annethology
  • Home
    • About Annethology
    • About me >
      • A little more about me
    • About my books
    • Author talks
    • Contact me
    • Forthcoming events
    • Privacy
    • Sign up for my newsletter
  • Annecdotal
    • Articles >
      • Print journalism
      • Where psychology meets fiction
  • Sugar and Snails
    • Acknowledgements
    • Blog tour, Q&A's and feature articles >
      • Birthday blog tour
    • Early endorsements
    • Events >
      • Launch photos
      • Launch party videos
    • in pictures
    • Media
    • If you've read the book
    • Playlist
    • Polari
    • Reading group questions
    • Reviews
    • In the media
  • Underneath
    • Endorsements and reviews
    • Launch party and events
    • Musical accompaniment
    • Pictures
    • Questions for book groups
    • The stories underneath the novel
  • Short stories
    • Somebody’s Daughter
    • Becoming Someone (anthology) >
      • Becoming Someone (video readings)
      • Becoming Someone reviews
      • Becoming Someone online book chat
    • Print and downloads
    • Read it online
    • Quick reads
  • Fictional therapists
    • Themed quotes
    • Reading around the world
    • Reading and reviews >
      • Reviews A to H
      • Reviews I to M
      • Reviews N to Z
      • Nonfiction
  • Free book / newsletter

Stuck in a rut? Love and Fallout by Kathryn Simmonds and a triple flash for not-quite NaNoWriMo

2/11/2014

17 Comments

 
Picture
Through most of the 1980s and 1990s a women’s peace camp was held outside the RAF base at Greenham Common to protest against the siting of nuclear missiles there. Thousands of women joined the camp for anything between a single day and several years, making it an important part of recent British sociopolitical history yet, apart from one as-yet-unpublished novel on the theme, Kathryn Simmonds’ debut is the first fictional account of the movement I’ve come across.

Tessa is nineteen and fleeing a dead-end job and the humiliation of being dumped by her boyfriend when she packs her rucksack and sets off for Berkshire. Idealistic and naive, only her friendship with the aristocratic beauty, Rori, sustains her through those first few weeks of mud and cold and songs around the campfire, eventually culminating in a spell in prison. Fast forward thirty years and Tessa is the manager of a struggling charity, at loggerheads with her teenage daughter and, along with husband Pete, going through the motions of marital therapy when a friend, Maggie, nominates her to take part in a TV makeover programme. Initially reluctant, she agrees to the filming as publicity for one of her “causes”, but when the producer wants to focus on the “Greenham angle”, the memories from that late adolescent rite of passage come flooding back.

Love and Fallout is a humorous and moving novel about the struggle to forge one’s identity both in early adulthood and middle age. It’s about idealism and compromise, about marriage and sisterhood, and the legacy of guilt and misunderstandings and loss. It’s a page-turning novel about the serious business of the choices we make about how to live.

This novel seems the ideal companion for my response to Charli Mills’ latest flash fiction challenge to compose a 99-word story on the theme of ruts. Tessa sets off for Greenham to escape the rut of living with her parents as a young adult. Maggie proposes the TV makeover to jolt the middle-aged Tessa out of another perceived rut. While neither of these are sufficient in themselves to resolve the underlying issue, getting out of the rut provides the catalyst for deeper change in unanticipated ways.

Yet I identify with the older Tessa’s resistance. What’s wrong with being in a rut if those tramlines are taking us were we want to go? Western societies tend to value novelty over repetition, with those who continue to plough the same furrow considered retrograde and dull. This isn’t the case in all cultures: some prefer the predictability of tradition with deviations from the well-known path considered pointless verging on mad. Age is also a variable, with the adolescent’s rejection of the old ways almost a requirement for leaving childhood behind. Perhaps a society that fetishises youth out of a fear of old age, will inevitably struggle to recognise the wisdom underlying some decisions to stick with what one knows.

