OK, this is getting silly now, it's got to have been at least three months and I'm STILL stuck on how to end my novella. (actually, having looked through a break down of key events so far, I've realised I probably need to do a major re-write and either A; cut out lots of stuff or B; turn it in to a full length novel.)
What really sucks though is not only am I stuck on how to end my novella, I'm also stuck on the fairy tale I started for my girlfriend. I thought that would be easy, after all, I already know the whole story in my head but no, just like everything else, it's got too damn complicated and now I can't figure out how to get back in to writing the blasted thing.
so what have I been doing to try and get over it? (writers block that is), well one thing I tried was a little exercise to get the brain working. I asked KT (my long suffering partner) to give me three things, a place, a number and an object. From these I managed to write a whole short story which has been submitted to Kenaz, a local writing/arts magazine which needs funding to support it as it's entirely voluntary. Now in my opinion, the magazine is brilliant! It is one of the few places that people like myself who have yet to get published or perhaps lack the confidence to finish something longer can send work and know that thanks to the distribution network which includes libraries, community centres and bookshops, their work will reach a wide and varied audience from which they can get feedback about their art and thereby improve themselves.
So back to the story, what stimulus did KT give me? well the place was a field, the object a candle stick and the number was 4. From that I managed to create a futuristic story about a girl who becomes an exile from her community for an accident. If the piece is successful, I intend to put it here on Blogger and make it in to a 'fictional' diary of her experiences as she comes to terms with being an exile so do let me know what you think!
Anyway, as that is going to be an ongoing project, I won't say much more, instead here's a little poem I did manage to come up with. I know it's far from perfect but it's only supposed to be a little fun! feel free to let me now if it makes you smile!
till next time,
James
The silly snail
There lives at the bottom of my vegetable patch
A snail who’s easy for the birds to catch!
For unlike many of his slimy kind,
Into his shell he cannot wind!
For while he fed upon my veg
From inside out to the very edge
Of cabbage, onion and cucumber
Growing larger and ever plumper
Until at last the day did come
He couldn't fit and so hide from
The birds who circled overhead
The many coloured flower bed
Seeking tasty snacks and little bugs
To eat and catch to feed their chicks
And so he stays deep in the shade
Eating plants, far too afraid
To venture out from under leaf
Lest by the birds he comes to grief!
Tuesday, 3 July 2007
Sunday, 13 May 2007
Writers Block
What to do when writers block hits?
I've asked a few people this recently as for the last two months or so since my last entry I've been suffering the worst case of 'block' I've had for ages. Things were going so well, the ideas were flowing, the words coming nice and easy and then...Nothing. Two months of nothing to be exact and it doesn't look like changing any time soon. I've tried forcing stuff out so I can go back and alter it lare, I've tried skipping to another section with the aim of linking it all in later, hell I've even tried to change topics and start someting different just to break the deadlock but howvere many words I write I end up deleting them. I read ack what ever I've managed to squeeze out and it hits me, all I've done is reguritate horrible horrible cliche's that make my skin crawl so god knows what they'd do to a reader, put them off for life maybe?
So what advice was I given? The main one was don't give up. Helpful but not exactly groundbreaking and inspiring it has to be said. I was also advised to just leave whatever I managed to write and keep going, to not go back and re-read stuff I'd already done until I got to the next edit but as good as this advice is, it doesn't work for me because of the way my thoughts and creative processes work. For me, going back and reading the last thousand words or so allows me to rejoin whatever train of thought it was I working from before and to pick up without losing the voice of whatever character I'm breathing life in to (well normally at any rate).
So here it is, point for discussion;
How to break writers block? Anyone with some advice please leave a comment and I'll respond, maybe we can get some kind of discussion going that will help anyone else suffering the same problem as me.
Anyway, aside from the block what else is new? Well, Turned thirty (so my life plan is now only 5 years behind!). Family didn't remember apart from my mum and dad whose card was delayed thanks to the bank holiday but at least my girlfriend made it a good one! Battlestar galactica season 2 and a cool binary/digital watch as main presents and a continetal breakfast! what more could I ask other than to have had the day off (yup I had to work godsdammit!) but at least it was busy and went quick!
Right, that'll do for now! I've got my first driving test in a few days so gonna go and stress about that for a while and drink copious amounts of Tea! I'll let ya all know how I do!
