A further thought... and whinge?

I used to like writing science fiction and fantasy when I was a kid. It reflected the type of fiction that I most often read, escapist and in many ways indicative of things that were unobtainable. As I grew older my reading was tempered with “real literature” and then later more action-adventure and mystery-crime fiction. I grew from Feist, LeGuin, Donaldson, Asimov to Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Hawthorne, Welty, and finally to such modern genrists as Cussler, Clancy, Grafton and Ludlum. My reading tastes are now a hodgepodge of literary and genre, criticism and poetry.

It’s been a long while since I’ve written anything to completion, whether poem, short story, or that mountainous of all literary endeavours, a novel. I have completed numerous of the former two, but none of the latter, and it is the latter to which I now wish to strive. I am caught up in the indecision of what to write, where to focus, how much research and detail do I need to know before I begin, do I work with the novel beginnings already littering my hard drive?

I could make a novel of false starts and best intentions.

I recently read a blog by an old friend and fellow writer which reminded me of some of the lessons we learned in our writing workshops at Emerson. They’ve given me something more to think about – as if I didn’t have enough already. But perhaps this time I’ve also got some help, as they suggest I dump the above, forget the indecision, pick a point, and well, start writing. All of which puts me back to where I’ve been for the last 8 years since leaving Emerson – on the event horizon of a black-hole of uncertainty, inert and staring into a black abyss of nothingness.

To be continued?

a look back, a step forward

2004 was a long and strange year. I began the year working as a consultant, founded a company somewhere along the way, turned my home life inside out, and ended the year spending Christmas in our flat in London.

I developed plans with my partner this year to get back to writing. It is important for me to affect a return to writing in the not too distant future. I've spent a very little amount of time editing some of my short stories this year, and have started and stopped 3 novels. I've ended the year working on one novel and am currently 5 chapters into the story. Let's hope this one holds out.

A good piece of advice I received from a friend of mine this year is to complete a novel - keep writing until it is finished, and don't look back. I intend to follow that advice. You'll see here if I'm successful or not.

I'm working full time with my company as well - www.phunqube.com. It's been a busy year there. I began with one business partner, and ended with another. We've finally come together and have a great proposition and great clients heading into this year.

I hope to travel a bit more this year - short trips even, city breaks to see what kind of places I'd like to visit for longer periods. All european travel of course.

In any case, watch this space this year!!!

Harder than I thought

Alright, so blogging was more difficult than I'd thought. Of course - remembering you have a blog is a good start. Not been doing any writing, so that's certainly not the cause. Too busy making an endless string of bad decisions to do any writing. Working at my consultancy - though perhaps not putting much heart into it. Hmm... sounds like a dismal blog, eh? Stay tuned. Perhaps it will get better.

Getting started...

How hard can blogging be for a writer? Hmm... Well, inspired by my friend, and author, Olen Steinhauer, I thought I'd give it a try. Don't expect much for a start - I'm not good at keeping these things up. I thought it might be a good way to keep myself honest with my writing. I'm working on a novel at the moment - crime novel. I'll try and keep you posted on its progress, even if I don't divulge the content.

In other news, I am editing a short story that I hope to send out soon, and working on another. Keep you posted on this too.

Check back soon... not too soon.