This is just a quick post to let my blog friends know that I’m still here and I’m sorry I haven’t been around your blogs much lately. I’ve been flat out this past week and haven’t had as much free time as I’d planned. I’m looking forward to catching up with your blogs tomorrow. 🙂
I’ve got back into my writing again, which is the main reason I’ve been busy. I haven’t written much for the last couple of months and I hate it when I’m not writing; I feel restless and start turning things over in my mind, and it’s not a good state. A writer needs to read and write regularly to keep the flow, and I just feel better when I’m writing every day.
I had been trying to do a final rewrite of Shards, but I’m still not that happy with it and I decided I’m going to put that aside until the New Year. So I’ve been planning a new story instead which I hope to have finished by Christmas, or the end of January if I take my time.
It’s called Sleepless. Basically it’s about a man who wakes up from a coma after eight years and how he adapts to his new life. As he undergoes rehabilitation, he finds he has a son who is 7 and it’s their relationship that’s the main part of the story. It’s also a love story; he remembers his relationship with the boy’s mother and it’s told in flashbacks, and it’s a sad love story – we know how it ends before it begins.
It’s more what I used to write a few years ago, and it’s that idea of waking up in a new world I find interesting. What would it be like to suddenly find yourself in a world so different to the one you knew? To know nothing about iPods and YouTube and the War on Terror? To have not seen 9/11, Bali or London? What would we think of our world? I think that’s very interesting territory.
It’s still an early draft and there’s more to it than that, but it’s nice getting back into the flow again, seeing words on the page. It’s more what I want to be writing and that makes a big difference. The flip side is it hasn’t left me much time for blogging (and commenting) this week, but it’s always like that at the beginning. I’ll make up for it over the next couple of days (promise!).
Right now it’s 3.40 AM and I’m sleepless in Sydney, still writing away. But it’s a nice kind of sleeplessness; I know I’m getting somewhere at last and that’s the best feeling a writer can have. Like dreaming in the void.
Oh boy, I’m eagerly awaiting this story. Love the concept, and already want to know what happens to father and son. I liked your outline for SHARDS, too, but I surely know what you mean about being in the flow with writing, and good on you that you are back in it! Yay! Interesting you are one who writes into the wee hours. That seems to be true of a lot of creative people.
As for reading and commenting, I know that’s a very time consuming thing. I can’t speak for the rest of your blog community, but I respect the ebb and flow of priorities. You don’t “owe” us reads or comments, but only to be there when you are there. Hope you get some rest, dude! 😀
P.S. What a gorgeous pic! Does Sydney really look that beautiful at night? Simply stunning.
CJ: Thanks, Muse. Yes, I’m not sure where the ideas come from, but I knew this was what I wanted to write as soon as it popped up. I always think the best stories can be stripped back to a core level, and here that’s the relationship between the father and son; if it works on that level, the rest is believable as well, and this just seemed to work right away.
It’s just great to be back into the flow again. I’ve always written at night mainly because it’s quiet and I don’t get the same distractions; I know a lot of creative people find it stimulating, so I guess I’m no different! 😉 Blogging’s started to fill that need to read and write regularly as well, so it’s important to me that I keep that up too; that’s why I don’t like being MIA for more than a few days. It’s a balance, but a fun one to get right! 🙂
And that’s such a beautiful pic, isn’t it? Sydney is very beautiful at night, particularly if you’re in the heart of the city. I think we take it for granted sometimes; that image took my breath away… to see something the way others see it is a wonderful gift.
good luck with your stories. the man in a coma sounds interesting. i like to read stories but i hate to read it on the computer so i’m still waiting patiently for my autographed paperback.
CJ: Thanks, sulz. It takes me a long time to get everything written down and plotted but I’ll work out the details; when you believe in a story it’s much easier to write. And this one’s coming together nicely at the moment. 😉
I don’t like to read stories on a computer either, or ereaders; I like the feel and smell of paper (sorry Al Gore) and it’s just not the same… you’ll definitely get the first autographed copy, but you might have a 20 year wait! Unless you know any good agents? 😆
C.J.,
Glad you are back and wish good luck for the story..Hope one day your stories would be edited..If this is really what u want than it’s gonna happen…Have ever meditated and/or visualized on your desires making a living being a writer…It might help u focus on getting ur desires fulfill…Btw, this is a great pic…One day, I might see it in person…
CJ: Thanks, CV. I won’t know how the story’s going until I’m stuck into it, but I have a good feeling about it. Having everyone’s support is a big help.
I tend not to focus on anything more than the story when I’m writing… I visualise how I want it to be, and while I hold on to that I know what I want to write. I’d love to have something larger published one day, though… I’ve had interest from a few agents before, so maybe when this is finished I’ll look in to it again.
It’s such a wonderful pic, and I think it’s one of the few that really shows Sydney the way we see it… I hope you get to see Sydney one day, CV. I’m sure you’d love it! 🙂