Whoops…its been a while. Whats in a name?
I haven’t written for a while because real life overtook my writing life. New bathrooms, a wedding to plan and other unexpected developments have pushed back any semblance of normal life.
One question I have been pondering – because my characters aren’t very far from the top of the list in my brain – is naming conventions. What should you do, is it bad taste to name characters after people you know, will they be offended if they are/aren’t in the final draft?
I’ve usually kept my villains name to those who have crossed me in the past – like ex boyfriends – its a way to exorcise the demons but if they read the final text would they think it still bothered me and be flattered (my very last intention).
Far harder I think is the name of my heroine, I don’t want to name her after friends or family because from the start she usually has her own identity. So I usually plump for a name I’ve always liked but even this is getting few and far between.
So what is the best way to do this, go with what you know or find something completely different?
Nothing is ever enough…
When do you know how to stop, whether its a novel, a piece of cake or your life! There have been many a wishful thought flitter through my brain always along the lines of “when I get X…then I’ll be happy” but I never am. As soon as I have the allusive object of desire I then reach for another thing that I need to make my life better.
Whilst writing, I often promise myself that ‘at the end of this chapter, I’ll be nearly finished’ but I never am. There are always more bits to add, another character to explore or a different take on a situation. Its only through practice that I can judge when is as good a time to stop…or carry on. It never ends!
My Favourite Quotes…
I love everything about words, the way they look, sound and roll off the tongue.
These are my three favourite quotes.
“Life is made of ever so many partings welded together.”
Charles Dickins – Great Expectations
“I’m just trying to wake up – I’m so afraid of sleeping all my life and then dying – I want to wake up first!”
Philip Pullman – The Amber Spyglass
“A series of disconnected and intense moments.”
Walter Pater’s formulation of life
Procrastination Station….
I’ve tried to tally up the hours so far this year that I have spent writing and coming up with a worrying discovery. There have been times when I thought I had been writing, when clearly I hadn’t and times I thought about writing but didn’t. For instance, dredging up in my mind all the nights the last few weeks, I realised that on Monday I sat down to write, managed about three words before deciding to go and cook dinner and on Friday last week, I got the laptop out and then the phone rang….36 minutes later I put the phone down and the laptop away. As the days pass I forget the details and just assume I’ve written…that is until I look at my word document.
I’m also good at finding ‘other’ things to do which are non essential but totally consuming when I’ve scheduled the odd hour or so to write – like re-arranging my socks into colour piles (seriously do I need them in colour piles?!.) Although I love writing, it seems at times that I hate the idea of it
Any book…
I started thinking about all the books that have moved me, intrigued me or bored me over my lifetime and how the writers developed their craft. How did these books shape my life and do I inadvertently use bits of them in my writing (the general idea, not plagiarism) and what can I pass onto the next generation with my own writing.
With this in mind, I asked the boyf what book he wished he had written and why – he had to dredge his mind for a while and then came up with Sherlock Holmes because he is a dark character which has spanned generations and it still doesn’t get boring (the new film with Jude Law is out this month).
Mine would be After you’d Gone by Maggie O’Farrell - the story is intriguing and developed and you feel like you are in the head of each character. I can’t really re-read books once read but this one is something I would go back to time and again.
So if you could have written any book, what would it be and why?….
Resolutions…
Thinking of making resolutions this year but wondered why I both when they don’t really last beyond March (at an optimistic jump).
The internet descibes it as “a commitment that an individual makes to a project or the reforming of a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous.”
So in trying to steer clear of the usual – loose weight, exercise more, drink less – I’m trying to find something that I can commit to and carry on, something worthwhile to not only myself but those around me. I could try worrying less and laughing more but how do you quantify that over a year… or how about think less and act more – at least that way I might get a bit more writing done.
To try and beat the usual slump, I’m going to make my resolution today and keep it going as long as I can, first I’ve got to decide what its going to be!
My top five…
In the tradition of Christmas, when count downs are all over the place and the race to the Christmas number one is paramount, I’m going to post my top five books of all time…
1) Lord of the flies – William Golding:
A fantastic novel of friendship and survival instincts, something that stays in the subconscious for years
2) In Cold Blood – Truman Capote
I studied this at school and the chilling tale of a murder and the story behind it left me gripped
3) His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
Not really just one novel but a trilogy of fantasy novels (Northern Lights”, “The Subtle Knife”, “The Amber Spyglass)
4) After You’d Gone – Maggie O’Farrell
Brilliantly constructed and spellbinding characters
5) Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
A classic novel that I can read over and over again
To tweet or not to tweet…
I am fairly new to Twitter and since joining (only about two months ago) I have found I need to log onto it at least once or twice a day. I’m not sure its healthy for my writing or concentration because I’m always wondering what other people are saying and what they’d be interested in me saying.
I want followers but I don’t want to bore people with my musings, I want friends but I don’t want to give too much of myself away. Add to this that most of the time I have no idea what to write, do people really want to know that “I’m eating a mince pie!”?
So all the time I spend deliberating what to write, its stopping me actually writing anything worth reading. Time to switch Twitter off for a while.
Christmas Cheer & writing
Well its that time of year again! When I do more eating of mince pies and sweets then I do actually writing anything. There seems to be so much else to do that I feel guilty sitting and writing, so sadly my novel has taken a back seat to be dusted off in the New Year.
I have been productive in writing a couple of short stories for competitions, I’m finding it easier to bash one of these out and go back and edit in my lunch break or between wrapping presents. So all is not lost because I’m still writing and hopefully I might get placed in a couple of these competitions and that would then give me an extra push to get the novel finished.
I think my new years resolution will be to create a dedicated writing room (so that I’m no longer side tracked), up until now I’ve snatched space on the dining room table, in front of the TV and in the conservatory. From next year, amongst other things, I will set myself up in the spare room and shut the door. That way, novel two might finally see the light of day.
I was right…
A heavy thud yesterday alerted me to the fact that my manuscript had arrived back, my own handwriting on the envelope taunted me with rejection. Opening the letter I received a very officious short letter saying thanks but the agent wasn’t enthusiastic about my work and being a small agency she couldn’t take me on. It was what I was expecting and although I’m a little disappointed, I’m not really upset.
Question is..should I carry on or stop? I know one agent isn’t a good barometer but I’ve come over all coy and unsure of myself, if I carry on and receive more rejections will my resolve completely disolve!
