Well, guess who's had a very exciting couple of days?! Maybe you have but I'm going to regale you with the latest events in my life for a moment!
Firstly, I discovered on Monday that I will be graduating with a 2:1 so I have been living on cloud nine for the past three days! I'm also very pleased that all of my closest friends got incredible grades and I couldn't be more proud nor pleased for them. It's such a relief to know that the last three years have finally paid off and I've now got the degree I wanted! Secondly, about ten minutes ago I finished the first draft of my book! I've never written anything of that length before and, although it needs a hell of a lot of work, I'm also very proud that I managed to plan and execute and novel length story. I'm actually quite excited now about reading through it, cutting out and adding in new parts, rewriting parts completely and generally trying to perfect it as much as I can. I have no idea how most authors go about their writing process but I've found that once I've written my plan, I try to stick to that as best I can and just get the bare bones of it down. I'm hoping that when I read over it I can add more detailed descriptions and see where I need to provide more dramatic conflict or character development. I definitely think that you discover your characters rather than create them. I've written a lot of character profiles but, sometimes, I struggle to make them any different from your average Joe on the street, and who wants to read about that? Once I've put them in to my story and give them situations to deal with I have found that I gradually understand how they would react. This means that during the (undoubtedly, numerous) redrafting stage I will have a much firmer idea of how they would behave and, of course, where they end up! So that's my bubble of happiness for this week! I hope you've had as equally a good couple of days and I'm sure you'll be checking your computer everyday to find out the progress of my book. It's okay, I understand if you have better things to do.
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Attempting to write my own book has presented me with many questions such as how my characters should behave, where the story should be set and, more recently, should they swear or not?
I did not intend to write a YA book but as the story has developed I can see how it would be marketed that way should it ever be published, which is absolutely fine with me. However, my characters have been voicing a few expletives along the way. I haven't written them in to cause controversy or to try and get away from the YA genre, I have only made my characters swear because I believe that is how they would naturally react in a certain situation. My concern is that most YA novels do not contain swearing and I will have to edit what my characters say. I don't have a problem with editing my work (you shouldn't really be a writer if you have a problem with editing, in my opinion) but I do want to be faithful to my characters and, sometimes, that means that they have to swear. I understand that parents don't want their children picking up bad words but, to me, the YA genre is for the ages 14-17 ish (a lot of adult readers read this genre, too, so it's difficult to pinpoint) and, personally, by the time I was 14 I knew A LOT of swear words. However, this didn't mean that I was using them in every other sentence; the wrath of my parents ensured that. So are we underestimating those who read YA? Is it possible for them to read a book with a few swear words and not become vicious hooligans? I think so, after all, there are millions of debates surrounding violence on television and in video games yet not every teenager who engages in these things ends up as a bloody murderer. So, for now, at least, I'm going to continue writing my book as I intended and if I'm ever lucky enough to have it printed we'll have to see what happens. Perhaps there is a new genre waiting to be discovered called 'Not Quite Adults But Almost' where swearing is acceptable? I think I might look in to that. What an eventful week it's been! Last night I landed in London after a few days in Barcelona and had to go straight to A and E as my foot is very swollen with a suspect rash all of it. I have no idea what it is and neither do the doctors, which is always very helpful. I can't walk properly and trying not to scratch the thing is a task in itself. On the plus side, I think this means that I can use my extended sofa time to do lots of writing and apply for jobs, hurrah!
I thought I'd write a post about Barcelona as I'm sure anyone who has ever been there can verify what a wonder it is for the eyes. I'm definitely a writer and not an artist but I now have a huge respect for Antoni Gaudi who was an architect whose influence over the city is just incredible. I thought I might enjoy his work as I've always had an affinity with the fantastical and the slightly strange and he did not disappoint. In fact, I have been so taken with his work that I'm going to rewrite some of my book as the essence of his buildings perfectly capture one of my crucial chapters. Of course, I would never dare to compare myself to Gaudi but his ideas and their creation have made me see my fantasy world in a new way. Finding inspiration can be one of the most challenging aspects of writing, particularly when you are desperate to write something but cannot for the life of you think of a decent, original idea. I haven't written even half of my book yet and I'm already doubting myself (but I will persevere!) I think that the key is to not over think these things and get too anxious about them; the best ideas are always the ones that just pop into your head. I think that you can probably speed the process up by travelling, listening to music or reading other books but I think that can still feel like a way of forcing your brain to be creative. I'm not sure if this is necessarily the case for most writers but it's just a thought from my little brain! Now I'm going to go and rewrite that chapter with my new ideas and see if it really will make a difference. |
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