So many voices! I've got 6 bloody characters all fighting to tell their story.
So yesterday and today have been about letting them. I'm not being too strict with how I do this, just seeing who I feel like writing as and having a go. I'm not sure if in the final draft they'll all be there, but it's helping me, at this stage, to see how they link together.
I've, very roughly, split the story into sections of time, and arranged them in the order they might work in. So we go something like - present day to 1965 to 1981 to 1992 to 1968 to 2010 present day again.
I'm holding off doing any research on the 60s yet. When I do, I'd like to find a book called 'Everything you need to know about what it was like living in Britain in the 1960s' which will, as it proclaims, tell me everything I need to know. That's how it works, doesn't it? The research thing? One perfect book to enlighten you. Good.
Word count so far - 5000. I'm increasing what's on my laptop by roughly 1000 words a day, and making notes and scribbles in my notebook which sits at the side of it as I go along.
I usually write in a coffee shop in the morning and today I was treated to a low, soft, but fairly husky sing-along of 'Mr Bojangles' from the old man sat at a neighbouring table. He only knew those two words, so it wasn't really a sing-along - the song just went surround-sound every now and again.
3 comments:
It's never easy creating a world of fictional characters and having a cohesive story. Sometimes the story in itself jumps at us when we least expect it.
I'm hoping for those jumps - there are definitely parts where I'm thinking - hmm, how can I make that link to that without it being ridiculous... it's all fun though, so far.
I'm currently writing a novel with 9 different narrators. It's a fun technique to play with - those jumps you refer to can create a nice effect. And seeing the same event from multiple angles can create a nice effect as well.
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