Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Poor Protaganist
I think my body is adjusting into the pattern of the 5am starts. My morning routine is finely tuned to squeeze in the essentials; coffee, toast and writing. Non-essentials like showering and getting to work have also been included.
Managed 800 words before work and 1400 in the evening. Never got anything done during lunch - there was been too much going on today after an overnight drama on one of the systems.
It's funny though while writing the 800 in the morning I didn't really feel like it was going anywhere. In the evening I say for about an hour staring at the last paragraph written, wondering where I was going to take it. I was stuck.
I decided to take my character on a walk through Leith, just to see what would happen and if I could link up to where I knew I needed to be. It was as simple as that. A couple of new characters crossed paths with him and before I knew it the most dramatic and violently upsetting scene was unfolding on the page.
It caught me quite by surprise, but on reflection I think will provide an important catalyst in my MC's development as a person. It will be the definitive point where his fall from grace becomes complete and the only way forward is to analyse what a bastard he has been. In short, my main concern about how I was going to handle the character from start to end was handed to me on a plate, and not in a fashion I would have sat down with an intention to write.
When I was writing Hunting Jack I was upset by some of the things I had to put Jackie through. I felt guilty but knew it had to be. Same here, though what I put Ronnie Glover through last night pales into insignificance against Jackie McCann sleeping rough on the streets.
Finished Knots and Crosses. I'll complete The Flood and make a start on my next Auster novel. I've got that exciting feeling in me at the thought of another one of his books about to enter my head. Can't wait to read it.
Gail made Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner. Yum!
NaNo words today: 2201
NaNoWriMo Progress
Managed 800 words before work and 1400 in the evening. Never got anything done during lunch - there was been too much going on today after an overnight drama on one of the systems.
It's funny though while writing the 800 in the morning I didn't really feel like it was going anywhere. In the evening I say for about an hour staring at the last paragraph written, wondering where I was going to take it. I was stuck.
I decided to take my character on a walk through Leith, just to see what would happen and if I could link up to where I knew I needed to be. It was as simple as that. A couple of new characters crossed paths with him and before I knew it the most dramatic and violently upsetting scene was unfolding on the page.
It caught me quite by surprise, but on reflection I think will provide an important catalyst in my MC's development as a person. It will be the definitive point where his fall from grace becomes complete and the only way forward is to analyse what a bastard he has been. In short, my main concern about how I was going to handle the character from start to end was handed to me on a plate, and not in a fashion I would have sat down with an intention to write.
When I was writing Hunting Jack I was upset by some of the things I had to put Jackie through. I felt guilty but knew it had to be. Same here, though what I put Ronnie Glover through last night pales into insignificance against Jackie McCann sleeping rough on the streets.
Finished Knots and Crosses. I'll complete The Flood and make a start on my next Auster novel. I've got that exciting feeling in me at the thought of another one of his books about to enter my head. Can't wait to read it.
Gail made Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner. Yum!
NaNo words today: 2201
NaNoWriMo Progress
Colin 7:38 am