I’ve just dished out my novelette, ‘Branching Out’, to some beta readers and will be starting the 4th draft of my 2nd novel, ‘Broken Branches’ which means soon I will have nothing else to write about, so now’s a good time to think about starting a 3rd novel.
I was in this position in November 2009 when I had a vague idea of what to write for my 2nd novel…even though it turned out different, I still had a starting point.
This time I have nothing.
Well, not completely zilch. A theme I’m interested in is the distribution of wealth after the financial crash, Occupy, 99%, MP’s expenses, lobbying, etc, etc. This theme in itself doesn’t make for an interesting story but it’s a starting point for imaging a world and placing characters in it.
I think the hard part is thinking of a hook for a story. Picking a theme you’re interested in is easy enough but finding a story within that theme and telling it from an interesting angle with compelling characters driving the story down a road with surprising twists to a satisfactory destination is another ball game.
That’s when I thought about cheating : )
I’m a grown man and I’ve just spent time cutting out teeth to create this photo of a laptop eating an iPad.
I need to get a life.
Anyway, writing machines, which is best?
I love both and I did give my iPad an honest go of being my go-to scribing tablet but it didn’t quite cut the mustard.
It has no keyboard, so I bought an external one. That does improve things but my main issue was the lack of cursor. Touching the screen to direct the cursor meant my fingers weren’t near the keyboard which was a little weird. Using the arrow keys is another solution but a very clicky one especially if you’ve got to go back a few paragraphs and delete a sentence.
An external keyboard also means your singular, sleek slice of serenity is now a two-piece. If I wanted a two-piece I’d grab a notebook and pen. I’m too high-tec for that kind of malarkey.
Man! Am I the laziest blogger ever?!
Been writing a short story, ‘Branching Out’ which is a prequel to my second novel ‘Broken Branches’. Originally thought it would be 2,000/3,000 words, so far I’m on 8,500 and it’ll clear 10,000 easy (which classifies it as a ‘Novelette‘, apparently).
Also, between the last post and the present day, my laptop slowed down to a pace which tempted violence, so I sucked it up and bought a second-hand Mac Air.
Searched for a writing app to go with it and stumbled on MOAppsWrite.
Sweet joyousness followed, along with a severe lack of blogging.
I used to use Microsoft Word for all my writing needs and don’t have a bad word to say about it. It can be overkill but you can rearrange the toolbar settings to have minimal features showing allowing you to get on with the business of scribing.
I recently read ‘Why I Write‘ by George Orwell and within the essay ‘Politics and the English Language’ lie the ‘writing rules’ sometimes quoted on Twitter and elsewhere online.
It’s an interesting essay where he points out that jargon, unoriginal metaphors, padding and ‘humbug’ are used increasingly in politics and creeping into other literary arena’s.
Bear in mind that this was written in 1946 so he’s rapidly spinning in his grave at the moment.
The fact George frequently uses the word ‘humbug’ throughout this book is an unmitigated joy.
His rules are;
@iainbroome posed the tweet;
About to record WfYL podcast. Quick poll: what motivates you to write?
I replied;
Finishing something I created.
Finishing is what really gets me on the laptop and hitting those keys. I could think about ideas and story-lines all day without lifting a finger but compiling all those ideas and story-lines into some kind of semi-cohesive structure is what gets the laptop cracked open.
In the famous words of Chuck Wendig;
Finish the shit that you started.
It’s the No.1 rule in his piece, ‘25 Things You Should Know About Writing a Novel‘. His No.1 rule, so it’s not one of those ‘rules are meant to be broken’ rules. It’s a steadfast, rigid, unbendable rule like starting a sentence with a capital letter.
Yes, I’d like to be read and admired, have people fawn over my mind-bending, world changing ideas, get paid, get laid, get wined and dined, who wouldn’t? But I don’t think an unpublished writer without any literary background can begin with these elevated ideas of achievement, it doesn’t seem to be a healthy relationship to have with your own writing. Ego-stroking and material gain as motivation before you’ve even finished anything keeps your eyes on glittery distractions rather than your story.
When I start, my only goal is to finish. After I’ve finished then I dream of million pound book deals, a supermodel on my arm and supercars decorating the obscenely long driveway with a statue of myself in the centre…seriously.
This reminded me of a favourite book of mine when I was a kid, ‘The Magic Paint Brush’ (See video above). A boy gets a paint brush and as soon as he finishes painting something it becomes real. Your novel is nothing until it’s finished. It’s an unfinished novel. It can’t be rewritten, changed, fixed, improved or edited until it’s finished. As soon as it’s finished, your novel becomes real, opening the floodgates to more hard work, but at least you’re working on a completed manuscript, something which has a beginning, a middle and an end. You can see the whole picture and all the story arcs heading towards a satisfying conclusion.
I didn’t want to be someone who said ‘I think I could write a book‘ or have a half-hearted couple of chapters sitting in a drawer somewhere. I’ve started two novels and I’ve finished two novels.
Money and adoration can wait…for a little bit longer!
I recently bought an iPad, downloaded the iBooks and Kindle apps and started scouting for freebies.
What I found was a wealth of copyright expired classics swaddled within the damp, soiled rags of negligent designers.
In this day and age, classics should be treated with a little more care and attention…and here is my idea.
Amateur, student, professional designers should be donating beautiful cover artwork to dress these epic texts up so they can continue living long and productive lives for new readers who maybe put off with such staid and boring covers.
