Yes, I wasn’t able to generate a very pithy blog title – sue me.
No, scratch that – don’t sue me: I have no money; the bank owns everything. Anyway, I’ve been focussing on writing and being very busy in the day job (I’m not complaining busy is good, at present). Consequently nothing of note has really been happening. Yes: this is another general-update-style-post.
It hasn’t been the easiest week on the writing front as I’ve had little energy and so I was mainly producing tripe that I’ve spent today rewriting, in most cases from scratch. However, a year ago I’d have finished the tripe version and then rewritten it, at least now I’m able to spot it before I’ve produced a ream of rubbish that can’t even be polished. Forever is now gathering some steam and the structural problems I had in January seem to be shifting.
I’m getting close to the end of my pile of books from Christmas and am turning my attention to the books I want to read prior to the next project after Forever. I think my biggest lesson from both The Scarred God and Forever is the sheer amount of ideas required to keep a novel length project afloat, this requires the composting of a range of material and so in order to give my self the time to synthesise it I need to start now. Also, the subject matter is deeply fascinating and much more ambitious than anything I’ve done so far. This is also why I occasionally grump about how long Forever is taking.
The TV is still banned. Although, it has to be confessed that I am keeping up with Being Human on iplayer and have somehow become horribly addicted to Battlestar Galactica despite the whole subtle as sledgehammer post-911 themes. I blame Ron Moore for getting me hooked on his story chops in the early nineties. Though I doubt he remembers me from the little writing class he took in London on a flying visit with Brannon Braga, that moment of being taken seriously – despite being just a kid – had an impact.
Anyway, in all honesty I don’t miss the TV. If anything I’m a lot less stressed than I was when I used to veg out in front of it before work or when I get in and both reading as well as writing has increased dramatically. If nothing else it has taught me that recommendations from friends are a more reliable, time effective way of finding good stuff on the box. Most importantly I feel a lot less like I’m thinking through treacle. I never used to be a great believer in the idea telly atrophies the brain but there might just be something in it. I won’t be returning to the glass teat anytime soon.
I’m sliding into the last week of February feeling like I’m more on top of the writing than I have been in a while and – whilst it’s been quiet – March promises a bit more to do. I’ve got an old friend’s thirtieth (mine looms in a few months), I’ll be in Wales around the middle of the month and we have some jobs to finish in the bathroom before we finally replace the kitchen in May. Should be fun. OK, maybe not the bathroom bit.
That’s enough for now. Laters.