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And writing manuals don’t often tell a story, even if they tell you how to write one.
So how come Tim Atkinson’s debut novel Writing Therapy is described by the novelist and critic D.J.Kirkby as ‘… ideal for those preparing to write their first full length manuscript’ and as ‘an effective ‘how to' book cleverly disguised as an innocent novel’?
Well, Tim’s on a blog book-tour at present, so I thought I’d take the chance to find out for myself.
Firstly, is Writing Therapy really a writing manual?
Tim: well, yes I suppose it is. But it’s written by a girl (the central character) who has read so many novels she becomes convinced that she’s a character in one. So it’s a book within a book, two books for the price of one! And that’s part of the fun. Because – just as many writing courses refer to great works of literature, so does the central character. She takes her cue from the books she’s read and – in taking them apart – constructs a novel of her own.
But is it as simple as that?
Tim: Not quite. You see, she’s also a patient in a psychiatric hospital. So writing a book is her therapy as well. Her nurse takes the role of tutor, I suppose: feeding her exercises, getting her creative juices flowing and developing her writing. Here’s an extract anyone who’s every done a writing course will recognise:
‘So we’re all just characters in a book then, are we?
‘Yes,’ I told him.
‘That’s interesting’ he said. ‘So who is the narrator?’
‘Me, of course.’
‘And you’re the author?’
‘Yes.’
‘And we’re now in the middle of the story?’
‘Yes. I know exactly what to do, you know.’
‘Of course you do.’
‘Yes. First of all you start off with a plot hook, and then begin the story in the middle – in medias res, it’s called. You can use time-shift; write habitual behaviour; slowly build your characters. I know all the tricks, you know – tricks used in a proper book, a book that’s written by a proper author.’
‘But you’re not a proper author, are you Frances?’
‘No,’ I said. ‘One day, though – maybe? I would like to be, if only everyone would let me.’
‘I’m sure you would’ he said, and smiled. ‘But first of all you must complete your therapy.’
Of course he didn’t mean my therapy at all, oh no. He meant his therapy: his talking, tablet-giving, asking questions-type of therapy; the sitting-in-the-silence-wondering-what-to-say-next type of therapy.
‘And in order to do that,’ he went on, ‘you must start at the beginning, Frances. Not ‘in medias res’ as you put it. You should know that well enough by now. If you’re ever going to make a full recovery we must go right back to…’ and he gave a little snort ‘… the first page of your story.’
I sat and scowled at him.
That’s very different. What gave you the inspiration?
Tim: I was teaching an English class and getting rather tired of trying to motivate a group of teenage boys by giving them great books to study. So I decided, in the summer term, to turn the class into a creative writing course. And as soon as they started doing it themselves, of course, their appreciation of the books on the syllabus deepened immeasurably.
So how does Writing Therapy fit in?
Tim: well, some of the early passages began as ‘how to write’ material for the students. And pretty soon I realised I was on to something, that there was a story to be written: the story of writing, if you like.
And it’s published by YouWriteOn?
Tim: Yes. They’re an UK Arts Council-sponsored website for new writers. Last year they decided to publish some of the books being read on the site. Mine was one of them, and it’s now available worldwide through Amazon.com and you can read the first chapter on the Writing Therapy blog.
