Back again (sort of)

Roger Hicks · 02-12-2009

Hi everyone!

I've been spending a lot less time on the forum lately, partly because of the 'adopted daughter' Aditi and partly because I've been trying to finish a novel I started almost 3 years ago.

Aditi is now half way through her Teaching English as a Second Language course -- Frances and I going to see her over the week-end -- and the novel is within about 3000 words of finished, though there's bound to be a certain amount of re-writing to make loose ends fit.

They say that having children changes your life, but I never thought it would affect me. But partly the novel is down to her too. She wants to be a writer, and how can I encourage her if I am too lazy to write myself?

So in future, I'll probably just be on my own sub-forum here, rather than in the main forums. But I'd like to express my sincere thanks to everyone who has been so kind about such help and encouragement as I have been able to give them, and I'll try to go on answering technical and other queries as far as possible.

Cheers,

R.

Keith · 02-12-2009

Cheers and good luck with the novel Roger. Nice to know that we can annoy you for info when we feel the need!

John Bragg · 02-12-2009

Hi Roger and welcome back. Greetings from Cornwall and best wishes for success with the novel.

Regards, John.

ClaremontPhoto · 02-12-2009

Roger:

You remind me of the Michael Dibdin books in which Aurelio Zen 'adopts' a young woman as his daughter. A fine arrangement for the two of them.

All the best with the old BMW motorbike, the old Land Rovers and the new Miele washing machine. Oh! And the book too.

Michael Markey · 02-12-2009

Best of luck and don`t forget to let everyone know when the novel is out .What is it about ? Pleased that you will be sticking around in what ever capacity. Just read your Rangefinder book. Very comprehensive and very good too. More than I`d ever what to know ! Another that I will keep going back to.
Hope that the Landy is sorted out .

Doug · 02-12-2009

Have fun, Roger, and congratulations on getting close to the end on the novel. Coincidentally, we too "adopted" one named Aditi for some years when she was shunned by her biological family. She took a nursing course and is now independent.

ruben · 02-12-2009

Hi Roger,
Welcome !
I am curious to know if you have written other non-photgraphy related books.

Cheers,
Ruben

mabelsound · 02-12-2009

Good luck, Roger...there is nothing to match the satisfaction of finishing a novel. I hope you make something you will really be proud of.

colker · 02-12-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger Hicks

Hi everyone!

I've been spending a lot less time on the forum lately, partly because of the 'adopted daughter' Aditi and partly because I've been trying to finish a novel I started almost 3 years ago.

Aditi is now half way through her Teaching English as a Second Language course -- Frances and I going to see her over the week-end -- and the novel is within about 3000 words of finished, though there's bound to be a certain amount of re-writing to make loose ends fit.

They say that having children changes your life, but I never thought it would affect me. But partly the novel is down to her too. She wants to be a writer, and how can I encourage her if I am too lazy to write myself?

So in future, I'll probably just be on my own sub-forum here, rather than in the main forums. But I'd like to express my sincere thanks to everyone who has been so kind about such help and encouragement as I have been able to give them, and I'll try to go on answering technical and other queries as far as possible.

Cheers,

R.

that's soooooo cool. photographers writting novels.. there isn't anything as cool as that.
except... a daughter!

Rui Morais de Sousa · 02-13-2009

Hello Rogers,
We will be missing you...
Please, don't forget to come every now and then around RFF to share your knowledge with us.

RFF NEEDS PEOPLE LIKE YOU!

Have a nice time and don't let that Miele get all the attention and fun from you...

Cheers,
Rui

P.S.: If you happen to come to south of Portugal, don't forget to say hello... You are wellcome! (The others too, of course!)

newspaperguy · 02-13-2009

Write on Roger. (Sorry, I couldn't resist that.)

Good luck with the book, and remember
- don't kill the editor -
no matter how much you may want to.

A good editor can make a good writer even better.

(Spoken as a working writer, not an editor.)

Muggins · 02-13-2009

Good luck with the novel, Roger - if it is as readable and thought-provoking (well, those bits meant to provoke thought!) as the rest of your stuff I've read, it should be a good one.

I do have one tiny grouse, though, about what you are doing in your spare time. I've just found a fairly glowing piece on the old interweb that you've written about one of my favourite cameras, and I guess I count as one of the RFFers you thank for help getting into it. Couldn't you have been a bit ruder? I'm looking for the rangefinder version, and I don't want the price to go up!

ETA: I might have a cap for the end of your lens hood, though I can't promise without a rummage. Let me know if you are interested.

Edited again to add yes, I have. PM me if you are interested!

Adrian

P.S. Yes I, too, hand them to people and say "now wind on..."

Krosya · 02-16-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruben

Hi Roger,
Welcome !
I am curious to know if you have written other non-photgraphy related books.

Cheers,
Ruben

http://www.rogerandfrances.com/books.html

Roger Hicks · 02-20-2009

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. The novel is in fact now finished, bar odd bits of polishing and amending: for example, one of the couples had to acquire an 11-year-old son for the purposes of the plot, and with another couple I found that they already had a grandson in chapter 9 or so whom I needed in the last chapter but I'd got his name wrong earlier.

Doug: Good Lord, I've only ever met one Aditi. To hear of another, let alone an adopted one, is astonishing.

Rick: I'll let you know about good editors when I find one. The best editors do the least work -- not in the sense of doing nothing, but in the sense of not doing things that aren't needed. Too many editors get delusions of grandeur, and want to rewrite the book. Sample from one book on the American Civil War: I wrote, "Of course there was no air conditioning in those days but if you were smart, your house was built to catch every passing breeze." Editor's 'improvement': "If you were lucky, your house was designed to catch every passing breeze." My response: "It wasn't luck, it was smarts, and rural houses were not designed, but built."

Adrian: PMs already exchanged. Thanks for the kind offer.

John: Not sure about the satisfaction of finishing a novel. It seems to be much like every other book I've ever finished: I get quite bad post-partum depression!

Cheers,

Roger

oftheherd · 02-21-2009

Mr. Hicks,

Just ran across this thread. Good luck on the novel getting into print soon, and on being an adoptive father.

Benjamin Marks · 02-21-2009

Roger: i think the reason you've seen so much warmth in this thread is that I think you have made every conversation in which you've participated here better. Thanks for that, the world needs good conversations! Best of luck in all your endeavors.

Ben Marks