Resisting the temptation to use the well worn and definitely over-rated cliche "It's been an incredible journey" I sit in the surreal silence of a room that has been both my jail and my bolt-hole for the past few weeks.
Writing a book is a battle not only of the mind but also a battle of physical endurance too, it can be debilitating in it's selfishness and can take your mind and thoughts into black holes and joy rides at a moments notice without you even getting up from your chair.
As you know I have tendencies to let my mind wonder on to all sorts of unexplored paths, this is a subject that has been covered by my blogging here on many occasions, but while I am writing, all that energy is drawn toward the subject at hand, there is no off-piste activity where I suddenly find myself wondering what flavour yogurt I might get when shopping later or what time shall i break for lunch?, I am transfixed on the task in front of me and that, as far as I am aware has never happened before in my life, not once.
Writing just silences my thoughts for everything except the job in hand and if you have a brain like mine that never stops and constantly has to handle incoming thoughts of every description, only then could you appreciate what a wonderful feeling that is.
So, armed with this new found knowledge what am I to do with it?. It's a no-brainer I am going to continue to write. I have a second novel that is currently 30000 words to the good and I am planning a sequel for the one I have completed this week, I am not sure if it is the passion for writing or the relief that my thoughts are so easily controlled while writing that I like so much but either way I have found a task that, just for once my head has to concentrate on and deal with!.
At the moment the new book is undergoing some close scrutiny from people far better placed than I to decide if it is newsworthy or cringe worthy. I have to admit I know myself I can do better, (I am actually looking to sell a few but you would never guess) but i was tempted to keep the book accessible to a wider readership rather than make it heavy going, the plot takes a little time to open up and once it does it is like Concorde at 50,000ft but then its slowly descends towards the ending with some uncomfortable turbulence just before the end. The title? at the moment I have called it "Intention To Possess" which is a little bit deep but hopefully covers exactly what i wish to convey. As a first effort I am pleased, as a piece of worthwhile literature well only time will tell, I doubt it will set the world on fire but it is mine and it's the first of many so if i receive criticism I will grab it and run with it, learn from it and digest it and put it to use in my next book, I don't intend to stop writing now I have started, just don't tell my poor fingers !.
At risk of plagiarising a well known Monty Python sketch from Life Of Brian, "What has Australia done for me?, well I guess it has given me a wonderful back-drop in which to write, pleasant surroundings and pleasant people, the risk of thinking every Australian has a broad smile and says please and thank you is very high as i am in the middle of a well known tourist area in Manly, so i have taken the time to wonder off the beaten track. The majority of OZ people are very approachable and very pleasant to speak to, it's a very diverse country that is having trouble getting to grips with racism and bigotry towards it women folk as most of the late night question time programme topics will bear out, it is not dissimilar to where the UK was in the early 80's though with Social Networks now fuelling the debate poor Australia is having to do some of it's dirty washing in public. Seeing the at present Prime Minister Julia Gillard quizzed on a radio show about whether her husband was gay or not was astonishing and would have set the tabloids on fire in the UK. There would have been gay rights protest marches and calls for the mans head, which in this case (and rightly so might I add) did actually roll, the man has no business in media if that's the best he can do. But it shows that there is a mentality here that if you can get a cheap shot in and laugh afterwards its OK and i actually like it as it's less clinical than the way we do the same interviews in the UK, but as always some idiot ends up over stepping the mark as in the PM's case.
Would I come back? damn right I would, I love it here in Sydney. Is it what I imagined?, everything and more, the only things that amaze me as i have said is Australia's internal battle with racism and sexism, but the fact it is constantly on the TV agenda here is a sign that it is being tackled head on and I am sure it will not be allowed to spoil what is a land full of promise and plenty.
Thanks Oz.
Writing a book is a battle not only of the mind but also a battle of physical endurance too, it can be debilitating in it's selfishness and can take your mind and thoughts into black holes and joy rides at a moments notice without you even getting up from your chair.
As you know I have tendencies to let my mind wonder on to all sorts of unexplored paths, this is a subject that has been covered by my blogging here on many occasions, but while I am writing, all that energy is drawn toward the subject at hand, there is no off-piste activity where I suddenly find myself wondering what flavour yogurt I might get when shopping later or what time shall i break for lunch?, I am transfixed on the task in front of me and that, as far as I am aware has never happened before in my life, not once.
Writing just silences my thoughts for everything except the job in hand and if you have a brain like mine that never stops and constantly has to handle incoming thoughts of every description, only then could you appreciate what a wonderful feeling that is.
So, armed with this new found knowledge what am I to do with it?. It's a no-brainer I am going to continue to write. I have a second novel that is currently 30000 words to the good and I am planning a sequel for the one I have completed this week, I am not sure if it is the passion for writing or the relief that my thoughts are so easily controlled while writing that I like so much but either way I have found a task that, just for once my head has to concentrate on and deal with!.
At the moment the new book is undergoing some close scrutiny from people far better placed than I to decide if it is newsworthy or cringe worthy. I have to admit I know myself I can do better, (I am actually looking to sell a few but you would never guess) but i was tempted to keep the book accessible to a wider readership rather than make it heavy going, the plot takes a little time to open up and once it does it is like Concorde at 50,000ft but then its slowly descends towards the ending with some uncomfortable turbulence just before the end. The title? at the moment I have called it "Intention To Possess" which is a little bit deep but hopefully covers exactly what i wish to convey. As a first effort I am pleased, as a piece of worthwhile literature well only time will tell, I doubt it will set the world on fire but it is mine and it's the first of many so if i receive criticism I will grab it and run with it, learn from it and digest it and put it to use in my next book, I don't intend to stop writing now I have started, just don't tell my poor fingers !.
At risk of plagiarising a well known Monty Python sketch from Life Of Brian, "What has Australia done for me?, well I guess it has given me a wonderful back-drop in which to write, pleasant surroundings and pleasant people, the risk of thinking every Australian has a broad smile and says please and thank you is very high as i am in the middle of a well known tourist area in Manly, so i have taken the time to wonder off the beaten track. The majority of OZ people are very approachable and very pleasant to speak to, it's a very diverse country that is having trouble getting to grips with racism and bigotry towards it women folk as most of the late night question time programme topics will bear out, it is not dissimilar to where the UK was in the early 80's though with Social Networks now fuelling the debate poor Australia is having to do some of it's dirty washing in public. Seeing the at present Prime Minister Julia Gillard quizzed on a radio show about whether her husband was gay or not was astonishing and would have set the tabloids on fire in the UK. There would have been gay rights protest marches and calls for the mans head, which in this case (and rightly so might I add) did actually roll, the man has no business in media if that's the best he can do. But it shows that there is a mentality here that if you can get a cheap shot in and laugh afterwards its OK and i actually like it as it's less clinical than the way we do the same interviews in the UK, but as always some idiot ends up over stepping the mark as in the PM's case.
Would I come back? damn right I would, I love it here in Sydney. Is it what I imagined?, everything and more, the only things that amaze me as i have said is Australia's internal battle with racism and sexism, but the fact it is constantly on the TV agenda here is a sign that it is being tackled head on and I am sure it will not be allowed to spoil what is a land full of promise and plenty.
Thanks Oz.
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