I've asked a few people this recently as for the last two months or so since my last entry I've been suffering the worst case of 'block' I've had for ages. Things were going so well, the ideas were flowing, the words coming nice and easy and then...Nothing. Two months of nothing to be exact and it doesn't look like changing any time soon. I've tried forcing stuff out so I can go back and alter it lare, I've tried skipping to another section with the aim of linking it all in later, hell I've even tried to change topics and start someting different just to break the deadlock but howvere many words I write I end up deleting them. I read ack what ever I've managed to squeeze out and it hits me, all I've done is reguritate horrible horrible cliche's that make my skin crawl so god knows what they'd do to a reader, put them off for life maybe?
So what advice was I given? The main one was don't give up. Helpful but not exactly groundbreaking and inspiring it has to be said. I was also advised to just leave whatever I managed to write and keep going, to not go back and re-read stuff I'd already done until I got to the next edit but as good as this advice is, it doesn't work for me because of the way my thoughts and creative processes work. For me, going back and reading the last thousand words or so allows me to rejoin whatever train of thought it was I working from before and to pick up without losing the voice of whatever character I'm breathing life in to (well normally at any rate).
So here it is, point for discussion;
How to break writers block? Anyone with some advice please leave a comment and I'll respond, maybe we can get some kind of discussion going that will help anyone else suffering the same problem as me.
Anyway, aside from the block what else is new? Well, Turned thirty (so my life plan is now only 5 years behind!). Family didn't remember apart from my mum and dad whose card was delayed thanks to the bank holiday but at least my girlfriend made it a good one! Battlestar galactica season 2 and a cool binary/digital watch as main presents and a continetal breakfast! what more could I ask other than to have had the day off (yup I had to work godsdammit!) but at least it was busy and went quick!
Right, that'll do for now! I've got my first driving test in a few days so gonna go and stress about that for a while and drink copious amounts of Tea! I'll let ya all know how I do!
Thursday, 22 March 2007
latest musings
you know someday, I'm gonna have to figure out how to put pictures and stuff on this thing!
Anyway, not much to report since my last missive, still struggling with the final chapter of my novella though I've managed another 2000 words (and I thought I only had 1k left to write!). that brings the total so far up to about 32K and still counting though I know that it's slowly drawing to a close. It's funny really, I never thought actually finishing this would be that hard, I always had such a clear idea of how it was supposed to go but almost as soon as I started, the damn thing took on a life of it's own! It started as merely a short story about a guy who dates a werewolf and now it's got a harpy, an immortal demonic entity hell bent on ruining everyone and anyone she meets and gender change, not to mention it's set itself up for a sequel! (oh, and no werewolf!) Funny how these things go!
Here's a short extract for anyone who fancies a read:
“I found her later that day, she wasn’t far but I was still so weak after the night that for most of the morning I just lay on my bed, to exhausted to move. When it got to midday and she still hadn’t come to find me I began to panic and hope that Anya had come for her during the night to keep her safe. I made myself get up and get dressed properly thinking I’d go to Anya’s room at the local inn to ask her but before I could, someone knocked at our door and started shouting. I knew it wasn’t Anya because it was a male voice and she’s never come to see me with someone else. Whoever they were, they’d heard screaming in the night and once decided to come and find out what it was. They broke down the door and almost caught me but I ran through the house and jumped out the kitchen window.” She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts before taking a deep breath as if preparing herself for what came next. “I didn’t even have to break the glass because it was already broken” she continued. “It was broken because I’d thrown my daughter, my Elizabeth through it during the night while I wasn’t myself. I didn’t know that when I climbed through, I didn’t even stop to think why it was broken, all I could think about was getting away from the people coming to get me, that and getting to Anya and hopefully my Elizabeth. It was only when my feet hit the mud outside that I realised what I’d done.”
Talia raised her head and looked at me as she spoke and I could see the sadness in her eyes and the immense loneliness that consumed her. I looked in to those pale green orbs and saw the self loathing and self hate she felt in their depths and my heart melted. Though I still hated the part of her that could kill and main for pleasure, I found myself falling in love with her again as I had the first time I met her and worse still, I didn’t want to stop myself. She’d killed my wife and destroyed my life yet still I wanted to protect her and help to ease the pain and loneliness that blighted her life. Seeing the love in my eyes, she seemed to relax and her voice gained in strength and after a few halting sentences, she seemed to find a rhythm and told me the rest of her tale. She told me how she’d almost fallen on the cold, lifeless body of her child, torn and mangled by her own teeth and how her daughters face was a frozen mask of terror that even now, many years later haunts her almost daily. She told me of the flight across a city suddenly grown hostile and raised against her and of further promises extracted by Anya in exchange for safety. She told me of the years of misery spent as little more than Anya’s slave and plaything, forced to kill and demean herself to please her mistress and of a string of men ‘fed to her’ by Anya, men who’d managed to displeasure her keeper
Let me know what you think!
