Music and Writing

A good piece of music can fit in with a piece of writing and I find one of the things that helps me write is a great piece of music. Now, a playlist needs to be as carefully considered, you see, anything that's too catchy might have you singing along, something with a good beat might have you nodding your head and of course you music can serve as another distraction if you're not careful. I know some who can't listen to music when writing and that's fine, but for me, it's pretty much a requirement. It comes handy when the music suits the the mood for piece of writing you're creating. I mean, you can't write a depressing scene where, say, a mother holds her dying child in her hands and you're listening to something as happy as Bowling for Soup - particularly 'I'm Gay', which is a song all about being happy, maybe somebody ought there can, but I'd be torn between two emotion, "la la la! I'm so happy!" and "Oh my God, what have I done? I just killed a child with my pen, I'm so horrible!" Likewise, you don't want to be listening to the most depressing song in your library and you're writing a bit of fun, maybe two kids having the time of their life and you're on the verge of slitting your own wrists because you can't stand listening to My Chemical Romance (nor can I, to be fair), it doesn't mix.

I've found my writing playlist sometimes consists of Tarot, Therion, Evergrey and even Judas Priest. Therion has this mythological edge, particularly with albums like 'The Secret of the Runes', which is an album dedicated to the locations in Norse mythology, but also have this song called, "After the Inquisition: The Children of The Stone", it's the closing track of one of the most...interesting albums I've listened to -some of the vocals are sung by a choir of children - I can imagine myself writing about one of the darker parts of my novel, because of the title, I think it's kind of chilling, just because of the Spanish Inquisition. Tarot, I think it's more or less songs like, "The End of Everything" and "Gone", which suit some of Asaros' moods in The Delusion Wing. But I think Evergrey probably has the perfect album, particularly in writing The Delusion Wing, which is 'The Inner Circle', which is a very powerful and emotional album with fantastic vocals, and of course they're fantastic, they're Swedish and they're not Abba. The album takes on the perspective of being a part of (what I assume is) a Christian cult and takes on the themes of cult worship and uses audio clips that create the image of there being some evangelical preacher. And it ends with the track, 'When the Walls Go Down', which is very emotionally driven and we see a man at the mercy of God in some kind of emotional breakdown.As my characters basically have their mental health dragged through the dirt and in many ways are at the mercy of God and suffer in a society lead by a cultist leader, it is fantastic to write to and keeps you in the right frame of mind. Here's the video (opening track) from the album:

And get this, I've got tickets to see the band Kamelot at the end of April, who are being supported by Evergrey, so it will no doubt be an awesome experience.

So, that's Tarot, Therion and Evergrey explained, but why Judas Priest? Frankly, I don't know. I guess it's just because they're awesome to listen to, your playlist doesn't necessarily have to fit your writing, I suppose you could say my characters are...'Breaking the Law', but if Breaking the Law were the anthem for Chapter 1, I think it would just ruin the whole thing, because I'd have this image of Rob Halford kicking the door down shouting at the guards, "Breaking the law, breaking the law". It could be worse, it could be Dee Snider exploding in front of The Evangelist screaming, "I Wanna Rock!" If Twisted Sister had a cameo, horrible things would just happen, so I need to get that thought out of my head.

Pen And Paper

The traditional tools of the trade, pen and paper. You sit down and just write, but why use pen and paper when you can use a computer? Especially as you'll need to type it up anyway? Well it's to get away from the glare of your screen, maybe to avoid some of those annoying distractions or simply because it feels more natural. I find just using pen and paper can be one of the greatest ways to explore ideas and rapidly get down that first part of your writing - or even adding new material when you're editing. Also, the biggy, you're less inclined to go back and edit what you've written on a piece of paper because you don't have that luxury, unlike on a computer you can go, "well that sentence was awkward, lets change that", at least not without rewriting the whole thing, it's something I'm certainly guilty of and it's a real pain because it can impede on progress.

