Writing – Page 4 – Jonathan K. Benton

Nelson Mandela – The Power of One.

Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser summed it up perfectly when he said this: ‘If we had three or four Mandelas to scatter around the world in important countries, the world today would be a safer place, and more secure for all of us’.

Nelson Mandela was the living embodiment of everything beautiful about humanity: honour, generosity, modesty, forgiveness, honesty, brilliance, humour, passion and compassion. He possessed all of these qualities fuelled by his unconditional ability to love. He believed in a peaceful future for us all, seeded in equality. He laid the foundation. Let us honour this great man’s dream and strive for that future.

Thank you, Nelson Mandela. I have a four-year-old boy, and as soon as he is old enough to understand, I will tell him your magnificent story.

Jonathan K Benton

Rainy day writing – this blog is about everything and nothing. Jonathan K Benton

I read in a recent blog that if I don’t have anything to blog about I should at least write something. I’ll start with the weather. Brisbane didn’t have a winter – that’s how it felt anyway. The temperature might have dropped for a couple of weeks. It’s cold today, though, relatively speaking … It’s raining too. This blog isn’t about meteorology, however, so enough of the weather.

Next week I’m meeting a friend. She’s helping me with the dialogue in my second novel. She’s quite brilliant. It’s important to bounce ideas off fellow writers when you’re crafting a story. A fresh set of eyes helps. Join a writers’ group if you have time.

I’m starting to think about my New Years resolutions – past, present and future. I don’t have a great strike rate, and I like setting the bar high! This year I wasn’t able to master inter-dimensional time travel or spot a Death Star using my friend’s 30 inch telescope. I think I might carry these over to next year.

Speaking of next year – my son turns five in March. He’s off to ‘big school’. He performed admirably at his early childhood Christmas concert. All the kids did. Magical! I arrived home in time for the 7 o’clock news to see China, South Korea, Japan and the US rattling sabres over the air we breathe. Don’t our leaders have Christmas concerts of their own to attend?

I think I prefer Marvel to DC Comics although the last Batman movie edged out The Avengers in my opinion. I’m going to write an in-depth review of The Dark Knight Rises one day. I need to explore exactly why I found it so profound. Perhaps it’s got something to do with Gary Oldman reciting one of my favourite lines from Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities near the end of the movie.

A thousand smiles and Merry Xmas

Jonathan K Benton

If it was your wand, would you wave it?

Imagine a magic wand. It was yours alone to wave. One magnificent flourish would guarantee the same standard of shelter, education and health care to everyone on the planet – no exceptions. No more mansions, no more homeless. One size fits all. ‘Them’s the rules’.

Think carefully before you wave your wand. You’d be giving a drug-pedalling pimp a house and taking a castle from a philanthropist on the cusp of funding a cure for cancer. The reverse is equally true. Shelter would be provided to people living in third-world poverty, and mansions would be removed from greedy warlords who have profited on the misery of the innocent. There are billions of variables to this offer. Consider them all. You studied hard at school to buy a mansion with a pool. If you waved your wand, this dream could no longer be a reality. Houses would be the same, built for subsistence to accommodate a burgeoning population – lavish to the billions currently living in poverty, basic to the millions not.

For every argument there’s a counter argument. Surely the doctor working tirelessly to save lives is entitled to a bigger house than the lazy person unwilling to work at all. Surely a single parent working two jobs to make ends meet should go to bed knowing that their children have access to the same education and health care as the kids whose parents have inherited their wealth.

Waving your wand does not prevent tragedy, bullying, crime and bad choices. It does ensure every child has a chance to blossom inside the basics: shelter, education and health care.

Is the world beyond the wand even possible? Doctors, nurses, scientists, teachers and trades people – how would we show individuals like this that we value their contribution? Is our thanks enough? I don’t think so. Hard work and positive contributions to society have to be recognised and rewarded. If we don’t, their ranks would dwindle.

Waving the wand is a philosophical ideal. Economists would need to find a way to redistribute resources without society breaking down. Humanity would need to settle on a new form of reward that would keep people motivated. We are not yet capable of universal altruism. Perhaps we never will.

But I know this – the child you don’t know is just as precious as the child you do. If someone you loved was living on the street through no fault of their own; if this someone needed immediate health care; if you could not afford to help them … I bet you’d wave the wand.

I know I would.

Jonathan K Benton

My favourite first sentences – in no particular order. Jonathan K Benton

Without a great book to support them, the following sentences might not have been so great. Each sentence appeals to me in a different way. For example: Douglas Adams’s unique voice exudes personality. Dickens’s words are profound, and who knew C. S. Lewis was a comedian?

Here they are, in no particular order:

‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way –’

Charles Dickens The Tale of Two Cities

‘There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.’