For those of us stuck in an apparent rut, how do we judge whether we are there out of fear and/or laziness, or if we’ve reached a state of Zen-like detachment and acceptance of our limitations? The protagonist of my forthcoming novel, Sugar and Snails, considers herself, at the age of forty-five, fairly content. She has her own house, good friends and a steady job in academia. But it isn’t the life she hoped for when she left home for boarding school at fifteen. Yet the risks of stepping away from that familiar channel and letting a man into her life are immense. Being considered a stereotypical cat-loving spinster seems a small price to pay for staying safe.

But I’ve already decided how far Diana’s able to step away from her rut and, apart from seeing her through three rounds of edits, I’m ready to let her go. November is the traditional time for new writing projects and, although I’m not going the whole hog with NaNoWriMo, I’m devoting myself to some intensive work on a new novel project this month. I’ve got three viewpoint characters, each with a different perspective on the tramlines of their lives. Although I expect only the first to make much sense without additional context, I’d like to introduce you to each character via their own 99-word slot:

George

Irene slid the prospectus across the table. “Anything you fancy?”
George eyed the whitewashed villas bathed in sunshine. “You’ll leave Eric for me?”
“It’s what we planned. Once you were retired and my kids had left home.”
“Nobody mentioned moving to Spain,” said George.
“Why not? The heat would do wonders for your arthritis,” said Irene. “And everything’s so cheap there. How much would you get for this place?”
“I can’t sell The Willows. I’ve lived here all my life.”
Irene sighed. “You’re not still expecting your sister to come back, are you? It must be over fifty years.”

Matilda

The breakfast things were always cleared away by nine so the girls could lay the tables for luncheon. Yet it was nearly ten and every surface still strewn with greasy plates and bowls crusted with porridge. Her mother would never have countenanced such slovenliness.
“Come on, Matty.” A man took her arm and escorted her into the lounge. “It’s time for the meeting.”
Staff and guests were arranged in one large circle, like the denouement in an Agatha Christie. “I’m not bothered,” she said.
The man frowned. “It’s important, Matty. We’re discussing where you’ll go when the hospital closes.”

Janice

Social workers rarely ventured onto the backwards but Janice was curious. The nurses laughed when she chose to take tea with the patients, unaware it came with the milk and sugar already added to the pot. Along with the faint tang of urine, the sickly drink made her retch but she forced it down. No-one acknowledged her except an elderly woman who claimed her father was a duke.
The Sister showed her Matty Osborne’s file. Moral decrepitude? What kind of diagnosis was that? Incarcerated for fifty years for giving birth out of wedlock? Janice resolved to set her free.

I’m hoping to get about 30,000 words written this month. Wish me luck!

Thanks to Seren Books for my review copy of Love and Fallout. To discover more about the writing of this novel, see my Q&A with Kathryn Simmonds.

Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what you think. If you've enjoyed this post, you might like to sign up via the sidebar for regular email updates and/or my quarterly Newsletter.
17 Comments
Norah Colvin link
2/11/2014 01:14:29 pm

Hi Anne,
Thanks for introducing the three characters from your new novel, each in their own flash piece. I can already see how the lives of these characters are intertwined, and the tragedy that is obviously a big part of their (and society's) lives. I'm certain that your treatment of the individual and collective psychological and emotional responses to the situations the characters find themselves in will show depth and engagement. I don't wish you luck. I don't think you need it, but I do wish you success!

Reply
Annecdotist
4/11/2014 09:08:31 am

I really appreciate your encouragement, Norah, and hope I can justify your confidence in my writing. I do think we all need an element of luck in this game, however, but I'll do my best with what I've got.

Reply
Charli Mills
2/11/2014 02:27:20 pm

First, the book review. It fits so neatly into the theme of ruts and shows how we can get into different ones at different times in our lives. And the purpose of ruts--such an interesting thought that stepping outside at rut can be a catalyst. Sometimes for disaster, but we then choose--back to the rut or wisdom beyond.

