Hmm. Yes. Well.
To the untutored eye (mine?) you might think that nothing much was going on in the world of shed-building, but that's where you'd be wrong, so terribly wrong. In fact, there's felt on the roof (held down with bricks, admittedly), the electrics have gone in, and so has the insulation -- giant steps on the road to completion.
When I'm working, I hate it when people ask me how I'm doing, even though I know the question is kindly meant and springs from genuine interest (tinged with sympathy), and I'm sure our builders the Steves feel the same way. I'm writing, I say, just writing, and that's the truth. There are long screeds of time when a writer is desk bound, hammering away at it, even though the unfinished novel stays just that: unfinished, as if nothing at all were happening.
However, during this time some incredibly important things are going on. You will begin to find that your characters take on a life of their own: they may start doing unexpected things, they will certainly start to determine their own story if you let them. It's a weird feeling. Having spent so much time in preparation, honing your ideas, it is as if you begin to lose control of your material. Intoxicating though this may be, don't let yourself be too carried away. Keep a beady eye on the pitch and pace of what you are writing. Make sure that you incorporate plenty of contrast in terms of action and mood, and don't worry too much about the fine tuning, because at this stage nothing is yet set in concrete and everything is still up for grabs.
,
No comments:
Post a Comment