It is easy to get caught in a web of frustration and despair when life seems to wander off at a tangent and do its own thing without bothering to consult you. It isn’t always easy to see the positive side of change, not when you are stuck in the middle of it and trying to juggle the consequences and understand a whole new game plan…especially when the game, as well as the rules, seems to have changed.
There are those who revel in the adventure of new challenges, others prefer familiar terrain rather than a tangential path, but sometimes the unexpected happens and change occurs, whether you like it or not. When it comes, you have two basic options… fight it tooth and nail in an attempt to maintain as much of the status quo as you can, or embrace it and see where it takes you. There is a third choice, though it takes a different approach… you can seek change. Yet even those who, through optimism or lunacy, enjoy the challenges brought by such an adventure are not going to be comfortable when change start to loom unbidden on the horizon. There is always that moment of lost familiarity… a time when even the negatives of the current situation seem preferable to the unknowns of the new.
You just cannot see beyond the skyline and have little or no idea how things will work out. It doesn’t matter if it is a big change or a small one, it will have to be dealt with somehow. Sometimes, though, you can see the necessity for change and have a glimpse of benefits that may offset the inevitable upset. Even writers, fond of their characters, might begin to see there is a need to move on…
For the past couple of years I have been involved in a writing partnership with Stuart France. The books we have written together have told the story of our adventures in the ancient landscape of England. We took real conversations and events and wove them into a journey for fictitious characters, echoing our own but not following it slavishly. And we had fun with the books, both the living of them and the writing.
There came a point, though, with the sixth such book, where we knew something would have to shift in the way we wrote them or people, both readers and writers, would end up bored with the familiar pattern. Change, it seemed, was going to become inevitable, so instead of waiting for it to bite our ankles, we walked out to meet it head on, by the simple expedient of having the founder of our School arrested.
Yes, I know that sounds a bit drastic… but it turned out to be a rather elegant solution, if I say so myself.
I suppose I ought to explain…
Stuart and I are two members of the team who run The Silent Eye, a modern Mystery School, with Steve Tanham, the founder of the School, making up the triad. In the books Don and Wen loosely correspond to an amalgam of Stuart and I, while Steve is the inspiration from which we drew Ben.
We decided to have Ben arrested for his part in a daring midnight raid instigated by Wen…
The original plotline was vague and minimal, taking us no further than the end of Scions of Albion. We had no plans to start a new book till next year and little idea how it would unfold. Steve, however, having read of ‘his’ character’s plight in the newly published Scions, cleverly responded with a blog post which became a series and a story in its own right. In order to tie the inconsistencies between the two stories together, Stuart and I began to plot… in a purely writerly sense, of course.
We had, by our own choice, set the proverbial ball of change in motion. But once that ball is moving anything can happen. We had not expected Ben’s Bit… and our response took us down a whole new avenue of unexpected adventure, where the real travels of the writers became the foundation of a lighthearted and wholly fictitious story.
It seems to work well; the plot itself somehow encapsulates the inner journey we teach in the School, Ben’s incarceration is a perfect metaphor for the incarnate soul and the story allows us to explore some of Don and Wen’s wilder theories about the ancient stones that dot the landscape of Britain … and their possible purpose.
Plus, Ben now stays in prison…
… and But ‘n’ Ben is almost ready for release…
And all because of unexpected changes.
I would like to thank Patrick for having me over as his guest today!
Sue Vincent is a Yorkshire born writer, painter and award winning poet. She is also one of the Directors of The Silent Eye, a modern Mystery School. Sue lives in Buckinghamshire, England, having been stranded there due to an unfortunate incident with a pin, a map and a blindfold; a temporary glitch of some twenty years duration. She has a lasting love-affair with the landscape of Albion; that hidden country of the heart that is the backdrop for many of her books, particularly those co-authored with Stuart France. She is currently owned by a small dog who also blogs and who gets all the fan mail.
Connect with Sue:-
Daily Echo Blog The Silent Eye Twitter @SCVincent LinkedIn Facebook Google+ Pinterest Tumblr Goodreads Amazon UK author page Amazon.com author page
Great post! Sue is an amazing person, and it’s wonderful that you highlighted her on your blog this week.
LikeLike
Pingback: Changing Direction: Guest Post by Sue Vincent!! | KENYONA R. COPELAND
Thank you so much for reblogging! Have a wonderful night! 🙂
LikeLike
Good luck with the new book, Sue! Sounds like you three have a lot of fun working on these stories… for most authors, writing is a much lonelier persuit.
LikeLike
I think she may have missed her calling of being an archeologist! Great personal visions in her writings! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think Sue may have got quickly frustrated and disillusioned if she had gone into a scientific field like archaeology. Whilst they do amazing and fascinating work, I think they forget they are dealing with more than just artefacts and buildings… they are dealing with PEOPLE!
LikeLike
So very true, Ali! Can’t see Sue as introverted at all!! She has to be on the go! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes thats true! 😊
LikeLike
She’s definitely a people person!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on stevetanham and commented:
‘The silent door slams shut it seems
The perps have fled the scene
To ancient places far away
To leave no trace
…. of where they’ve been’
Ben lingers, wishing he could write that on the crumbling plaster of the old wall. For a second, it makes him smile …
LikeLike
Thank you so much for re-blogging, Steve! Isn’t Sue fabulous! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, Patrick, but don’t tell her …
LikeLiked by 1 person
OK…it’s a deal! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Changing Direction: Guest Post by Sue Vincent!! | oshriradhekrishnabole
Thanks so very much for reblogging!
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Daily Echo and commented:
Thank you, Patrick, for having me over at the Linden Chronicles today!
LikeLike
My pleasure, Sue!! You’re the best! 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you… *wanders off to blush in a corner*
LikeLike
hahahaha!! And of course, the dog! That is just the silliest doggie for sure… 🙂
LikeLike
That dog is up to something… I can tell. She keeps hogging the keyboard…
LikeLike
Just read the book of poetry she did too…left a review but don’t know if it showed up? You never know with Amazon! What a great book!! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
See? She gets reviews… *sighs* There’ll be no stopping her now…
Ani says thank you 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hopefully it got through in Amazon!! She will have to write another book now…you will have no access to the computer now and will just have to buy another!!!!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It did, thank you, Patrick… and she doubtless will. In fact, I have a feeling there is another in the works… 😉
LikeLike
Fantastic!! She is such a poet…and didn’t know it!! 🙂
LikeLike
Oh she knows it alright… but if she starts barking in iambic pentameter there will be trouble… 😉
LikeLike
I’ll be she can sing too 🙂
LikeLike
I hope not 😉
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you ever so much for having me over today 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are so very welcome, Sue! Always love your posts and eloquent writing style!! Have a great Monday!! 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you, Patrick!
LikeLike
You are so welcome!! Have a great day, Sue…39 visits so far for your blog here 🙂
LikeLike
Wonderful, Patrick…I really appreciate you hosting me today 🙂
LikeLike
Certainly fun to have you here!! Always enjoy your philosophy…works for me!! 🙂
LikeLike
Seems to work for me too 😉
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a great insight into your creative process, Sue (and Stuart), and thanks for hosting the post, Patrick!
LikeLike
So very welcome, Olga! Yes, they are right on top of what works and anticipating what will work in the future. Kudos Sue and Stuart!! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not sure you can call it a process, Olga… it just sort of grows 🙂
LikeLike
So true, Sue! Kinda like trial and error!! 🙂
LikeLike
More like a puddle… we just fall into it 😉
LikeLike
Like a sink hole!!! 🙂
LikeLike
LOL… pretty much 🙂
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person