So it’s been a while since my last entry. I'm sorry. As it happens I hit a wall with my writing and I’ve been struggling to find my form again. It’s getting more and more difficult as I’m getting towards the end especially as there’s quite a lot of stuff that I merely summarised and didn’t fully expand upon.
Taking my own advice I went and bought some index cards - - as they’re also called and wrote up all of the scenes/chapters that I’d conceived and laid them out in order so that I could see the arc of the story as a whole and where the gaps were that I needed to fill. I can’t reiterate enough how useful this technique is. Once I had an idea what I needed to do I summarised the extra scenes onto some more cards and put them into place. I then used these as the basis for drafting them.
Remember I said how I wrote the first draft of my book – on trains and buses? Well I had the bright idea to go back to my roots to write the new stuff. Armed with a fresh notepad and a couple of biros I spent a whole day riding the tube back and forth and came home with three new chapters which I typed up ready to edit the next day. I must say it was really good to be able to write some new material especially as I did it on the train – I was able to concentrate more and not be distracted by my phone or the internet. In case you’re wondering, I took myself a packed lunch and thankfully there are plenty of tube stations with toilets outside of zone 3. If you’ve got a spare day and you’ve come down with a nasty case of writer’s block then I recommend it as a possible treatment. It worked for me and I’ll be using it again very soon when I get to the other gap in the story.
Saying all that though I’m still struggling with the editing and it’s not helped by the fact that I’m so tired all of the time lately. I just can’t seem to get my eyes open in the mornings. I was afraid this was going to happen at some point as if I don’t have a reason to get up in the mornings beside my own then I find it very hard to wake up. I keep trying to get to sleep earlier but it’s been difficult. Maybe I’ll try those sleeping pills tomorrow night after I get back from work... if I can figure out what I’ve done with them.
By the way, last night I went to see All My Sons by Arthur Miller at the open air theatre in Regents Park and I really enjoyed it. Have seen a couple of his plays in the past and I really like his dialogue and the way he does tragedy so well. Seeing it has really put me in the mood to see more of his plays and I might see if I can get my hands on his complete works. I haven’t been to the theatre much but I’ve always had a great time whenever I’ve been. It’s a shame that it’s become such a highbrow thing and that more people don’t go to see plays (primarily because of the cost), perhaps someone will take it back to its roots as entertainment for the masses.
After a lot of pressuring I had an x-ray on my back to check if there was any permanent damage but it came back as normal. I’m running out of strong painkillers so I’ll have to try and get some on the way to work tomorrow.
I’m looking forward to the weekend as my dad’s coming to visit me. I don't get to visit my family that often (although some people might disagree) so it’ll be nice to spend some time with him. Last time he came we did some sketching around London and I’m trying to teach him how to do watercolours so he’ll have something to keep him going when he retires this year.
I really need to start looking for some work soon – it’s almost June. I’ve got enough money to cover me until the beginning of July but after that I’ll be in trouble. I asked about getting an extra day or so at my current place as initially it was supposed to be full time but because of funding they could only offer me one day a week to be reviewed at a later date. They still can’t offer me more. I might write a proposal for the bosses as there’s not a lot I can achieve there one day a week.
I’m really starting to stress about money and the future and stuff. I guess that could be why I’m so tired lately. I’m sure it’ll be ok though.
Anyway, here’s hoping that Thursday will be productive. I’m planning on printing out a couple of chapters and seeing if they’ll work in first person... just an idea.
I really, really need a haircut.
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