On a different note, I started looking on the net recently for advice on how to get an agent. (Seems they're quite useful for getting your work into print as a pose to just collecting refusal slips) but I found the whole thing quite confusing. Does anyone out there have any advice on how to go about this somewhat crucial but oh so difficult step?
On a final note, still no word on the attack on my girlfriend from the police despite the fact it was a month ago, kinda given up hope on that one. Makes you wonder why we pay council tax really!
Well, that's about it for today, time to go back to the keyboard I guess! Happy Ostara!
Anyway, not much to report since my last missive, still struggling with the final chapter of my novella though I've managed another 2000 words (and I thought I only had 1k left to write!). that brings the total so far up to about 32K and still counting though I know that it's slowly drawing to a close. It's funny really, I never thought actually finishing this would be that hard, I always had such a clear idea of how it was supposed to go but almost as soon as I started, the damn thing took on a life of it's own! It started as merely a short story about a guy who dates a werewolf and now it's got a harpy, an immortal demonic entity hell bent on ruining everyone and anyone she meets and gender change, not to mention it's set itself up for a sequel! (oh, and no werewolf!) Funny how these things go!
Here's a short extract for anyone who fancies a read:
“I found her later that day, she wasn’t far but I was still so weak after the night that for most of the morning I just lay on my bed, to exhausted to move. When it got to midday and she still hadn’t come to find me I began to panic and hope that Anya had come for her during the night to keep her safe. I made myself get up and get dressed properly thinking I’d go to Anya’s room at the local inn to ask her but before I could, someone knocked at our door and started shouting. I knew it wasn’t Anya because it was a male voice and she’s never come to see me with someone else. Whoever they were, they’d heard screaming in the night and once decided to come and find out what it was. They broke down the door and almost caught me but I ran through the house and jumped out the kitchen window.” She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts before taking a deep breath as if preparing herself for what came next. “I didn’t even have to break the glass because it was already broken” she continued. “It was broken because I’d thrown my daughter, my Elizabeth through it during the night while I wasn’t myself. I didn’t know that when I climbed through, I didn’t even stop to think why it was broken, all I could think about was getting away from the people coming to get me, that and getting to Anya and hopefully my Elizabeth. It was only when my feet hit the mud outside that I realised what I’d done.”
Talia raised her head and looked at me as she spoke and I could see the sadness in her eyes and the immense loneliness that consumed her. I looked in to those pale green orbs and saw the self loathing and self hate she felt in their depths and my heart melted. Though I still hated the part of her that could kill and main for pleasure, I found myself falling in love with her again as I had the first time I met her and worse still, I didn’t want to stop myself. She’d killed my wife and destroyed my life yet still I wanted to protect her and help to ease the pain and loneliness that blighted her life. Seeing the love in my eyes, she seemed to relax and her voice gained in strength and after a few halting sentences, she seemed to find a rhythm and told me the rest of her tale. She told me how she’d almost fallen on the cold, lifeless body of her child, torn and mangled by her own teeth and how her daughters face was a frozen mask of terror that even now, many years later haunts her almost daily. She told me of the flight across a city suddenly grown hostile and raised against her and of further promises extracted by Anya in exchange for safety. She told me of the years of misery spent as little more than Anya’s slave and plaything, forced to kill and demean herself to please her mistress and of a string of men ‘fed to her’ by Anya, men who’d managed to displeasure her keeper
Let me know what you think!
On a different note, I started looking on the net recently for advice on how to get an agent. (Seems they're quite useful for getting your work into print as a pose to just collecting refusal slips) but I found the whole thing quite confusing. Does anyone out there have any advice on how to go about this somewhat crucial but oh so difficult step?
On a final note, still no word on the attack on my girlfriend from the police despite the fact it was a month ago, kinda given up hope on that one. Makes you wonder why we pay council tax really!
