Read, Write, Think…
This week at the wee writing bureau I have been really enjoying reading again. I started The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown and have been completely hooked! Imagine being given a book that can take you to any door anywhere. Where would you go? Top of my list would be Orkney and through the doors of the beautiful house we stayed in on our family holiday two years ago. I would visit the Ness of Brodgar and take a walk back through time. Then perhaps to Budapest and through the magnificent doors of Buda Castle following the trail of Dracula or taking in the views of a city where east and west are fused. When I had finished exploring I would come right home through my own front door to my books, tea and bed. Well as the fantasy readers among us know only too well no magical object should be used lightly and there is always a price. I won’t spoil Gareth’s story for you but let’s just say that I’m absolutely spellbound by this book.
This week I made good progress in Project Pearl and have the first two chapters of the story in each timeline written. All the key characters have been introduced and I’ve got my roadmap through each timeline sketched out. Incidentally, I found it hard to complete the assignment on my course where I submitted my outline. I know I am a discovery writer (or a pantser) but for such a big story with two main narratives and a few subplots, I needed some kind of plan. Oddly once I had the main plot points down on paper I felt better. It doesn’t feel like such a huge mountain to climb now. My feedback on my latest text instalment was helpful and my tutor asked me how I plan to write going forwards. Was I going to write the two narratives separately and splice them together or write them alternating back and forth? I have switched back and forth so far and that has worked as I established the characters and set up the world building. At the moment I don’t know. I might have to experiment a little with both ideas and see what happens but as a discovery writer I think that I’m inclined to alternate and see how a development in one timeline informs a development in the other. Decisions, decisions… who knew writing required so much thinking?!
In other news this week I have entered a short story into another competition. It is one of my project copper stories and I have entered it into the Hope Prize. I felt the story really hit the brief for the prize (a story about hope) and I like that the prize is to help new writers establish themselves. I also had exciting news that another story I had submitted made it through to the top 20% in a very prestigious prize. I entered this in December with absolutely no expectations because I knew that the volume of entries would be huge and that the standard is very high. I’m delighted and encouraged by that news. Putting my writing ‘out there’ is uncomfortable and I have to keep myself in check because there is a tension between my work being judged and not pinning my worth as a writer on external validation. Writing is a creative outlet for me and the most important thing has to be that.
Photo Credit: @cvessels55