Your project is already fascinating! Are you looking at decisions we make as we age? I like that idea about missing wisdom if we try to hold onto youth. Will that play a part in your project? NaNoWriMo or not, committing to daily word count to get a project fleshed out is heavy lifting. It's my favorite part, but is kind of like admitting to enjoying something like cutting hay. Good luck! Do we say, break a pencil tip? :-)

Reply
Annecdotist
4/11/2014 09:14:08 am

Thank you, Charli, and I'm grateful to you for your helpful your prompt in getting me going on this.
The project isn't so much about age, although two of the main characters (albeit one only just) are older than me, but it is about time and personal histories.
Having finished my fourth day now of not NaNo, I've already got plenty of words in the bank for the days I won't be able to write, so feeling pretty pleased with myself, and enjoying spending time with these characters.
Also enjoying popping across to your place for virtual coffee!

Reply
Irene Waters link
3/11/2014 01:55:08 am

Starting from the top Love and Fallout sounds like it could be a good read. It won't be on top of my list but will follow Dead Flies and Sherry Trifle, Sugar and snails and Death in a Red canvas Chair. I wish I could read as quickly as you obviously can and take in the amount you do.
Congratulations of having your book ready to go and already your character flashes have given me a desire for the next book already.

Reply
Annecdotist
4/11/2014 09:20:33 am

Thank you, Irene, very generous. Sugar and Snails won't be out until July but I'd love you to read it. I'm not sure I do read all that quickly but I am able to apportion a lot of time for it and to read most evenings when some people might be watching TV. I feel very lucky in this regard as it's such a pleasure to spend time with someone else's imagination.

Reply
Lisa Reiter link
3/11/2014 11:33:02 am

Good Luck with the 30,000 words! I'm finding them a rarer animal at the moment and regretting being unable to make such a hefty commitment!

Love these intriguing characters.. Already quite a tease :)

Reply
Annecdotist
4/11/2014 09:22:35 am

Thank you, Lisa. Just imagine Charli and Geoff committing to 50,000 words!
Glad you like the characters – I'm enjoying them too at the moment, but they haven't tripped me up yet.

Reply
Geoff link
4/11/2014 12:38:33 am

What a great post Anne. Your vignettes are so appetising I'm with the others in wanting the whole. They stir the imagination. I'm sure you will have fun tangling and untangling those lives. And something new will keep you sane through the the editng process! The book you've reviewed stirs deep memories. I had a close friend who attended Greenham and was hurt emotionally by the process in a number of ways. It seems so long ago now but For a while it was very difficult. And I love what you say about us fetishising youth. So beautifully put and so true. I shall print this off and show my children!

Reply
Annecdotist
4/11/2014 09:27:23 am

Interesting about your friend's experience of Greenham. He/she might appreciate this novel as it does illustrate the complexities of relationships in such a situation and I could easily imagine people getting hurt. I feel guilty for never having been there!
I hope I don't get into trouble with your children for you foisting this post upon them ;)
Appreciate your feedback on my characters – you might be surprised at how much humour I'm finding in them in my initial explorations of this story. No, not like me at all, but I'm interested to see how it works out.

Reply
Annecdotist
4/11/2014 09:17:31 am

JUST A WARNING TO ANYONE TRYING TO LEAVE A COMMENT TODAY. I'm getting an error message with mine (which I've never seen before) but they are all showing up on the page. I'd advise you to copy your comment (control A then control C) before pressing submit. MY APOLOGIES AND DON'T LET THAT PUT YOU OFF.

Reply
Linda link
5/11/2014 09:59:30 am

Of course one person's rut can be another person's safe haven. In my NaNoWriMo novel my main character is perfectly content in her rut, but I'm planning to shake her out of it.
Good luck with your new novel. I can see the three characters very clearly. I also recognise one of the situations. I know a social worker who was involved in the closure of a mental hospital. Some of the real-life stories she uncovered were horrendous.

