Helen Lowe's Blog

~ Ursula K. Le Guin, 1929 – 2018

Since pace and momentum, as well as rhythm, are a triumvirate that’s always in the forefront of my mind when revising a manuscript, I could think of no better quote in the same week I report on completing another WALL revision section and moving on to the next two.

On which note, back to it, with forward momentum very much in mind. ...

Yep, Section 3 is “done already” — though as I noted on September 25 when about to embark upon it, tis a small section. Although I did have to add a couple of new chapters, so I shall still take some credit for celerity.

Anyhoo, that means ’tis onwards to Section 4, although in this case I intend to first reread 4 and 5 together, as I hope they may—with cumulative changes flowing forward from earlier revision—be combined into one. We shall see… (That’s the collective we of me’n’the muses, by t...

UK/AU/NZ

As you know, this series features the minor characters in The Wall Of Night — although in some cases, supporting characters may be a better way to put it. It’s a case of balancing page time, which may be “minor”, with their importance in the world of the story.

One of the reasons for focusing on minor-to-supporting characters is because it’s usually the major point-of-view characters that get the discussion love, but: —

“I think it’s the presence of the smaller characters that (also) “m...

Just a headsup that there’s going to be  a bit more work happening ‘behind the scenes’ on the blog over the next week or so, which may require the site to go down for a short period.

…at my place

So if you can’t find it, or me, dinna panic (not straight off, anyway) but check back later. Just give things a bit of time, though, i.e. maybe a half day or day later.

If you’re on Twitter you can check in on me there as well: @helenl0we (the “o” in Lowe is a zero, just by the way.)

Not my place – but...

Yes, it is that time again, and yes again, I do have a new post up on the Supernatural Underground.

As the title promises, it’s post number nine in the Great Leaders in Speculative Fiction series.

This month, I (again) couldn’t make up my mind between two characters, so I have featured both. And the characters are (drum roll), Katsa and Bitterblue from Kristin Cashore’s Graceling Realms series of novels.

Both characters appear in several books, but Katsa’s story is primarily told in Graceling...

I was absolutely thrilled over the weekend to see that NZ short film A Son’s Return Home made its’ funding target!

So the NZ Film Commission assessor who said “this film must be made” can now be happy — because it will be!

Boosted, like many crowdfunding programmes, is an all-or-nothing gig, so I will confess to some nailbiting on behalf of my friend—who wrote the filmscript—over the past few weeks. Needless to say, she is very happy, and I am happy on her behalf, because I know that making th...

As in m’last update on August 11, I confirmed my June 9 commitment, that “Future updates will be on each section of Part 2 as I complete them. I’ll report on them here, under About My Books and About What I’m Doing, as that occurs.”

That’s Part 2 of the overall WALL #4 manuscript, by the way, in case of an doubt. (As I also mentioned on June 9, tis a book of two very distinct halves — diptych style, in fact. )

A Roman-style diptych

Today I’m talking about the second section of Part 2, and am v...

As you know from Monday 8 and Thursday 11, I’m very much supporting the Boosted fund raising campaign for A Son’s Return Home, a filmscript written by a good friend. And yes, I have already put my dime (and a little more ) down.

So I was very excited to see this trailer released by the filmmakers. It really does look as beautiful and moving as the NZ Film Commission Assessor suggested — click the link following to view:

…and all that—which I was on Monday, with a little look at Spring and All by William Carlos Williams (1883-1963)—the willows along the river are definitely putting out their new, spring green right now.

And that, dear readers, along with the time of year, put me in mind of a Haarth spring in the The Gathering of the Lost: It even has a reference to spring rain, like the Kobayashi Issa haiku.

USA

“Spring came to the River in a flurry of blustering winds and driving rain that turned the local ro...

We celebrated the First of Spring ‘down here’ (as opposed to autumn ‘up there’ ) on 1 September and have enjoyed some beautiful spring days since — but still with some icy winds, sub-zero mornings, and only some plants putting on their spring green and blossom.

Spring blossom; valiant on a vacant (demolition) lot

A state of affairs that always brings to mind the William Carlos Williams’ poem Spring and All. The discussion below is to give you a ‘feel’ for the poem and why I love it, but I also ...