So, once again a new year rolls in, and
as I blearily get up for work every morning I think to myself “There
has to be a better way to live than this”, and once again I try and
think of a way to use my not inconsiderable talents to make money and
be happier.
And once again, I think I should write
something. This year however, I have a distinct advantage. I had a
look at my laptop, and apparently in last years desire to do
something worthwhile I managed to knock out yet another opening
chapter of yet another novel (the number of currently unfinished
novels I have on hard drives and bits of paper round my house seems
to number 6 or 7, the number which have more than the opening chapter
currently stands at 2).
So, in an attempt to prove my 1st year
english teacher (Mr Beavis) correct in his assumption that I had “a
real gift for creative writing”, and my 6th form history teacher
(Mrs Fursman) right that I had “an ear for the felicitous phrase”,
I intend to actually follow through and finish this one.
This blog will now become a document of
procrastinatory fun for me, as I can write this to tell the world how
badly I am getting on with doing any real work, instead of doing any
real work. Having generally always got stuck after the 1st chapter
(I'm very good at setting the scene, just no idea what the actual
scene is afterwards usually) I have a plan.
This time, I am plotting, rather than
trying to let it unfold in front of me. I am not 17 anymore, and the
ideas come at me in dribs and drabs now, rather than fully formed in
hallucinogenic visions. Probably because I had so many of them back
in the day. So I am spending my evenings writing endless character
back stories, so I know what they will do before they do it, and
hellishly intricate plot ideas, before screwing them all together
into one big mash of fun. It is a whole new form of procrastination,
which me and Rizla enjoy a lot. Rizla enjoys it because the best way
to think of good ideas is to walk for hours on the moors, and she,
being a dog, enjoys that kind of thing. I being a very forgetful
bloke, enjoy it less, as I've normally forgotten all those good ideas
by the time we get back home again.
This weekends plan is to clear out the
summer house into the old leaky studio shed, so I have somewhere nice
to work, as it has a lovely view over the moors, and a very comfy
chair. Very enjoyable procrastination indeed.
So wish me luck, I might manage it this
time, and then I can watch as it fails as badly as all my musical
endeavours to date have managed to.
Chin up.
You should stop trying to write in such a linear fashion. I was having trouble after the first chapters myself but then I realised that it is not the further chapters that are the problem, it is the transitions. Now I just get inspired and I type something out that can appear in a later chapter. Gradually I get a whole load of these bits all stacked up. Then I can read them and think, this bloke obviously doesn't have any idea, and so I rewrite them again but bumf them out a bit. Once I have enough of those I just need to stitch them together, bish bosh, job done, move over Rowling.
ReplyDeleteI like your plan, however, my lack of plot generally extends to the later chapters as well Ro. Inspiration is sadly lacking most of the time. This time I intend to revert to a simpler form of inspiration, wine and Hawkwind records. Will try and think of later stuff as well. Ta.
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