Reply
Annecdotist
6/11/2014 04:27:27 am

Ah, your poor character, about to be shaken out of her rut – I wonder if she's any idea what's coming to her!
Thanks for your feedback on my three. I also worked in psychiatric hospital closures, so it's stemming from that experience, though I'm finding it hard remembering exactly how we thought about things in 1990. And I'm still not sure if I've got the right word for Matty's original diagnosis. None of the terms I've thought of show up on Google – of course that might be a good thing, at least one miscarriage of justice which doesn't happen to people anymore.

Reply
Tracey Scott-Townsend link
5/11/2014 12:37:03 pm

Great to read another review of yours, Anne. My sister lived at Greenham for quite a while and I spent three days sleeping in her tree in 1984 so I'm interested to read this book. Interesting to meet your new characters as well. Good luck with the 30,000 words!

Reply
Annecdotist
6/11/2014 04:29:44 am

I hope you give Love and Fallout a go – let me know what you think if you do. – Or use it as inspiration, I'm sure there's room for another Greenham novel in the world!

Reply
Sarah link
6/11/2014 07:27:45 am

This. ---> “What’s wrong with being in a rut if those tramlines are taking us where we want to go?” Being “in a rut” has such a negative connotation that it didn’t occur to me to write something positive for flash this week. But, you make an excellent argument here. Also, Love and Fallout will be added to my TBR list. Thank you!

I am looking forward to meeting your MC of Sugar and Snails. She sounds like a lot of us—being satisfied enough or comfortable enough that it doesn’t seem worth shattering that to go after what we really want in this life.

Congrats on starting a new project! That’s always exciting. Love the flash from each character’s point of view. And you worked the prompt in. Nice! Best of luck with your project this month.

Reply
Annecdotist
8/11/2014 09:14:50 am

Thanks for the kind words, Sarah. I'm glad you think you could relate to Diana and hope you'll want to know how far she can make it out her own particular rut.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    finding truth through fiction
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    FREE e-book of prize-winning short stories FOR SUBSCRIBERS PLUS the chance to WIN a signed copy of my next novel
    Picture
    Free ebook: click the image to claim yours.

    latest book:

    Picture
    Short stories on the theme of identity Published 2018
    Picture
    Annecdotal is where real life brushes up against the fictional.  
    Picture
    Annecdotist is the blogging persona of Anne Goodwin: 
    reader, writer,

    slug-slayer, tramper of moors, 
    recovering psychologist, 
    struggling soprano, 
    author of three fiction books.

    Picture
    My second novel published May 2017.
    Picture
    My debut novel shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize
    Picture
    LATEST POSTS HERE
    I don't post to a schedule, but average  around ten reviews a month (see here for an alphabetical list), 
    some linked to a weekly flash fiction, plus posts on my WIPs and published books.  

    Your comments are welcome any time any where.

    Get new posts direct to your inbox ...

    Enter your email address:

    or click here …

    RSS Feed


    Subscribe to my newsletter.
    Picture

    2021 Reading Challenge

    2021 Reading Challenge
    Anne has read 10 books toward their goal of 100 books.
    hide
    10 of 100 (10%)
    view books
    Anne Goodwin's books on Goodreads
    Sugar and Snails Sugar and Snails
    reviews: 32
    ratings: 52 (avg rating 4.21)

    Underneath Underneath
    reviews: 24
    ratings: 60 (avg rating 3.17)

    Becoming Someone Becoming Someone
    reviews: 8
    ratings: 9 (avg rating 4.56)

    GUD: Greatest Uncommon Denominator, Issue 4 GUD: Greatest Uncommon Denominator, Issue 4
    reviews: 4
    ratings: 9 (avg rating 4.44)

    The Best of Fiction on the Web The Best of Fiction on the Web
    reviews: 3
    ratings: 3 (avg rating 4.67)

    Picture
    Tweets by @Annecdotist

    Read Shall I show you what it’s like out there? my latest short story hot off the press.

