Tags
Creativity, Inspiration, Interzone, Novels, speculative fiction, The Death and Life of Harrison Brodie, Writing
Ultimately, posting a word count progress for that novel idea I had was a little too bold. The idea was barely two days old, and it has a great deal of competition.
There are four ideas for novels that I have, all at differing stages of progress; all fighting for attention like the unruly brats that they are, but the one that has truly grabbed me by the face is the oldest one of the lot, and it’s not just the unnatural heatwave melting my brains.
Current working title is ‘The Death and Life of Harrison Brodie‘. I conceived the original idea about twenty-two years ago, right about the time I decided to sit down at my Olivetti typewriter and have a go at writing a novel, with little preparation. First novel I ever tried to write was a dreadful piece of comedy Science Fiction, blagged from a 2000AD ‘Future Shock’ comic story about customs officers working in a spaceport. I thought the concept of a xenophobic customs officer to be quite funny, but my execution of the story in the style of Terry Pratchett meets Douglas Adams was at best ill-advised.
At the time, I also scribbled down several ideas, all of which were for novels at the time. I hadn’t even considered the concept of short stories yet. Out of those ideas I have written one short story, which is currently on its 12th submission and has received encouraging personal rejections from places such as Asimovs and Interzone. And then I also came up with an idea for a novel involving a ghost (of sorts…), the walking dead (well, kind of…) and a butcher’s shop. After all this time it has jumped to the fore and begged to be written. I have my two main characters fully sketched out, and two nights ago I wrote a full plot synopsis in three acts. So that means, beginning, middle, end. That and many pages of notes mean this is now top contender for being written. Heck, I even have the first 200 words.
Lack of a fully fleshed out plot has been the sticking point for the other contenders so far, or characters that haven’t gone from being a name with an idea attached to becoming a real individual that I can visualise and hear and actually imagine having a life beyond the confines of the story.
I will be writing a novel before the end of the year!
This, for me, is nightmare territory, Ilan, which leads to a paralysis of choice, and then, if I’m not careful, despair. It makes me aware of how little time there is
Good luck
I know what you mean, Mike. The problem I tend to have, though is paranoia about being prepared enough for the task of writing a novel. I’ve written myself into too many brick walls to want to make such a mistake again, so I like to take my time and work the ideas up slowly into a solid outline. The result of that is more ideas appear and I end up in this situation!
“I will be writing a novel before the end of the year!”
Taking you at your word!
Well I’ve been writing this one in my head for the last 22 years, so it shouldn’t be a great stretch to actually write it. Although there are only a few weeks left in the year…
NaNoWriMo is often a good bit of inspiration. May not be your bag but it’s a thought.
I’ve considered it, but it’s just a bit too intense for me. Revising is my weakness, and it strikes me that after the nuclear explosion of words that is NaNoWriMo I would have more revision to do than if I actually took my time over writing a novel.