A blank page. A new idea. My change to come is making sure I write on a more regular basis. It's been several months since I completed my last novel (currently being queried), and it always takes me a while to get into another major project. But I think I might be there. I'll let you know in a couple of years!
This morning, I left home at 9am, for a nice long walk with the dog. There was a bit of a chill in the air and as I neared the river, the mist was still hanging low. Descending the steep hill from Fore Street, I could see the river was completely still - not a single ripple. And the boats looked almost pasted on to the scene. The sun was shining through the low cloud in places, so patches of water sparkled. The tide was out, giving the shoreline an unfinished look.
And that's when I realised I'd left my phone at home. My phone is my camera, by the way - I don't see a nice view and immediately what to check Facebook or anything. Actually, I don't take very good pictures with my phone. It's supposed to be a good camera, but I'm a hopeless photographer - so maybe it didn't matter too much whether I had it or not. It doesn't matter how long I've lived here, or how many times I walk around town, there's always something new to appreciate. I admit, I occasionally gasp out loud when I reach my favourite views - but at least I have the dog with me, so I can pretend I'm talking to him! What do you see when you walk around your town? Do you stare at your feet and try to get to your destination as quickly as possible, or do you dawdle and enjoy the journey? Next time I go walking, I'll try to remember my camera. Stay tuned for some photos... When I start a new novel I like to have several things in place:
But something wasn't right with this project. I'm rewriting an old manuscript, so I assumed I had all those things, but they weren't gelling together. Until this morning, when I was at the gym and this song came on my MP3 (yes, I'm one of those strange people who don't own an iPhone or even an iPod) and suddenly I was stopping the treadmill mid-run to scribble down a few lines. This is the song... and one day, I'll be able to share the novel with you too. Yes, you read correctly - yesterday I spent the whole working day on one sentence. And, no, it's still not quite right. It's the last sentence I have to write, but it's not the last sentence of the novel - that was written days ago. This sentence is at the beginning of the fourth part - and I'm asking quite of lot of it. This poor sentence has to remind people what was happening at the end of the first part, remind them how the characters would react, and bring the tone down to quietly ominous. No pressure, then :-)
My next project - currently with my publisher and slated for an autumn release - was inspired by this viaduct close to my house. I used creative license to uproot it and place it further into town, where I needed it. I spent many happy hours playing beneath this viaduct as a kid, and I still walk down that way with my own kids. It's an impressive structure, built in 1908, and makes a great echo when you shout beneath it. If you've visited this blog before, you might have noticed the new Bloglovin' button - follow this blog and you'll catch all my latest news! As this is a new site, I thought I'd help you get to know a little bit about me by linking to a few interviews/guest blog posts I've done over the last couple of years - not all at once, one at a time, so you have to keep coming back :-)
In March 2012, I visited M Pax's Wistful Nebulae blog and wrote about where I get my inspiration from. (If you're interested in knowing more about M Pax, her new site is here.) |