsy report, the police were investigating a murder case and confiscated the body. In response, Dr Nandi approached the High Court, recovered the body, and arranged a hasty cremation rather than the customary ceremony she had so strongly demanded. 

Later, it was discovered that the day before the death, a vehicle was driven into the prison without a gate pass.

The next month, a fraudulent construction company made its appearance. It was based in the up-market Johannesburg suburb where Dr Nandi lived.

At the beginning of July, the police obtained the results of a comparison between the DNA of the body and that of Bester’s mother. The result proved that there was no possibility that the burnt body was Thabo Bester. It was finally clear that Bester had escaped and a body had been substituted for him. Still, no hue or cry was raised. Was it too embarrassing? Then in October (i.e. six months after the escape) another prisoner testified that Bester had indeed escaped with the help of a guard.

It still took until last month before it was admitted to the public that Bester had escaped from his cell, and for Interpol to be informed.

Then, last week, a man and a woman fitting the descriptions of Bester and Dr Nandi were arrested in Tanzania, apparently headed for the Kenyan border and evidently they were stopped pretty well by chance at a regular roadblock.. The pair were in possession of a number of passports, which were all unused. Since they were in Tanzania illegally, they will probably be deported to South Africa in any case, but otherwise South Africa will apply for their extradition. 

Meanwhile, Dr Nandi’s father and a prison guard have been charged with smuggling a body into the prison.

The accomplices?

The end of a not-so-short but even nastier story? Somehow I doubt it.

I was left wondering if this story would have worked as a novel. At first sight it has everything. Handsome, evil, protagonist who can tell any story and be believed. Beautiful twisted “celebrity” doctor who falls for the protagonist in such a big way that she’ll do anything to get him for herself. Fraud, scams, murder, rape, dead bodies, prison break! But, no, it wouldn’t work as fiction. Fiction has to be believable.

THE TAUTOLOGY TRAP

Wed--Kwei

Over years of writing, my editors have caught my tautology blunders: needless repetition of an idea expressed in a different way, a phrase or sentence that doesn’t need qualification. It’s a common phenomenon in new writers, but even the pros slip up every once in a while. Here are a few common ones, but you can probably think of other examples.

Going outside, rain was falling hard.

Rain always falls, even if it’s slanted. There’s also an amusing misplaced modifier here. 

Try something like: Driven by the howling wind, the rain lashed their skin.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

Tears always appear in the eyes. Try something like: Her tears spilled onto her cheeks.

The sunrise arrived quickly as dawn broke.

Although dawn and sunrise are not exactly equivalent, the usage of both words in the same sentence is unnecessary. Economy of words. Either dawn broke or the sunrise arrived.

Can you identify this sunrise spot somewhere in the USA? 
(Image: Kwei Quartey)

The tight-knit group was gathered together. 

A group is a gathering, tight-knit or otherwise. Much better would be, The group was tightly knit.

The reason for this is because . . .

“Reason” and “because” both convey the same idea.

She thought to herself.

All thoughts are to oneself. She thought is sufficient.

He whispered quietly to her.

Whispering is a quiet form of speech.

They gave a brief summary.

Not terrible, but again, the “brief” is unnecessary.

He was glad to be returning back home.

“Return” means going back.

She nodded her head in agreement.

Nodding is a gesture of the head to indicate agreement.

She knocked sharply on the door.

Although this isn’t blatantly a tautology, in most cases it’s understood where you normally knock. Clearly, you can also knock on a window. Nevertheless, I’d suggest something like, She approached the door and knocked sharply. A line in the present novel I’m writing is: “As he began kicking convulsively, he heard the sound of someone knocking.” And that’s the way I’ll leave it.

Got some favorites? Let us know down below.

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The Empty Tomb @ 38 Oxley Road

 Ovidia--every other Tuesday

I was thinking about the coming together of Easter, Passover and Ramadan this year--but other people have written and will write about that better than I ever could. I'd like to talk about something else the image of the empty tomb brought to mind, especially after the 'Day of No Hope' or the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

But how/ where/ why does 38 Oxley Road, Singapore 238629 come into this?

Oxley Road was named after Dr Thomas Oxley, who owned a nutmeg plantation in the area in the 1840s. Built in the late 19th century, Number 38 was originally named 'Castor'. It was occupied by a European merchant family till the war, when it was taken over by the Japanese.

But more significantly, 38 Oxley Road is where Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew lived in the years when Singapore's Independence was plotted and executed, and throughout his tenure as PM.

It's where the fledgeling PAP's 'underground' meetings were held. 'Underground' because political meetings were illegal under British rule and because their meetings were held in the basement dining room (see below).

This was also where our current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong grew up. That's the porch where he had Chinese tuition and Malay tuition in addition to regular school work.

But the reason 38 Oxley Road came to public attention was the very public family discussion over what should become of it after Lee Kuan Yew's death.

When he stepped down as Minister Mentor in 2011, Lee Kuan Yew said he wanted the house demolished. He was against being turned into a cult figure and wanted no permanent commemoration.

However, when the Cabinet wanted to preserve the house for its historic significance, Lee Kuan Yew amended two subsequent versions of his will to remove a previous demolition clause. In his seventh and final will made in December 2013, Lee Kuan Yew willed the house to his eldest son, Lee Hsien Loong.

This upset his siblings who felt he'd gone against their father's wishes, triggering family rancour that was only made a big deal of because of who they are.

Is it more important to follow your father's once stated wishes--or do what the government he established decrees? Which facet of a multifaceted man takes precedence?

But contradictions don't mean someone is mistaken or lying.

Look at the four gospel accounts of who was at the empty tomb: 

1. Matthew says Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the grave (Matt 28:1) 

2. Mark said it was Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome who brought spices to the tomb to anoint him. (Mark 16:1)

3. Luke says only that some women were at the empty tomb at dawn (Luke 24:1) only adding later that Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and some other women were telling things to the apostles (24:10). 

4. And John says Mary Magdalene went to the tomb, early (John 20:1). 

As any reader or writer of crime fiction knows, if two witnesses give identical testimonies it's likely someone has been coached-- because each of us, given our unique perspective, will see things differently. It's what adds dimension to the whole picture.

I don't see a contradiction here--more that each writer named the women he knew or noticed. John mentioned only the woman who talked to Simon Peter. If he didn't notice the others it doesn't mean they weren't there. 

It's the only thing a writer can do--we write down what we see. 

Which is why it's important to remember that what we see is always filtered by who, what and where we are. That we don't know the whole story doesn't mean we can't tell our part of it--we should. And we should also make sure we take in other people's stories too.

Because it's in going out into the world to live and write new stories that counts, not weeping in the empty tomb or outside the empty house.