C. S Lewis The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.’

J. R. R. Tolkien The Hobbit

‘Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.’

Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

‘All children, except one, grow up.’

J. M. Barrie Peter Pan

‘When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.’

Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games

‘The seller of lightning rods arrived just ahead of the storm.’

Ray Bradbury Something Wicked This Way Comes

Let me know your favourite first sentence and I will add them to this post. I’ll even read the book, if I haven’t already.

Jonathan K Benton

The Prologue for my next book and a Q and A with the main character – Jonathan K Benton

Prologue

So this is fear.

The man stood trembling on the edge of the plank as dark clouds tumbled towards the boat. The approaching storm sent cannonballs of wind to clear its path. Inside the storm, the ocean was black. Outside, it churned blue. The water was rising and the sky was falling. Something had to give.

Swells rolled towards the North Australian coast, trying to dislodge the man, who was naked apart from a pair of white boxers stained yellow with urine. He was also bald, with a chunky physique, and beady close-together eyes. Angry red welts criss-crossed his back, and burns blistered his cheeks like chicken pox. Desperate for fresh water, he licked his cracked lips, tasting salt mixed with blood

The man had not felt fear before. He had seen it in others – that silent scream trapped inside wide, white eyes. Sometimes, like steam whistling from a kettle, the scream escaped, and sometimes it hid itself in short, sharp breaths which mirrored the rapidly beating heart.

Fear made its own noise. Horror movies captured it perfectly: psychopaths plunging their knives in time to fear’s screech. Sitting in the comfort of the theatre, the man had thought that noise beautiful, but now he was the victim.

Fear screeched through his body as he overbalanced, falling heavily onto the plank. Scrabbling, he managed to cling to the wood. His willpower abandoned ship. The man closed his eyes, expecting to die.

Q & A

Jack is the main character in my next book. He’s agreed to an interview. I’ll be asking him questions at the end of some of my blogs. Part of Jack’s contract stipulates he cannot reveal specifics about himself and his past – it would ruin the story. Some people might say this interview is an exercise in dialogue. Others could suggest it’s a unique way to introduce readers to a character before he’s officially unveiled to the world.

Q: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us today, Jack.

A: No worries.

Q: You’ve been through a lot.

A: Yeah, but I’m not the only one in this world with problems.

Q: Do you have any advice for people who’ve had similar experiences to you?

A: Just the usual things. You know – stay strong. Don’t give up. It’s all right to ask for help sometimes.

Q: Have you always followed this advice

A: Tried to, but it’s harder than you think – especially when a creature from another dimension wants to bite your head off.

Jonathan K. Benton

A Wicked Kind of Dark – what is literary fantasy? Jonathan K Benton

I think the best explanation I’ve found for the genre in which my writing sits goes something like this: Books that are written to entertain with words as much as plot. Books like Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, Christopher Priest’s The Glamour, and Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

Most YA books – and I read a lot of them – are not literary (in the genre sense only). This doesn’t mean they are not brilliant and clever. They are. I loved The Hunger Games, absolutely adored it. But my classically influenced style lends itself towards literary fantasy. I was invited to participate in the ‘Books that changed me’ column in The Sun Herald. The column shows how I arrived at this amazing genre.

Writing a speech – tips for a book launch.

I was going to write a detailed account of the book launch until I realised most of what I wanted to say I’d already said in my speech … So I’ll simply copy and paste my speech into this blog. Who knows – you might find some useful tips. An author mustn’t talk about their book much (during their own speech). That role is for the person launching your novel, in my case the brilliant Irina Dunn. I needed to talk about how I got there, to that moment, standing holding a copy of A Wicked Kind of Dark in front of family, friends and book-industry guests.

The jazz band introduced me to Star Wars’s Imperial March:

SPEECH

Being introduced to Darth Vader music was always a dream of mine. The other dream was to get published. That’s two boxes ticked today.

(Thank yous)

One of the first books I remember reading was a collection of illustrated nursery rhymes. I used to imagine I was part of the illustrated worlds written about in the book. Who Killed Cock Robin was the stand-out rhyme in this collection … ‘I said the sparrow with my bow and arrow, I killed cock robin’. That murderous little sparrow proudly declaring its guilt used to keep me up late at night. Even way back then, I marveled at the power of the written word … Even way back then I knew I wanted to write my own stories.

I was a better author when I was 14 than when I first started developing the craft. Whenever I wrote a story I either won a competition or got top marks. But as I stumbled through my teens I lost my writer’s voice. The car accident – such a huge part of my life. It still is – hardly a day goes by that I don’t wonder what Julie King would be doing now if she was alive.

