I am happy to announce that in the early hours of this morning, I finished the first draft of “Dead Rock Star”. Weighing in at about three hundred words less than my 60,000 target, I am very pleased with the result. Now we move onto phase two, the second draft where I go back, re-read what I’ve done, flesh out characters and scenes and generally “polish the turd”. For my records, I started the initial phase of the project on at 15.24 on 03 September 2005 and finished the eighteenth chapter, the epilogue, at 01.34 on 12 November 2005.
Now I am in two minds how to continue. Should I have a little rest and then return to do the second draft? I do have some regular work to get on with, so this takes precedence. For the second draft, I am planning to spend about a week on it and I think it might just boost the word count up by 10,000 words.
I was reading somewhere that it was a good idea for a first time author to keep their first novel relatively short. The idea is that publishers aren’t keen to take on wordy first tomes because the reading public aren’t always prepared to read through an epic from an unknown. Instead, you should start with a novel of around 65,000 – 80,000 words and if/when your profile increases your word count can. A good example of this would be the Harry Potter books, which have got longer and longer with the increasing popularity of JK Rowling’s work.
Of course, this could all be a load of old bollocks.
Archive for November, 2005
We’ve been lucky enough to visit Las Vegas a couple of times and whilst we were there The Blue Man Group were playing at the Luxor hotel where we were staying. I was always a bit reluctant to pay the expensive ticket prices and so I vowed to catch the group when they came to London. So when the tickets went on sale for the Blue Man Group at the New London Theatre, I got in fast, buying tickets for the opening night.
On the way there, I joked about not being selected by the Blue Men for one of their stunts. “I hope that they don’t stick that camera down my throat,” said I. Fateful words those… So before the concert, we found a snug little pub called The Sun on Drury Lane for a couple of quick drinks. It was a traditional styled pub and I quite enjoyed the general ambience. I joked to The Missus about selling our tickets and remaining in the pub for a good old drink.
Inside the theatre, I was considering buying some merchandise and planned to buy a couple of BMG CDs as I often buy stuff at gigs, but my ardour was cooled when I saw that they were selling both BMG CDs for £17.50 each and the DVD was £22.50. I might be dumb, but I am not that dumb. Instead we went inside and took to our seat. We were seated in the fourth row and had to wear protective blue overalls to protect us from any leakages or splashes from the stage. I was like wearing a large polythene condom over your head and after ten minutes I was glad that I had decided to wear a T-shirt to the event as I the smock contained my bodyheat causing my potatoes to boil over rather rapidly, if you know what I mean.
“Hey, I’ve always looked like a complete dick, so this is no problem…”
The show started and if you haven’t been to the BMG group or unfamiliar with the concept, it can be described simply as “performance art”. But don’t be scared, it’s not that bad. The Blue Men are three mute blue men who indulge in a little bit of mime, pull visual gags and love audience participation all to the sound of a tribal soundtrack that was written by the BMG (though performed live by a houseband). While I thought some of the humour was OK-ish, I really enjoyed the musical segments where the group used their homemade instruments – the Drumbone is made out of industrial pipe and sounds like nothing on earth. The percussion is superb and it was good to see a Chapman Stick being used by one of the band members.
During the audience participation sections, the BMG descend into the audience and pick unwilling volunteers to help them. Yes, I was chosen for the “throat cam” section of the show. Before the show, my ESP was telling me that I was probably going to be chosen and me and The Missus discussed it as we walked over Waterloo Bridge. When the BMG grabbed me, I played along, flipping out my lizard-like tongue to reveal a mint I had been sucking…I think that made the audience laugh…then they stuck the camera in my mouth and that was it really. I would have loved to have seen the footage, but my vision was obscured by the group. No matter. I had made a little bit of history: I was the throat-cam victim of the opening night of the BMG in London. I think that’s kinda cool. (Sad git, ain’t I?)
Me and the Missus really enjoyed the show and lasting 1 hour 50 minutes the BMG don’t outstay their welcome. I can’t see the average British theatre-going audience “getting this” because it is too much fun for the West End. There were quite a few empty seats on the opening night and I would hate to see the run end early because there’s a lot of hard work involved in the show. If you’ve not see the BMG and want to experience an evening of fun, cool music and luminous bog-roll, I recommend you book a ticket. It’s the first show where I felt the artistes were playing to the whole theatre.
Evidence that I was touched by blue hands. Does this make me an honorary, if slightly out of shape, Blue Man?
Yesterday was an interesting day writing. Chapter fifteen was meant to dealt with a the lead character, returning as a ghost, to speak to his son. It was meant to be tender and emotional and a fantasy that most of us living people have had when thinking of someone we’ve lost. We’ve all wished that we’d had a message from someone close to us who has passed on and this chapter was meant to embody that idea. Unfortunately, it didn’t go like that. While I normally have an idea of what I am trying to achieve, I do actually try and stay faithful to the characters. So when a ghost starts speaking to an 11 year old boy what is supposed to happen? The boy is going to freak out. So that’s where we went. And then the mother gets involved and what was supposed to be a tender and moving scene turns into something completely different. You could say that I let the characters write this one as I completely lost control of the story. I like the way it went but the process has left me confused. Who was in control? Me or the characters? Anyway, the upshot of this is that it manouvred the lead character into a much more satisfying position for the finale…so smiles all round eh?