Pen, Paper and Most Importantly, a Cup of Tea

There's this trouble, however, I seem to have a thing for using nice pens. I refuse to write with a cheap biro or anything like that - somebody actually bought me a box of biros as a present because they thought, "Writer? Hmm, they'll like pens," and whilst it's true enough and I appreciate the thought, if I have to use a pen it HAS to be nice and believe it or not, paper too - I remember writing on cheap Woolworths value paper, then bought more expensive Oxford paper and now I use one of the Oxford 'Black n' Red' books and they're bloody nice to write in. It seems like something silly to spend money on - I mean that £7.99 Parker pen (see I had restraint enough to buy the cheapest) could have been spend on something more useful. But what can I say? I'm a bloody idiot. Saying that, I bought the parket because the £11 pen I bought broke, it was nice, but actually, this Parker is a lot nicer. I know, a pen is a pen, but sometimes you have to appreciate the finer things in life, like that cup of tea in the picture, it's not Yorkshire Tea or Tetley tea, oh no, it doesn't even come in a tea bag, no it's a special cup of Rooibos imported all the way from Nottingham! This is perhaps a sign that not only am I clearly a sad bastard, but an English one (even if I was born in Wales).

Spring is a Time for Writing

Spring is warm, the sun is out at long last and you're not freezing to death, it's a season of new life and therefore it should be the season of inspiration! The birds are blooming and the flowers are singing...erm, well yes, indeed! Writers, get your arses into gear, get out of your bloody houses and embrace the world out there and write something! Saying that I am stuck in my bedroom with some classic Opeth blasting out of my speakers, but hey, I'll probably take my laptop into the garden once my battery has charged. I've got some character writing to do, as Asaros needs a proper introduction and for the reader to see into her head more and to make her more vivid in the minds of the reader, at the same time, trying to not make her sound too angsty, after all, she hates the world, but not in the PMS struck teenager kind of way, but with actual reason. And at the same time I'm trying to think like a girl, so in preparation, I've been spending twice as long in the shower, spending evenings doing my hair and I've got a fabulous handbag! Oh I kid, I've always been like that and my handbag by the way, it's Gucci. Ridiculous stereotypes like that wouldn't make sense, she doesn't even brush her hair, let alone finding herself spending the weekend trying to make it pretty, as for showers, well she's in a state of mind of, "I can't be arsed with this shit anymore", so that's her health and hygiene included. She's not there to impress anybody, and why should she?



Anyway, I have decided this Spring that I'm going to behave - it'll be a time for me to say, "screw this hermit attitude" from the Winter months and get out there. Coming up from 15th to 17th April is the Cambridge Wordfest and in all my years of living only a bus journey away I've never actually been to one. Why the hell not? I used to go to all kinds of events when studying in Derby, so why don't I actually do something here? I might learn something, even find advice on using my skills as a writer to find employment - as I've been unemployed since 10th March. I could probably even see what I can do about my spoken word side of things, as the last time I've done anything like that was last July when I was doing Storytelling in front of an audience at The Voice Box in Derby, and what better way to prepare for 5th May for my return to Derby to perform in front of Creative Writing students. Then of course there's the Cambridge Storytellers, who I still need to meet up with - I saw them once in Derby and really, really ought to go to one of their meetings. The Cambridge Wordfest this year will star Dawn French talking about her book 'More than A Tiny Bit Marvellous', Simon Armitage to talk about his new collection of work, Seeing Stars, PD James, Sam Harris, Ian McEwan and many more. Hopefully it'll be an event made of win.
The URL is here: http://www.cambridgewordfest.co.uk/

This photo of Cambridge is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Now that I've come to the end of my post, I've missed that chance of sunshine, it's started bloody raining! Sod it!

The End of Productivity

I've noticed one thing between writers, it's so easy to find something that distracts you, some vice or another. It's actually quite easy to become the victim of procrastination, you sit down at your computer, open up Microsoft Word or sit with pen in hand at your desk, whichever, and then there's something, a book, a bottle cap, an untidy bedroom, a television, a computer, maybe an alien invasion or perhaps, there's zombies trying to tear down your door. First thing to note if you want to keep on writing is that zombies aren't real, they're a myth and if aliens were really invading, they could probably vaporize your house so escape is futile, it's all in your head, it might make an interesting plot - the procrastinated writer who had to fight off a zombie alien invasion with the power of voodoo (who do? You do? Do what? Remind me of the babe!). See how easy it is? In this very simple blog post I have gone completely off topic.