All these experiences muted my expression. But it’s these same experiences that now fuel my creative engine room. They are what makes me want to, as Stephen King puts it in Lisey’s story: ‘Go out in my flimsy wooden boat and capture the big ones’. The big stories, the compelling tales from the pool of life.

I’ve lived in a quartet of countries, each one an essential part of my journey to publication.

In many ways Fiji saved me. I swear – if anyone is experiencing tough times I recommend they get on a plane to Nadi, find a reef, throw on some scuba and sink beneath the swells. The underwater world is easily as good as any of the great fantasy landscapes of literature. Being a PADI Divemaster, and looking after the people I used to take diving, centered me. It gave me a sense of responsibility that I don’t think I had until Fiji.

England. Rather than base myself in Earl’s Court with the other Kiwis and Aussies, I found a quiet little English village, and immersed myself in its culture for two years. How a small town could have 7 pubs I’ll never know – I was drinking back then though. Several pubs probably filed for bankruptcy once I left. New Zealand. Another beautiful country, and Australia, the place I now call home.

I arrived here in Australia, and with the help of a trilogy of wonderful mentors – Jan, Sean and Irina – I was able to reconnect with my author’s voice and re-learn the craft. A Wicked Kind of Dark is all about reconnecting too. Reconnecting with your inner child, reconnecting with the richness of that part of your imagination. We seem to have so much imagination when we’re young. I don’t believe we ever really lose it!

Young adults … What a wonderful market to write for. What an amazing, energizing and inspiring group of people. I believe they deserve books that have layers, thought-provoking books. I certainly enjoyed those kinds of books when I was a strapping young lad! Books like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and Something Wicked this Way Comes. AND I’m hoping A Wicked Kind of Dark. But writing is a balancing act. One of my mentors – Jan – once told me his thoughts on Moby Dick: what is the significance of the white whale; what are the deep underlying messages; how these questions have been discussed and debated in the ivory towers around the world. Jan then went on to say that Moby Dick wouldn’t be talked about at all without it first being a ripping good yarn. That is the kind of balance in their literature that I think young adults deserve.

A Wicked Kind of Dark – Cover Reveal

Here it is: the cover of my young adult fantasy novel A Wicked Kind of Dark.

Due to certain laws (and fair enough too), I’m not allowed to include Eminem’s Lose Yourself alongside this reveal, but feel free to play it. I’ve got the CD on repeat as I’m writing these words. Lose Yourself is one of my ‘go to’ songs …

Thank you Odyssey Books

Six quotes to help you get through the day – Jonathan K Benton

1) If you’re going through hell, keep going – Winston Churchill

Thank goodness for Winston. This quote has inspired me through some tough times.

2) I can resist everything but temptation – Oscar Wilde

I love this quote. I thank Oscar’s genius every time I reach into the freezer for some chocolate ice-cream or push the snooze button on the alarm clock.

3) Always forgive your enemies: nothing annoys them so much – Oscar Wilde

Smile at the nasty wretch trying to upset your day. Thanks again, Oscar.

4) If you can dream it, you can do it – Walt Disney

And why not too!

5) I love deadlines, I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by – Douglas Adams

This is my ‘chill out’ quote when I’m stressed – nothing like a bit of humour to calm the nerves.

6) We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit – Aristotle

I blogged a few weeks ago about something similar – actions speak louder than words!

If I were a vampire, where would I live?

If I were a vampire, I would feed exclusively on the worst criminals society vomited up. Food supply is essential. I’ve never been to Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, but Wikipedia says that there were 3164 murders there in 2011. With a population of 3.2 million, Caracas has both the population and crime rate to support a vampire. But would I really want to live there.

Sydney is too sunny – Australia is too sunny. Magic rings, sparkling skin and SPF 1000 + cannot prevent a true vampire from spontaneously combusting in sunlight. Although vampires are creatures of the night, there be day cities and there be night.

I like the idea of New York. It has a big population and plenty of night life. If I were a vampire, I’d stand Batman-like on top of New York’s skyscrapers, and instead of putting psychopathic killers behind bars, I’d eat them.

I like the idea of old world versus new world. Vampires suit the old world and London is one of the mighty European cities. I’d meander London’s cobbled streets at night wearing an expensive suit and a gold pocket-watch. People would know not to mess with the tall mysterious Englishman with pale skin and black pointed beard. I like Great Britain’s regional accents, and yet if I were a vampire, English would be my second language.

If I were a vampire, I’d live on the Venetian canals in a three-level apartment with marble floors and crystal chandeliers. Expensive paintings would line the walls and frescos would bring life to the high ceilings. My stone coffin would lie in a secret chamber beneath the apartment. I would have witnessed Beethoven and countless wars.

Yes! The Italian Dracula – romantic and passionate, ancient and wise.

Jonathan K Benton

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