Today, chapter 16 starts with the band that Vince the ghost is working with pay a visit to their manager to hear the playback of their finished album, co-penned by a ghost. Don’t worry folks. I still believe that this is a good idea for a novel, honest!
On unrelated news, I am completely enamoured with the second CD of the new Kate Bush album “Aerial”. It’s so…erm…lovely, that’s the best word to describe it, that I have to keep listening to it. I’ve played it repeatedly since I got it and this hasn’t happened in a long while. It’s a great album, by the way. (See my review somewhere on the site)
I know what I want for Christmas…
Pirates Repelled by Sonic Weapon
I’ve been really slogging away with “Dead Rock Star”. I’m close to 50,000 words in and have most of the story covered. I’ve worked it out that the novel ends in three chapters and by this time I should have hit a 60,000 word target, allowing me to add, polish and buff on the second draft. There’s a lot I can add the second time around because I deliberately left space in the text as I just wanted to bang the story out in the first draft, get the framework there and then go back and improve on sections if I felt the need to. Again, this is a bit different for me as usually I aim to get the first draft near enough spot-on and use the second draft just to clear up any mistakes and errors. I’m really looking forward to the ending, which is the big pay-off. I am so looking forward to writing that final section, you just can’t imagine it. In fact, it is the thought of the ending which is driving me on. It’s a bit like a good punchline to a joke – it’s that kind of feeling.
Of course, that’s not to say that there isn’t any doubt. There’s loads. I’m feeling very doubtful at the moment and keep questioning myself in all manner of ways. Why am I doing this? Is this story any good? What’s the point? Am I really a writer? What if I really am that lazy good for nothing bum and this is all a ruse? Should I give up with my music as I am just wasting my time on it? What’s the point of this website when no one visits? Etc. In fact, this self-doubt goes on ad infinitum until it gets boring. Gee, I’ve even bored myself there. But the thing about writing, or any creative task, is that you have to have a level of conceit or arrogance to continue. You have to will yourself on and have self-belief even if sometimes it is a little misplaced. Otherwise you’d stop doing anything and just quit at the first obstacle. And so I am even more determined to finish this story.
On my travels, I found this interesting link which gives some tips to those of us intent on writing a novel. Of course, I never make any of those mistakes (except that time when I wrote a novel and changed a character’s name halfway through and completely forgot about it. Thank god for ‘search and replace’.)
This album has been a long time coming, but Kate Bush has delivered a double CD that really is a game of two halves. The first CD called “A Sea of Honey” opens with the current single “King of the Mountain” which sounds very much like a Kate Bush track of old. From then on, the album takes a very different, more personal turn with Bush dumping the overblown production she’s used on previous albums and using a more intimate approach. “Pi” is a song of numbers which lays down some music themes that reappear on side two, “Bertie” is a song that only a mother could write for a son and the lyrically-ambigious “Mrs Bartloizzi” makes you wonder if this is a murder scene or someone just in the throes of domestic bliss? The next two songs “How to be Invisible” and “Joanni” aren’t as strong and didn’t have any real effect on me. The last track on the first CD “A Coral Room” concerns Bush’s mother’s death and I found it particularly moving when she started to mention the little brown jug. (My own late grandmother had a little brown just that was passed down and used to mention that same song too).
The second CD “A Sky of Honey” is a completely different beast and I found it a much more enjoyable journey. It is a concept piece dealing with the passage of time on a mid-summer’s afternoon as day turns to dusk to night and back to dawn again. Combine this with characters such as the Painter (played and sung by Rolf Harris – it was nice to hear him on this project) and a panoply of bird chorus and you have a sound painting of a time and space. Hearing Kate attempt to mimick the bird songs is a highlight and stand out track “Somewhere in Between” should be the next single. This CD is a full of warmth and humanity and was written by someone who obviously had the time to study a summer afternoon with depth. I love it.
The two CDs are very different, but I don’t think they would have worked without each other. They are two sides of the same coin and, for example, I don’t think that “A Sky of Honey” would have worked so well if it had been released on its own. I think this is a truly great record, full of soul and warmth, and is well worth falling in love with.
Saturday was Guy Fawkes Night and the birthday of the Missus. We had a quiet day indoors. I tried to capture some fireworks with my camera, but it didn’t quite work out. Instead, I caught a flash of yellow light. I’m not sure if it is a firework or the streetlights in the distance. Looks cool and very arty though:
We’ve got a new game at Chez Lock. It goes something like this: the Missus chooses a recipe from a book or newspaper, buys the ingredients and I cook it. Yesterday, it was Jamie Oliver’s “Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Hotpot”.
Don’t worry – it tasted very nice. The secret ingredient was plenty of cider to give it some kick. Oh yes!
Look at this. This picture is a picture of the dirt and dust from under our marital bed. God we live like heathen slobs. Great, ain’t it?!!?!?!
And finally, the obligatory “aaah, ain’t he cute shot” of Alex the Wonderdog. He seems to get all the comments these days, so here’s the little blighter doing what he does so well…sleeping. Trust me, this is what he does 98% of the time when he ain’t grumbling for food or taking a constitutional in the garden.
Today, I left the house early to walk to the local Woolworths to purchase the new Kate Bush album “Aerial”. I am currently listening to it as I type. It’s very good and I am enjoying it a lot. Her best album since “The Hounds of Love”.
Also, tackling chapter 14 of “Dead Rock Star” and I have decided is what the occult really needs is a children’s pop-up book of total evil and damnation.