Falling In Love: The Writer’s Life

Now, writing a novel has always been a dream of mine. In fact, it’s on my bucket list. I have a plan. And a very detailed character list. And a blow-by-blow plan of every twist and every element in the novel. There is nothing in the novel that isn’t in the plan, and I have begun, this summer to write the chapters. Y’know, the fundamental basis of the novel; the text. And I find it something that it is very hard to do part-time.

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I’m working at the moment, however when I’m not working, at three o’clock in the morning for instance, I find myself perusing the ten thousand words I’ve already written, scratching my head, and wondering how I can improve the novel, the characters, and the flow of the novel. It’s a job I’ve always dreamed of having. Writing, is the only job I can really imagine doing; and thus this very blog, which is almost a year old now, was born.

I can imagine myself, in five years or so, in a house which has an office stuffed full of books, a comfortable desk chair, and my laptop. I could contentedly work there, for ten hours or so a day, writing down all the stuff my rather expansive imagination comes up with. I would blog, at the same time, and perhaps write commissioned pieces, editorials, and do some editing work too. I could travel; laptops are rather portable, as are ideas. Travel produces ideas, and creates different perspectives. One of my biggest ambitions is to spend six months or so, travelling around South America, and writing about it. Combining two of my favourite pastimes, it would be one of the best years of my entire life.

But anyway, I’m working on the novel. It’s gonna be interesting, and has a historical aspect that I like, because I am intensely interested in both of the World Wars, and the impact it had on families and their dynamics. I hope it’ll be something I look back on in a few years, and call it my first good thing; my first successful venture into the world of publishing. I hope that comes true, and I can imagine spending all my free time writing, because that’s all I’ve ever really wanted to be, or do.

There are some problems, with the writer’s life though; the first is that you have no externally imposed structure, and so you have to be well-disciplined, and able to commit yourself to work, even when there are a variety of distractions around you. The second is writer’s block. I’ve had a few weeks recently, where there was nothing I could say. I couldn’t write anything worth a dime. But then I caught a cold, and spent a week at home, watching old episodes of Friends, and all of a sudden, I remembered why I wanted to be an author. And when my new laptop came, and I did the thing, you know, where you sort out all the old files on your computer,I found the drafts and plans I made for a novel, about a year ago. And with nothing else to do with my time, I decided to start writing it again.

And frankly, it’s been the best four days of the summer, so far. Despite the raging cold, and an ability to talk like Darth Vader.

(:

(1) http://cjwriter.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/fountain_pen.jpg?w=600

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Sarah Alice Goes Back To (relative) Normality

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There’s been great excitement in  my life recently, because of a new laptop, and a brand new reading list, for my second year at university. The relief I felt to know I was allowed to return was immense; I’d all but convinced myself that I was destined for smaller things, and would have to move back in with my parents for eternity. And it’s nice to go home of course, but a lifetime is a very, very long time to still be driving your mum’s car, and eating your mum’s dinners.

The reading list for next year is fantastic; much more modern, with far less emphasis on the intricacies of mythology. I’m extremely excited about these modules, mainly because they are the reason I applied for the course in the first place. The modules of first year were an introductory gallop through the history of literature and theory; the second year looks at literature from the eighteenth century to the present day, which is a time period I feel much more comfortable with. I suppose that a literature course has to consider all the facets of literature, from its ancient beginnings. But personally, I shall be happy enough moving on from the ancient world, into the Victorian world, and then the post-modern world.

So, first year is finished, and has been passed. This is something I find reassuring, as though it wasn’t all wasted, as if I’ve done something truly productive this year. I have moved out of my flat, and subsequently, into my new flat. And I think my writer’s block is finally starting to lift, which is something again, that I find reassuring. It’s been weeks, and despite venturing outside, and trying to find things to write about, I just couldn’t think of anything worth saying about very much at all. Work has been a little bit hectic too, which is yet another reason why I’ve had absolutely nothing to say; waitressing doesn’t tend to inspire any ideas, except rants against irritating guests.

The end of the tunnel is being revealed to me however; my new laptop literally sparkles with CPU processing power, and my sleepy brain is starting to be creative and shiny again. Myself and the gym have reawakened a slightly abandoned friendship, which is producing a chemical influx, which is in turn making my brain work again. Examinations called a rather abrupt halt to my ability to write about anything but how stressed I was. And now there’s other things to do; like plan for my trip to Washington, and explore my fundraising ideas for Kenya, next summer. It’s all looking shiny and happy, like an intellectual Disneyland, as it were.

So now I’ve bored you all to death, telling you about the reawakening of my brain, and I promise that tomorrow I’ll write something vaguely interesting. Promise!

(:

(1) http://sarahalicewaterhouse.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/normal.jpg?w=235

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On Organisational Excitement

So it’s been a little while since my last post, because it has been Christmas, and the festivities have somewhat overshadowed my laptop, and my usual surgical connection to it. However, now that Christmas is over, I will be able to resume this particular occupation. I’m sat at my laptop at the moment waiting for the world to become light, so that I can go for a four mile walk behind my house; I hate walking in the dark, and since the street lights are still on, the sky is looking grey and gloomy. It would be more noteworthy if the sky was bright blue and teeming with sunshine.

Christmas time is one for family, and it’s one of my favourite times of year. New Years Eve, on the other hand is about friends, and raucously enjoying the beginning of the new year. It was rather well coordinated in my opinion; each social circle gets a holiday each, and therefore everyone is happy. Problems really only seem to arise when others try to alter this schedule, or interfere in the Christmas routine. Every household has one, whether it is an acknowledged one or not; things fall into an accepted rhythm, and this is possibly why so many family altercations happen around this time of year. Fundamentally, we cannot agree to change a beloved routine, and despite it being the season of giving, we find it difficult to be flexible when people decide to alter our plans for us.

Now, the dark grey gloom is only a mediocre grey… and so it’s time for a brisk morning stroll.

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That was a very brisk morning walk. It’s amazing how much can be accomplished when you get up really early…

All people are affected by this idea I think. We are all creatures of habit; we construct routines because they make us feel safe and secure, and as though we have a purpose. Personally, I need a routine of work, errands, exercise, and so forth, because otherwise I get lost inside the folds of all that spare time, and things stop being as productive as they ought to be. Schedules make my world go round; I appreciate the aesthetics of the Filofax, as well as the Blackberry organiser feature, and calendars are one of my favourite items to shop for. Staplers, folders, art supplies, pencils, sketch pads. They are all items designed to make us more efficient, productive, creative, and organised. I love shopping for these things.

At the same time however, too much structure is crippling to us young people; we like to feel as though we are free. Essentially though, we’re obliged to do things, be things, and achieve something during our waking hours, whether this is making something beautiful on paper, or going to work to earn a little bit of money. Working itself raises the self-esteem of a person, no matter how menial a job, because you are a part of something. It will never be easy to get up on a cold winter morning and be at work for seven, but it feels good to have done it, and taken care of something to do. If a job is worth doing, you might as well do it properly too. Work is pointless if you just drag yourself around all day, avoiding doing anything even vaguely productive. Plus, time slows down to geological levels when you try to do nothing; you’d be better off doing something and moaning, as opposed to not doing anything. The doing passes the time until home time, as well as making you more popular with your boss, work mates, and with yourself. And the whole point of work is to get through the day, doing well, and of course, getting paid. We all have to do it, so might as well enjoy it too. Working also means I get to write down the appointments in my organiser and my Blackberry…

So, in conclusion, I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, and I hope everyone has fantastic plans for this evening, and have a wonderful new year!

(:

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