When Words Collide

No sense sitting on the offence.

As I progress with my fifth thriller and tie myself in knots with middle class angst about some my working class characters' attitudes, I'm quite attuned to our propensity to get things wrong. Getting it wrong doesn't mean you're necessarily prejudiced or bigoted. You could just be thoughtless. On the one hand, your characters need to speak and act freely to fulfil their literary destiny. You could even argue that the point where you cringe as you're writing is also the cut-off point where you step outside your boundaries and start to inhabit their perspective. On the other hand, frankly, you may need to think about where you're being authentic or just trying to be clever. 

I write jokes that occasionally find their way into live performance (and even less occasionally - like almost never - onto radio). It's so easy to offend a section of the populace without even meaning to. Not just bucking the trend or subverting the form but out and out pissing people off.

And speaking of 'out', something really interesting happened recently that illustrates not only how easy it is to get it wrong, but how that misfortune can occur even when it's a cause that matters dearly to you.

Pride in London went for 'humour' in its Love Happens Here marketing for London's Pride Festival (now running until 9th July). It missed the target by a wide margin and managed to offend the LGBTI community. In particular, the use of the word 'gay' as irony (that's my take on their motive) was subsequently considered misjudged after being interpreted as a pejorative term. 

You can read about it here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40446096

It's a reminder that words have power. Forget all that 'sticks and stones' nonsense. As an example, ask any child or adult who has been bullied and they will be able to vividly recount what was said and how it made them feel. 

We all have a responsibility for what we communicate and how we do it. Writers can and do walk that line between expression and censorship, and sometimes we cross it. It's our freedom to do that, but we have to accept that others may see that as a step too far. Unlike fiction, life can be messy and remain unresolved. In the above case, there's an added dimension, which is the impact on other people who might go on to use the words.



Have any writers out there ever misread the mood with a piece of writing? And if so how did you recover the situation, or did you let it stand?


Derek

Author of the Spy Chaser series, which so far has only managed to offend a few readers.*

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08

US: https://www.amazon.com/Derek-Thompson/e/B0034ORY08



* Swearing, a shower scene, violence, and - bizarrely - a lead character expressing too much emotion. 

Music for Writing

I can hear music. Not just a brilliant track by The Beach Boys (and also nicely covered by The Ronettes), but also a statement of fact. Why? Because generally I write fiction to a musical backdrop. 

When I work on a novel I use different types of music to get into the mood of a scene. Classical music and jazz (especially Chet Baker) are favourites but sometimes an individual track will capture the essence of a moment, or complement a section of dialogue. As my Spy Chaser owes a debt to Raymond Chandler, I find anything with a noir feel to it opens that magic door to the active imagination. 

A haze of smoke lingers and I see shadows beyond it where Thomas Bladen is waiting for me, leant against a faded brick wall, looking at his watch. He glances over and nods to Karl McNeill who is standing by the opposite wall and eating a bag of crisps. A haunting bassoon lends a melancholy tone to the steamy night air... And then Miranda Wright strolls along the alleyway, doing her slinky walk for Thomas's benefit even though her eyes are fixed on that doorway where I listen to her approaching steps. She pauses, just ahead of Thomas and Karl, facing me down. Her lips part, breaking the streetlight glint, and then she takes a breath. I hold mine in anticipation  and she smiles momentarily before bestowing her wisdom. "Maybe if you stopped pissing about so much you'd get the book finished?" She raises an eyebrow and then turns, her heels tapping out a sensuous beat that recedes into the night. Thomas and Karl follow in her wake.

Miranda has a point.

It's been a funny old year. An illness and then a death in the family, bloodshed on Britain's streets and a seemingly never-ending conveyor belt of tragedy, politics and other bad news. Oh yeah, and I took a short holiday for the first time in two years. Sometimes the page reflects with near perfect clarity, even if no one else can see it.

But the thing is, writing doesn't always have to change the world, or make things better - even for ourselves. Writing is about the story - the characters, the dialogue and the pulsing heart of it. So I'm back now, cocooned by music to dissuade me from leaving the confines of my writing desk. Well, I say confines but really it's the stepping off point. 

And speaking of music...

Before Standpoint was published I put together a soundtrack of the book, selecting music to accompany the film. Now that it is published, I'm still rather fond of those original choices.

I'll keep this as spoiler-free as possible!

I'd open with I Specialise by Christine Collister & Clive Gregson. Who couldn't love Christine's powerful voice, conveying cynicism and indifference. Another option would be Someone's Looking At You by the Boomtown Rats.

I have several tunes for Thomas and Miranda, depending on how things are between them: 

I Can Hear Music by The Beach Boys, Will You by Hazel O'Connor, Here with Me by Dido

and Kiss the Rain by Billie Myers.

One song always make me think of Thomas and his trips to Whitehall is The Queen and the Soldier by Suzanne Vega. 

When it comes to Thomas being back amongst his family in Yorkshire (and confronting his father) it has to be The Story of the Blues Pt 1 byThe Mighty Wah. 

It's Bridge of Spies by T'Pau when Thomas is alone, on the North Yorkshire moors, heading off to confront the bad guys.

And the final tracking shot, as the dead are counted along with the cost? I Saved the World Today by Eurythmics.

Readers of the sequel, Line of Sight, will know that Karl has a theme song, sort of, which is another story altogether!

Do you write books and what importance does music play in the process?