I searched the web over the weekend to find a contact for an old friend of my brother's. I thought for sure that I'd found him, but he's not responded to my email. I guess there's always the possibility that it got caught in spam or he simply hasn't gotten around to replying. Or maybe he just doesn't want to go back there.
I've decided I have to build a timeline, not so much for telling the story of his life in a linear fashion, but just so that I can talk around the pictures in my mind. V had mentioned Solaris as an example of where the protagonist struggles with whether his memories are true of his wife -- so much of what I remember now is purely in my head and as old as I was when he passed away. But another theme which obsessed me today was whether people attract their fate by virtue of their make-up or their early life experiences, or whether fate simply deals some people better hands than others.
All day long I kept thinking it might be the former -- how else can you explain that my most positive friends have the most fulfilled personal, professional and family lives. That said, all my most interesting, deep-thinking and probably most intellectual friends do not. It's not about THINGS...it's about how happy they are with their own lives, how they fit in the world, how the world fits them.
I guess I'll just have to toy with that catnip for awhile...
Wednesday 26 September 2007
Tuesday 25 September 2007
This is not a blog
This is a writer's diary. The word "Block" refers to my group of writing friends as I've never experienced "writer's block".
Over the last few years, I've been doing some writing. A few scripts with my writing mate V, a whole novel-sized story and two or three short stories. Until a couple of years ago, I used to meet regularly with C, V and D but then V went off travelling and C got a life and D got busy with career and family and ... not sure what happened to me.
V and I carried on collaborating though.
So, the group (well, three of us, C couldn't make it) met up last night in the Rose and Crown and we talked through our projects.
D is planning a script based on an aspect of her family. V has written two largish stories. He's refining one for a competition.
I have recently re-addressed myself to a story idea I had a few years ago. I've produced about 9000 words so far, and I'm aiming for about 60,000. My last exercise ended up at 140,000 - of which about 60,000 were superfluous and the rest pretty dodgy.
I am not going to discuss the story here, rather my diary will focus on the writing process.
D and V had a few comments. V is keeping a reading diary which I'll get to see when I've finished. V and I share the same habit of ploughing through to the end and revising from scratch rather than continuously iterating.
Pace is fast. Good. I am deliberately moving forward quickly.
My main character (Gabe/Gabriel) acts younger than his stated age. This is hardly a surprise as he started aged 11 and then I changed it for reasons I can't remember to 13 (I think it was because I was thinking about adding some sexual tension). I will change him back to 11 as when I wrote out the entire plot I didn't use the sexual tension angle.
Gabe feels lost. He's supposed to be, but I think I've overdone it as the readers felt lost. Consequently the characters come as a bit of a surprise and required both D and V to look back. This will be addressed in the revision, as of now all characters are in play. (Except Uncle Nicholas and I know him well - and he's well telegraphed).
Gabe's mum is blurry. She is, dammit. I didn't do my homework on her at all. She needs a back story to shape her character and bring her out of 2 dimensions. Heck, all I thought about her is that she's the organized one in the marriage (given that Daniel is a boffin and an academic) and is "commercial". I decided last night that she runs a clothing boutique in Oxford. Summertown, I think. It's an area I know about and it suits her personality - and it reinforces her desire to look chic, but never quite managing to do so because she's so busy. It also says something the history of the brothers Nicholas and Daniel Letrange. I know that they have a French father who came to the UK - probably during the war, maybe as a child of ten-ish - but were brought up as British.
Strong relationship between Gabriel and dad (Daniel). Good, the book has this as a key relationship. If I can't do that, I may as well give up.
Both commented on the jerky scene shift from the home to the Cowley Road. This is not explained and never will be. It is a feature of the book that will happen two or three times more but will come to seem natural, I hope. I know that it's not handled well and I'm hoping that my experience with the characters of Mike and Gabe and the phenomena that accompanies them will come to me more naturally.
This week I am unlikely to get any writing done. However, V and myself are aiming to manage a couple of hours at his local pub on the Island where I should be able to knock out a couple of thousand.
Over the last few years, I've been doing some writing. A few scripts with my writing mate V, a whole novel-sized story and two or three short stories. Until a couple of years ago, I used to meet regularly with C, V and D but then V went off travelling and C got a life and D got busy with career and family and ... not sure what happened to me.
V and I carried on collaborating though.
So, the group (well, three of us, C couldn't make it) met up last night in the Rose and Crown and we talked through our projects.
D is planning a script based on an aspect of her family. V has written two largish stories. He's refining one for a competition.
I have recently re-addressed myself to a story idea I had a few years ago. I've produced about 9000 words so far, and I'm aiming for about 60,000. My last exercise ended up at 140,000 - of which about 60,000 were superfluous and the rest pretty dodgy.
I am not going to discuss the story here, rather my diary will focus on the writing process.
D and V had a few comments. V is keeping a reading diary which I'll get to see when I've finished. V and I share the same habit of ploughing through to the end and revising from scratch rather than continuously iterating.
Pace is fast. Good. I am deliberately moving forward quickly.
My main character (Gabe/Gabriel) acts younger than his stated age. This is hardly a surprise as he started aged 11 and then I changed it for reasons I can't remember to 13 (I think it was because I was thinking about adding some sexual tension). I will change him back to 11 as when I wrote out the entire plot I didn't use the sexual tension angle.
Gabe feels lost. He's supposed to be, but I think I've overdone it as the readers felt lost. Consequently the characters come as a bit of a surprise and required both D and V to look back. This will be addressed in the revision, as of now all characters are in play. (Except Uncle Nicholas and I know him well - and he's well telegraphed).
Gabe's mum is blurry. She is, dammit. I didn't do my homework on her at all. She needs a back story to shape her character and bring her out of 2 dimensions. Heck, all I thought about her is that she's the organized one in the marriage (given that Daniel is a boffin and an academic) and is "commercial". I decided last night that she runs a clothing boutique in Oxford. Summertown, I think. It's an area I know about and it suits her personality - and it reinforces her desire to look chic, but never quite managing to do so because she's so busy. It also says something the history of the brothers Nicholas and Daniel Letrange. I know that they have a French father who came to the UK - probably during the war, maybe as a child of ten-ish - but were brought up as British.
Strong relationship between Gabriel and dad (Daniel). Good, the book has this as a key relationship. If I can't do that, I may as well give up.
Both commented on the jerky scene shift from the home to the Cowley Road. This is not explained and never will be. It is a feature of the book that will happen two or three times more but will come to seem natural, I hope. I know that it's not handled well and I'm hoping that my experience with the characters of Mike and Gabe and the phenomena that accompanies them will come to me more naturally.
This week I am unlikely to get any writing done. However, V and myself are aiming to manage a couple of hours at his local pub on the Island where I should be able to knock out a couple of thousand.
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