Diaries and Letters

Image Credits: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos (with one image directly from Pixabay). Book cover images from Chapeltown Books.

Have you ever kept a diary? Did you use to/still do enjoy writing and receiving letters in the post? The answer to both those questions is yes from me.

I keep a diary to help me stay on track of what I write when (and to remind me to get my author newsletter out, note down workshop dates etc). I also keep, as part of the same diary, notes on how my writing is going and whether I was pleased or not with the previous day’s writing efforts.

No surprises here but when I am most tired, I write less and the grumpier I feel about that! Writing is remarkably therapeutic and I am always happier when I feel yes I’ve had a good writing stint. No Sherlock Holmes needed here to figure out the link between tiredness and reduced creativity but I have recognised the pattern and can plan my writing more effectively in the run up to those times when I know I’m going to be more tired than usual.

For example, the Christmas period is hectic for everyone so I got more writing done in the lead up to Christmas week and then happily wrote less during that week. I was less grumpy too having planned this (though you will just have to take my word for it on the reduced grumpiness factor!). Diary planning is useful though and I know has made me more productive. It also helps me keep track of what I’ve sent out and where.

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FAMOUS USES OF DIARIES AND LETTERS – FICTION AND NON-FICTION

I’ve also used diary and letter formats as ways of creating new stories. This is not new. Adrian Mole’s famous fictional diary (written by Sue Townsend) came out in the 1982 and was a huge hit. Even earlier, Jane Austen wrote Lady Susan as a book in letter format (technically known as an epistolary novella).

And, of course, non-fiction is represented here thanks to the famous diarists, the best known still being Samuel Pepys, that well known preserver of Parmesan cheese. He buried one in his garden to protect it from The Great Fire of London. I recently saw the plaque to where he lived in London on my visit to the Bridge House Publishing celebration event but didn’t get to see where he buried that cheese! I can tell you it was just behind the Victoria Embankment though, on Buckingham Street. (And I still think you can’t beat Red Leicester anyway).

MY USE OF LETTER AND DIARY FORMATS IN FICTION

Even in flash fiction, I’ve used a letter format for a story. My Punish the Innocent from From Light to Dark and Back Again is written like this.

I’ve also used diary extracts for another story, Losing Myself, from Tripping the Flash Fantastic. Here I used the dates I chose for the entries for this story to act as mini scene breaks. Each diary entry ended on a mini cliffhanger and as the story went on, the tension built up which was the idea. Right at the very end, I have another character put in postscript to bring the story to a conclusion. It was an interesting way to write and for this kind of tale, I did need the full 1000 words allowed for flash fiction.

READING BOOKS OF LETTERS AND DIARIES

I enjoy reading books of letters.

I have a couple of volumes relating to P.G. Wodehouse which are fabulous to read. One of my favourite quotes from Wodehouse comes from The Letters of P.G. Wodehouse, edited by Frances Donaldson, and reads:-

“God may have forgiven Herbert Jenkins Ltd for the jacket of Meet Mr Mulliner, but I never shall.”

That comes from a letter to William Townend from 30th June 1945 and shows that dreadful book covers are nothing new and even the big writing names have their frustrations with publishers! I highly recommend this book by the way. It is a wonderful read and does give insights into the writing life (another reason to read this kind of book by well known authors).

I also have the Evelyn Waugh diaries and his letters to/from Nancy Mitford. The diaries of Kenneth Williams make for sad reading at times but are a gripping read.

I find these books fascinating and insightful. You can also pick up on what the receiver of the letter was like by what was said to them by the author. For diaries, it is not hard to tell the mood of the author at the time of writing. You do sometimes sense the writers were more honest with their diaries than they would’ve been directly to people.

BOOKS OF LETTERS AND DIARIES – LEARNING FROM THEM FOR YOUR OWN CREATIVE WORK

I guess this kind of book is almost permission to be “nosy” though I think it is vital for writers to be interested in what makes people tick. After all, we have to work out what makes our characters tick and to understand their motivations.

We can use our own knowledge of human nature to help here (and reading these kind of books helps here). You can also play the “what if” game by working out what your character would do if this situation occurred or something else did and so on.

I find in reading letters and diaries the original writers are usually forthright but that this also shows something of the nature of the writer. You can see/work out what is driving them to write in this way and we can use that to create intriguing characters. Understanding ourselves, as well as others, is I feel crucial for fiction writing.

I need to know what drives my characters before I write their stories up so have been known to “interview” them by asking a few pertinent open questions to find out what drives them. But another good technique would be to write a diary from their viewpoint – just for a few days.

Get your character to tell you everything about themselves via their diary. What is it they would feel important enough to put in a diary? That will tell you something about them for one thing! You will work out what they would write down as you go. That in itself will reveal their true character to them. That then gives you your way in to telling their tale.

CONCLUSION

Every writer needs to read well – in and out of their genre. We are all inspired by what we have read so the more we read, the more inspired we can be. Non-fiction, including books of diaries and letters, can be illuminating in ways fiction can’t reach but in turn can help you write your characters with more understanding.

Reading fiction, including fictional diaries and letters, will help you work out what the author thought was important enough for you as a reader to know about their creations. As a useful exercise, you could work out the top three things the author thought you had to know and then look for these as you read the rest of the book.

What is vital to a character will be repeated, often without you spotting it. If, for example, it is important to know your character is a thief, there will be instances in the story where that character will “show” you this. Sometimes it will be other characters referring to it as well.

Above all, I’ve found reading these kinds of books enlightening. I’ve discovered more about the writing life particularly by reading the Wodehouse letters. Always useful to learn more here and Wodehouse’s dedication to his craft is exemplary. We can all learn from that!

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