Well, that's about it for today, time to go back to the keyboard I guess! Happy Ostara!
Sunday, 4 March 2007
Stressful few days....
Well it's been a fairly eventful last couple of weeks up here in the desolate North East! Quite a few things have happened since my last post, not all of them good!
First, Katie (my long suffering girlfriend,) got attacked in a club on our first proper night out since moving up here. For some reason, probably jealousy, some girl decided to try and start a fight with us in a little club in Guisborough called Mojo's. Before we could do anything about it, the cow had punched Katie and actually knocked her out for a few moments. To make things worse, it was us who got thrown out of the club even though we'd done our best to avoid trouble and the bouncers wouldn't even get Katie a drink! morale of the story? don't go to Mojo's unless you're a local as it seems to be a 'local club for local people' (they even told us that as we were southerners, we shouldn't be in their club, can you believe it?'
On top of that, I've had to drop my driving instructor and put my driving test back, not end of the world stuff but very frustrating! I should have been taking my test and thereby avoiding public transport sometime in December but alas, my driving skills seem to be getting worse not better! My old instructor, a guy called Paul didn't take it very well at all (he was very very rude down the phone!) so clearly I'm better off without him. I guess I should have known better than to stay when he started bragging about speeding and stuff but hey, I thought what the hell, loyalty to your instructor has to count for something right?
So, between trying to sort out the assault on KT and my new instructor, I've not managed a great deal of writing however, the faerie tale is about half done and I may have found an agent! If that works out at least I'll have a better chance of getting my novella published when I finally manage to get the last chapter done! Now all I need to do is find the time to actually write!
Lastly, I just like to say thankyou to all those of you who've taken the time to read the extract I posted in the previous entry and have left feedback for me! I really appreciate your support and have already used your comments to alter the draft version of the faerie tale I'm writing. I don't know if I'll post the finshed piece on here or on my website (there's a link on my profile) or even if I'll send it for publishing but whatever I do with it, it'll be all the better for help from people like yourselves! Thanks again!
Till next time!
First, Katie (my long suffering girlfriend,) got attacked in a club on our first proper night out since moving up here. For some reason, probably jealousy, some girl decided to try and start a fight with us in a little club in Guisborough called Mojo's. Before we could do anything about it, the cow had punched Katie and actually knocked her out for a few moments. To make things worse, it was us who got thrown out of the club even though we'd done our best to avoid trouble and the bouncers wouldn't even get Katie a drink! morale of the story? don't go to Mojo's unless you're a local as it seems to be a 'local club for local people' (they even told us that as we were southerners, we shouldn't be in their club, can you believe it?'
On top of that, I've had to drop my driving instructor and put my driving test back, not end of the world stuff but very frustrating! I should have been taking my test and thereby avoiding public transport sometime in December but alas, my driving skills seem to be getting worse not better! My old instructor, a guy called Paul didn't take it very well at all (he was very very rude down the phone!) so clearly I'm better off without him. I guess I should have known better than to stay when he started bragging about speeding and stuff but hey, I thought what the hell, loyalty to your instructor has to count for something right?
So, between trying to sort out the assault on KT and my new instructor, I've not managed a great deal of writing however, the faerie tale is about half done and I may have found an agent! If that works out at least I'll have a better chance of getting my novella published when I finally manage to get the last chapter done! Now all I need to do is find the time to actually write!
Lastly, I just like to say thankyou to all those of you who've taken the time to read the extract I posted in the previous entry and have left feedback for me! I really appreciate your support and have already used your comments to alter the draft version of the faerie tale I'm writing. I don't know if I'll post the finshed piece on here or on my website (there's a link on my profile) or even if I'll send it for publishing but whatever I do with it, it'll be all the better for help from people like yourselves! Thanks again!
Till next time!
Tuesday, 13 February 2007
well, still having problems with the final chapter of my novella, I'd hoped to finish it by wednesday evening but not getting too far with that. On the plus side, I've managed to make a good start on something that's been floating about in the back of my mind for several years and the good news is that for me at least, it's something of a departure and even more shocking, it looks like it might just be heading for of all things, A HAPPY ENDING! (now that will be a first!)
Here's an extract for anyone who fancies a read:
Well, let me know what you all think and please leave feedback, even if it's negative! Also, I'm still not sure what stuff people put on these things so let me know what you think of the blog itself, am I boring? long winded? is there stuff that you'd like to read that I'm not putting in this thing?
