Thursday 19 August 2010

If you and your manuscript were fictional characters, which ones would you be and why?

Wowsers - nearly 2 weeks since my last post. Just a brief one to say hello, to assure you I'm still here.

The 500 words on each day off thing isn't really happening as easily as I'd like, but words are being written, just not so many for The Book as I thought. I fall in and out of love with this project very easily, and the 500-words were meant to encourage me to consistently work on it, along with my usual stash of short stories.

But a new incentive presented itself when my filmmaker friend Miles told me he's working on a novel and he'd like me to read the first chapter - Sure, I said, and hey - I'll send you the first section of my book too, and - let's have a deadline - howzabout 31st August? Sorted.

So in 10 days or so I'll send him the rough and very first-drafty draft of the beginning of The Book. I might even tell you what the fook The Book is (not a novel, not exactly non fiction, seriously not a memoir) instead of all the smoke and mirrors. It's the way I said I fall in and out of love with it - writing about it here is like commitment. I'm like Nick in Coronation Street (I realise that might be relevant to less than 1% of anyone reading) afraid of committing to Natasha. I'm such a user.

Ahem.

If you and your manuscript were fictional characters, which ones would you be and why?

8 comments:

Clowncar said...

I am Ahab. The novel is the Great White Whale.

Rachel Fenton said...

I'd be James because he's a reserved thinker and an idealist who loses his inhibitions at the point when the real me would leg it!

What about you, Teresa?

Teresa Stenson said...

Pay attention, Rachel - the Coronation Street comparison? :)

Thanks both for joining in, I didn't plan to ask that question, or indeed to draw on Corrie to discuss my book-writing.

Rachel Fenton said...

Ah, I see now..but when I read it before I took note of the Corrie ref and "relevant to less than 1%" and drifted on my way....I don't have telly!
Haha!

Now I feel daft! Dum de dum....

Not feeling on the ball lately...

Teresa Stenson said...

Don't have a telly? How do you waste (most of) your evenings???

Not on the ball - hope things are okay with you? Busy being Mum, writing a novel, all that jazz?

Rachel Fenton said...

Currently wasting time getting to know some screenwriting software and reading film scripts - and loving it! Going to waste some more time adapting my novels to screenplays. Sometimes I just read tosh on tinterweb and sometimes I just read. Sometimes I even watch a film (albeit on laptop!). I am a big fan of Edward Norton and harbour secret dreams of him wanting to produce a screenplay of mine!! Thank you for asking (not sure I was really meant to answer....)

Obviously Corrie's the way to go with time wastage though!

Dan Purdue said...

My novel is the Predator. I am Arnie. We chase one another around in the jungle that is my imagination. The Predator/novel (Predavel?) keeps hiding from me, and I can't work out what shape it's supposed to be, or where it's going. Sometimes the tables are turned - the Predavel jumps out at me from unexpected places, and I can't remember which one of us is supposed to be in charge. There's a strong possibility that it will kill me. One of these days I shall smear myself in mud, and trap the Predavel under a massive tree trunk, and then, somehow, everything will turn out all right.

Teresa Stenson said...

Rachel - sounds good, adapting - will be an interesting process I'd wager. Let us know how you get on. Especially with getting Norton on board.

Dan - even though I haven't seen Predator, your description of your antics with Predavel are so intense and high octane I feel like I have. How far off Mud Stage are you? Should we alert anyone?

The Nick (me) and Natasha (the book) saga in Corrie has taken an interesting turn with Natasha (the book) pretending to be pregnant to keep Nick (me) interested. Entrapment, that is.