My Scholar

As a game geek, my distraction is obvious, video games. On Friday three things happened: I bought Pokemon: White and Fable III and Final Fantasy XI's servers went back online. There's no guessing what I've not been doing, writing. My Level 70 Scholar needed to face Professor Gunther Schultz II so he could level past 70, alas, my old professor wiped the floor with me, which could have been evaded if I bothered to pay 100,000gil for a Dispel spell, which would have erased his Shell III (resists magic attack) and my magic would have hit him twice as hard! Then of course, I've got to lead the resistance in Fable III and defeat my first gym leader in Pokemon. Hey, if I wasn't living in reality that would be a somewhat celebratory weekend - sure I lost a fight, but hey! I saved a village from starvation, so eat on that Bono!


But what's the answer? you plan to do something, but your body decides to go against it? Simple, kill your distraction, take a sword, a gun your bare bands, stab it, shoot it, strangle it, whatever...that doesn't mean if your kids or wife are a distraction you murder them, I am speaking more figuratively here. Move away from them, move them away from your working space, keep your working space clean, untidiness IS a distraction, if worst comes to worst, sit down in the library, it's a surprisingly productive place. Saying that, with access to the Internet, I am still capable of accessing blogger.com and writing this blog post instead of getting on with any actual writing. But hey, it's better than defeating yet ANOTHER Shadowlord (seriously why do so many RPGs have them?)

The Indoctrination Process

Having somebody to read and comment on your writing always comes in handy. You can always get so worked up in what you're doing and find that actually, a fresh pair of eyes can do a world of good to improve what you're writing. You can be reading what you've written with a very clear vision of what you've got and it may even flow well for you, but then you're the one who has written it, your pacing can be way off, there can be very little description and you can be doing too much in only a few words. A friend who's going to be straight and honest about your writing is a good friend to have, as much as it is an ego booster to have somebody turn around and say, "hey this is great!" but it bears little use when it comes to improving what you've got, though it's somewhat useful being told what you're doing right (so you don't idiotically change it).

 The important piece of feedback I've received is that, my ideas are too big for a book and as a result, with my focus on keeping it as a single novel, it paces itself too quickly, it has too many characters to deal with and as a result, it becomes difficult to follow. What does this mean? It means I agree wholeheartedly, it means The Delusion Wing will not be able to resolve itself in a single novel, this means I've decided that what is currently chapter 10, which was originally the end of 'part 1' will be the end of the novel, calling itself, "The Indoctrination Process" for the time being. Chapter 10 is an important chapter and it would be suitable to end the novel there and if done right, it'll mean the reader will want more and hold out for the sequel. Now that means I can expand on what I've already got drafted, develop the characters more, offer the much needed description and fix the pacing and work to improve further.

So, an honest friend is a good friend for a writer indeed, after all, it can lead you to be a lot more sure on your writing, even if it means there's a lot more work for you to do. But hey, redrafting is a learning process, you learn what works and what doesn't until it stands at a position where you're almost happy with the results(internal editors are like disappointed mothers, no matter how hard you try, there's no pleasing them).

Random Thought...

I enjoy a good bit of music, in fact, I LOVE music, especially live music and in my Judas Priest mood, I've decided to listen to one of their live albums and it just plagues me, why is it bands always stand on stage and ask, "Are you ready?" Really Rob Halford? I know you're a legend, I know you can sing like a beast and you have an amazing pair of lungs, but come on, are you and others like you really that dense? I dunno, your fans have probably paid what? £30 for their ticket, probably caught a train to the venue, sat in McDonalds chewing on a burger talking excitedly to their friends, then proceeded to stand for two hours waiting for the doors open, when they'll probably wait another thirty minutes to wait for your roadies set up, or even suffer your support bands for a couple of hours before you're even ready to enter the building, they've probably even taken the day off work to come see you. Yet, you ask them, "Are you ready?" Of course they're bloody ready! They've probably waited all their life for this momentous occasion, they've probably been ready since they first put on one of your records. You know what, next time I see a band and they have the audacity to ask, "Are you ready?" I shall approach the stage, whisper into their ear, "would you give me 20 minutes? I've got to call my mother."