I haven’t blogged in nearly a month because I’m still going through the 2nd draft, nearly finished.
Anyway, in the meantime I thought I’d give away this tshirt in a blatant act of whoring to get some more followers on Twitter and blog visitors.
I also run a menswear blog and WeAdmire sent through this tshirt which is the inane writings of a broken man…if there’s a connection with this blog, let me know.
Across the front of the tshirt is ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy‘ from The Shining, repeated over and over.
To enter just retweet the hash tag #alltweetingandnowritingdoesntgetmepublished and I’ll pick a name out the hat on Monday night and DM the winner. You don’t have to follow me but it would be nice : )
It’s a top quality tshirt, in size Large and this offer is only open to UK postal addresses.
There’s more literary tshirts over at WeAdmire here featuring Shakespeare, Orwell, Kafka, Byron, Lovecraft and others.
It’s all going off in the world of books at the moment!
Today is ‘World Book Day‘ and Saturday is ‘World Book Night‘, not on the same day. I don’t make up the rules.
On book night you can attend an event and get given a free book chosen from a limited selection. If you’re in Worthing then check out the book night event at Mooey’s Mocha Shop where you can receive a copy of Philip Pullman’s ‘Northern Lights‘.
Also, The BBC have a book season going on with loads of great programmes. You can see them all here and watch them on iPlayer if you missed them. The Review Show and The Culture Show have specials airing plus dedicated shows such as ‘My Life in Books’ and ‘Faulks on Fiction’ which have been good. ‘Birth of the British Novel‘, presented by Phil Mitchell, was also very good.
All these shows are a great eye-opener into loads of classic books you may not have read and may never get around to reading. It’s all a bit daunting when trying to sculpt your own little corner of British literature but educational and awe-inspiring at the same time.
Sometimes I think, “What the hell am I doing, who the hell do I think I am?”
You know those first few episodes of X-Factor or Britains Got Talent where some self-deranged idiot has convinced themself they can dance/sing/act/juggle but are quite plainly rubbish? If only they’d recorded themself sing, they’d realise!
Sometimes I think that’s me.
So why am I wasting my time doing some crappy job which leaves time to write crap? It feels right.
A few times over the past couple of years I’ve done some job hunting within my previous career of internet marketing and it makes me sick to my stomach. The thought of continuing a career which would leave less time to write albeit earn more money, doesn’t feel right.
There are some good posts about this dilemma by Gareth Powell ‘Balancing writing with your day job‘ and Joanna Penn ‘Where do you find the time to write?‘. I’ve basically gone for the crappy, low engagement job to pay the bills so evenings and weekends can be filled writing…well, mostly anyway.
The flipside to this is, what if I’m a crap writer and I’m not going to go anywhere….ever? I’m totally wasting my time. I could’ve sold out and become a banker where being crap is not a barrier to an obscene bonus.
Amongst the form rejections there’s been a couple of glimmers of hope in terms of encouraging feedback, plus I’ve had two short stories published so I’m not a total tone deaf wannabe but it doesn’t look like I’m Leona Lewis either.
There was a great Twitter rant by Kevin Smith a few months back which included this snippet;
Don’t pursue a role, LIVE that role. Like my sister told me, back when I confessed I wanted to be a filmmaker…“Then BE a filmmaker,” she said.
“That’s what I’m saying: I wanna be.”
And that’s when she gave me the million dollar advice…
“No – BE a filmmaker. You say you wanna be; just BE a filmmaker. Think every thought AS a filmmaker. Don’t pine for it or pursue it; BE it. You ARE a filmmaker; you just haven’t made a film yet.”
And it sounded artsy-fartsy as fuck, but it was CRAZY useful advice. A slacker hit the sheets that night, but the CLERKS-guy got out of bed the following morning.
It’s easy to say that when you’ve made it but there were some kernels of truth in there too; do what makes you happy, you make your own luck, don’t give up, focus…etc. Also, he’s been where I am now, nowhere. Doesn’t matter where he is now, how many of his contemporaries and peers are still nowhere, he’s someone that has got somewhere by living what he wants to do.
I’m not sure what this post is about. Maybe it’s a message to say yes I’m an educated, sane, emotionally grounded individual whom could do many things with his life but is throwing it away trying to write something that someone else might like.
Yes, those around me have got careers, earning half decent money, paying off mortgages, going on holidays abroad, decorating bedrooms and topping up their saving accounts, all things I don’t have but I’m not that bothered. All around in magazines, TV, film, online are measures of where you should be and what you should desire. None of them suggest doing a fairly menial job to support a passion that probably won’t pay and if it does, not very much.
I’m not poor. I’m not complaining. I don’t need a hug. This is merely a meditation on my present situation to be sent out into the ether.
The elephant in the room is that it feels right and I’ve never been happier.
I’m in that sweet spot situated between completing the first draft of my second novel and giving it some breathing room before I go back and see if it’s complete jibberish or not for the second draft.
I’m choosing to think positive thoughts at the moment…la, la, la!
In trying to clear my mind of the second novel, I’m drawn back to my first novel. I’ve been punting it around with the occasional tyre kicker taking an interest but nothing concrete is happening.
I’m still happy with it but I’m wondering if it needs another going over again, especially now I have more experience and more time now. Although there’s a new pressure, is it as good as the second one?
If not, I should go back to it.
If it is, have I learnt nothing?