    Picture

    Popular posts

    • Compassion: something we all need
    • Do spoilers spoil?
    • How to create a convincing fictional therapist
    • Instructions for a novel
    • Looking at difference, embracing diversity
    • Never let me go: the dilemma of lending books
    • On loving, hating and writers’ block
      On Pop, Pirates and Plagiarism
    • READIN' for HER reviews
    • Relishing the cuts
    • The fast first draft
    • The tragedy of obedience
    • Writers and therapy: a love-hate relationship?

    Categories/Tags

    All
    Animals
    Annecdotist Hosts
    Annecdotist On Tour
    Articles
    Attachment Theory
    Author Interviews
    Becoming Someone
    Being A Writer
    Blogging
    Bodies
    Body
    Bookbirthday
    Books For Writers
    Bookshops
    Candles
    CB Book Group
    Character
    Childhood
    Christmas
    Classics
    Climate Crisis
    Coming Of Age
    Coronavirus
    Counsellors Cafe
    Creative Writing Industry
    Creativity
    Cumbria
    Debut Novels
    Disability
    Editing
    Emotion
    Ethics
    Ethis
    Family
    Feedback And Critiques
    Fictional Psychologists & Therapists
    Food
    Friendship
    Futuristic
    Gender
    Genre
    Getting Published
    Giveaways
    Good Enough
    Grammar
    Gratitude
    Group/organisational Dynamics
    History
    Humour
    Identity
    Illness
    Independent Presses
    Institutions
    International Commemorative Day
    Jane Eyre
    Language
    LGBTQ
    Libraries
    Live Events
    Marketing
    Matilda Windsor
    Memoir
    Memory
    Mental Health
    Microfiction
    Motivation
    Music
    Names
    Narrative Voice
    Nature / Gardening
    Networking
    Newcastle
    Nonfiction
    Nottingham
    Novels
    Peak District
    Poetry
    Point Of View
    Politics
    Politics Current Affairs
    Presentation
    Privacy
    Prizes
    Psychoanalytic Theory
    Psychology
    Psycholoists Write
    Psychotherapy
    Race
    Racism
    Rants
    Reading
    Real Vs Imaginary
    Religion
    Repetitive Strain Injury
    Research
    Reviewing
    Romance
    Satire
    Second Novels
    Settings
    Sex
    Shakespeare
    Short Stories General
    Short Stories My Published
    Short Stories Others'
    Siblings
    Snowflake
    Somebody's Daughter
    Storytelling
    Structure
    Sugar And Snails
    Technology
    The
    Therapy
    Tourism
    Transfiction
    Translation
    Trauma
    Unconscious
    Unconscious, The
    Underneath
    Voice Recognition Software
    War
    WaSBihC
    Weather
    Work
    Writing Process
    Writing Technique

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    BLOGGING COMMUNITIES
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from havens.michael34, romana klee, mrsdkrebs, Kyle Taylor, Dream It. Do It., adam & lucy, dluders, Joybot, Hammer51012, jorgempf, Sherif Salama, eyspahn, raniel diaz, E. E. Piphanies, scaredofbabies, Nomadic Lass, paulternate, Tony Fischer Photography, archer10 (Dennis), slightly everything, impbox, jonwick04, country_boy_shane, dok1, Out.of.Focus, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, Elvert Barnes, guillenperez, Richard Perry, jamesnaruke, Juan Carlos Arniz Sanz, El Tuerto, kona99, maveric2003, !anaughty!, Patrick Denker, David Davies, hamilcar_south, idleformat, Dave Goodman, Sharon Mollerus, photosteve101, La Citta Vita, A Girl With Tea, striatic, carlosfpardo, Damork, Elvert Barnes, UNE Photos, jurvetson, quinn.anya, BChristensen93, Joelk75, ashesmonroe, albertogp123, >littleyiye<, mudgalbharat, Swami Stream, Dicemanic, lovelihood, anyjazz65, Tjeerd, albastrica mititica, jimmiehomeschoolmom