Alternatively, attempt to sing back the Spongebob Squarepants theme:

"Are you ready Kids?"

"Aye, aye captain!"

"I can't heeeeeeear you!"

"AYE AYE CAPTAIN!"

"OOoooohh Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?"

I think Peter Griffin would say, "Well, that grinds my gears", well not really, but this is what they call 'procrastination'. Yes folks, it's normal to be distracted when you should be writing, editing or doing something you should be doing.

That Looks Crap, Change it, Change it, You Fail as a Writer

The redrafting process is like puberty: you go through stages of angst, love, hate, uncontrollable sobbing, cutting one's wrists, smiling with glee, feeling self conscious, embarrassment, self-hatred, narcissism, tantrums, giggling, procrastination, ambition, 'screw the world and everybody in it', 'I want to be loved!' and well, you get the picture. I think now I can say it's true, writers hate what they write, it's a strange one. I've got up to chapter 8 and all of his older friends are in a position where I can say, "well, okay, I should leave it there and work on the rest" and just the other day I sat there reading it, connecting with my characters, getting into my plot thinking, "hey, maybe it's not so crap after all." Then it came to reading it again and I thought: "what a bunch of emotional drivel, oh boo-hoo, said character has a sob story, why should the reader care? Why should they connect with this pile of rubbish?"

It's probably not a pile of rubbish, I could be one of those hard to please types, well, I say I could be hard to please, though I know cake usually works and then I'm smitten, perhaps if it were a novel about cake, then I'd be pleased quite easily - perhaps it'll only need 1 draft, however, it'd just be 350 pages of "cake cake cake yay cake I like cake yum yum cake chocolate cake lemon cake raspberry cake bake me a cake cake cake", no punctuation? I could equate my work to that of James Joyce...you never know, it could be a best seller. But the point still stands, it needs to be good, not to be some second rate Tesco value cake, no no no! It has to be a grand masterpiece, custom tailored gourmet cake with ingredients from the 5 most delicious countries in the world. Did you know that one of them is Belarus? Who'd have thought? Less about cake...

Really (I've found), the redraft is about discovery, learning what works and what doesn't and it can be a gift or a curse. Consider this: draft 1 - female protagonist, I felt some of her feminine characteristics might affect her relationship with other people and how people treat her. Redraft: Male protagonist, because I thought it'd suit me better as a writer...then...I decided to switch back to a female protagonist in what I call 'Asaros Redraft', just because actually, it works a lot better in my opinion. I hope to not offend women out there through my portrayal of a female character in first person, alas, I'm not a sexist, I have a male character who spends a lot more time in the kitchen than she does (I think all she does is make a cup of tea on one occasion) and she's quite the Bjarndyrknot player, so no backward sexist stereotypes here.

She's had to become strong in order to look after herself and that explains her behaviour in the first few chapters (explosive, reckless, angry), but once people enter her life again, her sensitive side is allowed to show and because of her strong relationship with her older brother, she is able to display characteristics of being a little sister who looks up to her brother, despite how strong she really is. Though, it does open up a difficult road ahead, I've got to start thinking like a girl and yes, that means I'll have to return to previous chapters again and in 'Asaros Redraft' I've tried giving it a shot, though I suspect I'll be returning nonetheless.

One seemingly simple difference and it just creates more and more work, hence 'curse', however, now my working mode is set to: Motivated. I want to see my character unfold and I want to read past chapter 8 again, I want to redraft chapters 9 and 10 again and finally move onto explaining why the world is the way it is, to properly introduce my main antagonist. I want progression, because progression is exciting! Guns, rollercoasters, explosions, action movies, Alan Rickman, they're nowhere near as exciting as the road ahead!

Anyway, that's my rambling for now. I'll probably have more updates soon, who knows?

P.S. Sorry Alan, I take it all back.