NaNoWriMo Eve

I think everyone should have a group of aspiring writer-friends who, whenever you meet up with them, leave you with a filthy hangover. Whenever our Semper group gets together, that's exactly the state I am left in the next day, although this weekend I was extremely worse for wear and couldn't really enjoy Morph's hallowe'en party properly (ie with alcholic beverages).
Now having fully recovered from hangover and back on solids again, I am trying to mentally prepare myself for tomorrow and the big kick off of NaNoWriMo 2007. Whoop! So tonight, I am going to do all of my washing up (strenuous in itself), tidy around my desk, and then compile all the notes I've made about this forthcoming novel into one handy word document. I'm going to give it my best go this year, and with no theatre to distract me, I'm hoping that I can really get into it. I have a slight concern in the fact that I don't really have a plot as yet, but I'll worry about that in December. The countdown for midnight has begun...
Happy Hallowe'en everyone. Tonight I shall be making treacle toffee and indulging in a little candle magic in celebration (after doing the washing up of course!).

The Ending

I'm a little bit worried about the ending of Inter Vivos, in so much as I don't actually know what's going to happen. I sort of have a vague jist, don't get me wrong, but I've still not decided what will happen to my heroine when her journey ends. Over the course of this last year, my novel has become increasingly sci-fi, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I'm starting to feel a little confined by the genre. So I'm going to go back to how I originally conceived this story and add a pint of magic realism. That's what I want to write, after all. Both conceits however leave me with the problem of having to research Communism (I hate political theory), but adding the fairy tale elements makes it a little easier to swallow.

It does seem that the more work I do on this book, the more work I create for myself! I started with maybe four rounded characters, and now my character list is getting so long I actually need a Character List so that I can keep track of them all! For example, I am just now devising a dinner party for Nox and Cyrus, with Thaddeus and Lochan Snr. So there needs to be other guests, all with interesting dinner conversation. And serving staff. Urgh! I enjoy it really. But whoever said writing a book is easy is living on another planet!

Plus, it's almost time to give up on Inter Vivos for a month in order to focus on NaNoWriMo 2. I think the story is in a good place for me to break for a while, but I am a little concern about neglecting my baby for a whole month. Still, it should hopefully work out for the best.

Don't Judge a Book...

OK, so I know it's a little presumptuous, especially seeing as I only have a quarter of my first novel written, but I've been thinking about book covers. Now, book covers, in my opinion, are the make or break in whether someone makes a purchase or not. Now then, there's the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. I personally favour the stylish, the clear, concise approach. Not like this.

Panic Over

Panic over, I'm writing again! I haven't done a lot, only about a hundred or so words, but I'm in the right frame of mind, so that should keep me motivated for a while.

I received some good feedback from Sarah Francoise about 'Hoodies' a few weeks ago. Some extracts include: "I was hooked by the dialogue" and "This is a very promising piece". It concludes with "I would definitely encourage this writer to pursue the idea, because once the bones of the play are in place, this could be a very powerful piece". I haven't touched the play since I sent it off to TWP back in May (I think?). I do want to go back and continue with it, and actually work out what's going on and what it's about, but I'm worried that by doing this I'll lose momentum on my novel. I'm sure with some organisation I can manage to do both, but it might have to wait until after Christmas (or at least until after NaNoWriMo) before I tackle it again.

I really like creating characters and the worlds in which they live, and I like to think that I'm good at it, but it's the follow-through, the actual writing down of the story, that I find difficult. I can write background on characters until the cows come home, but find it hard to keep motivated when it comes to writing the narrative. One good thing is that, with Inter Vivos, I feel I'm now writing the "good stuff", by which I mean that I've written the introduction, have settled into the world. and now my story is really starting to take off. It's nice to be finally able to write the scenes that I've watched in my head over and over again for over a year. I'm going to be sad when I have to put it aside for a while for NaNoWriMo (though at least NaNo should hopefully give me a follow-up story to plunge into when IV is finally finished!).

Panic!!

How am I going to be a writer if I never write anything? Aaaaargh!!!!!

Tired!

I am so so tired right now, I haven't caught up on the sleep I lost last week, and my body clock hasn't reset itself to 'work time' yet, so I'm extremely tired in the daytime and wide awake at night. Am falling asleep whilst writing this. To make things a little bit worse, after I've finished work here I've got to go and work at my other job for 2 hours. Still, I get to listen to half an hour of the Philharmonia Orchestra, so it's not all that bad, I suppose. If I can stay awake.

In terms of writing, I haven't done any this week yet. Instead I've been vegging out eating fresh produce and watching rom-coms on DVD. I'm quite enjoying having time to potter about at home, doing little things and just watching telly. I'm not missing the theatre, not yet anyway.

I have signed up for NaNoWriMo. My username is 'Grizabella', so if anyone out there wants to monitor my progress, etc, you know where to find me! Hopefully I'll do better than last year. Wish me luck!

This Week

What I have been doing this week:

• Performing every night in 'The Witches of Eastwick', which involves me as a townsperson, a busy body, a sexy devil bitch and a gospel singer.
• Writing letters all day at work for students who want to open bank accounts. Snore...
• Reading Belle De Jour's blog in my lunchbreak. (it's seriously addictive)
• Coming up with the back story for Tula, one of the supporting characters in this year's NaNoWriMo novel.
• Listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on my way to work.
• Talking to everyone in a thick Shil'on/'Inckley accent, seeing as this week I've spent more time speaking to people from over there than over here.

What I have not been doing this week:

• Sleeping. Not getting to sleep until about 12:30 every night after dancing full out for almost 3 hours and then trying to get up at 7 is starting to take it's toll. Zzzzzzz.
• Doing laundry. I'm down to my last pair of socks and have been wearing the same bra for 3 days now. Thankfully tomorrow is Saturday so I can do a quick wash before the performance starts.
• Writing. I'm just too tired to concentrate at the minute, though I'm pleased with the back story I've just created today.
• Seeing my boyfriend. Sob.

Witches of Eastwick

The musical that I am starring in, Witches of Eastwick, started last night at the Concordia Theatre in Hinckley. And it went really well, probably the best first night performance in my personal history, I think! The audience lapped it up, although the blue-rinse brigade were heard to comment that it was "a bit rude". If anyone is interested in coming to watch, you may still be able to get tickets, though I know the latter part of the week has pretty much sold out. Tickets are available from the theatre by calling Claire Pitt on 01455 636627.