Here's an extract for anyone who fancies a read:
Once, long ago in a land ruled by a queen with pale marble white skin and flowing red hair there lived a young girl and her mother. Their lives were not in the main unhappy and though they were poor, they managed somehow to get by. Every morning, the girl, Angela (for that was the name given to the young woman by her mother on the day of her birth, so blue were the baby’s eyes and so blonde was the hair on her small head that it seemed to those present that she must have been sent from the heavens above) would wake, go downstairs, drink the mug of mead her mother would leave on the table and eat the heavy bread her mother had cut for her from the loaf the baker in the nearest village would send, refusing payment as often as not. Then, having eaten she would change from the woollen slip she slept in, pulling on its place a coarse dress that had once been her mothers and she would go to work at the nearby monastery. There she would clean and serve food to the monks, always smiling and remaining polite as they helped themselves to the wine and cheese she laid out for them on the long wooden benches in their hall. Being the well mannered person she was and knowing her place in the world, she never complained when they cursed her for the poor vinegary taste of the wine she poured them just as she would stand silently, eyes downcast as they berated her for the mould on the cheese she fetched from their store rooms. She even remained quiet, only letting out the smallest cry of pain on the rare occasions when the abbot, red faced with wine and frustrated by her deft avoidance of his uncouth advances towards her, beat her and when, sweating and panting with effort, he would dismiss her, telling her to bath in clean water and wash the sinfulness from her, she would bow, nod and back quietly from his chamber before making her way down to the one part of the monastery where she could relax and enjoy herself, the stables.
Well, let me know what you all think and please leave feedback, even if it's negative! Also, I'm still not sure what stuff people put on these things so let me know what you think of the blog itself, am I boring? long winded? is there stuff that you'd like to read that I'm not putting in this thing?
Till next time!
james
Monday, 12 February 2007
recently read:
This month I have mostly been reading:
Robert Holdstock, the merlin Codex.
gotta say, unusal series but damn good! I'd have never thought of mixing the idea of greek mythology (Jason and the Argonauts) with the legend of Merlin but it actually works really well!
The three books, Celtika, iron grail and broken kings were great and rate amongst the best fantasy I've read in one heck of a long time. not only does it have believable characters and motivation, really well described settings and great action scenes, it also has the feel of an actual account, as if it's some-one's recollections rather than a work of pure fantasy!
If you're looking for something a bit different and like good well written fantasy, give it a try!
On a more personal note, I've recently finished a short story based on the new order song 1963 and featuring Anya, an evil, a-moral half demon who enjoys screwing up people's lives! it's been nice to finally get back to writing after six months of writers block!
She'll also feature in the novella I'm working on, a tale of revenge, ruined lives and love that overcomes boundries and obstacles you wouldn't believe! I've just gotta finish that and add the last chapter before it's ready to send off to the first publisher so wish me luck!
Well, until I've either read something else worth reviewing or have more news on my own stuff, bye for now and feel free to comment and have a look at the extracts and examples of my work on my web site. I'd love to know what you all think! be warned though, I do deal with adult themes so just be aware that not all of it is suitable for kids!
Robert Holdstock, the merlin Codex.
gotta say, unusal series but damn good! I'd have never thought of mixing the idea of greek mythology (Jason and the Argonauts) with the legend of Merlin but it actually works really well!
The three books, Celtika, iron grail and broken kings were great and rate amongst the best fantasy I've read in one heck of a long time. not only does it have believable characters and motivation, really well described settings and great action scenes, it also has the feel of an actual account, as if it's some-one's recollections rather than a work of pure fantasy!
If you're looking for something a bit different and like good well written fantasy, give it a try!
On a more personal note, I've recently finished a short story based on the new order song 1963 and featuring Anya, an evil, a-moral half demon who enjoys screwing up people's lives! it's been nice to finally get back to writing after six months of writers block!
She'll also feature in the novella I'm working on, a tale of revenge, ruined lives and love that overcomes boundries and obstacles you wouldn't believe! I've just gotta finish that and add the last chapter before it's ready to send off to the first publisher so wish me luck!
Well, until I've either read something else worth reviewing or have more news on my own stuff, bye for now and feel free to comment and have a look at the extracts and examples of my work on my web site. I'd love to know what you all think! be warned though, I do deal with adult themes so just be aware that not all of it is suitable for kids!
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