We had a long weekend last weekend and I spent most of my Friday and Saturday tucked away in my writing room, sneaking out every now and then to watch movies with the kids and play board games (we discovered our old copy of the board game Zathura tucked away, so we introduced the kids to the movie and then played our very own version which was super fun 🙂 so much so that Musketeer #3 decided he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up).
Zathura, The Board Game: Adventure is Waiting
I haven’t had so much fun writing in ages! I was totally in the zone and it was wonderful 🙂
You see, since the end of last year I’ve been stuck on the two last scenes I need to finalise before I can move on to the next section (which involves writing 12 brand new scenes). The reason being that these two scenes are pretty good but they’re written from Boudica’s perspective, and a big part of me feels, in this new dual-POV version, they should be written from Aiden’s perspective. So, as I’m sure you can appreciate, a huge conflict has been raging inside me, between that part of me which thinks I should just leave them as is and move on, and the other part of me which is adamant I should get it all right RIGHT NOW!
According to the first part of me – the one which thinks it’s okay to move on – the scenes are good enough to stay the way they are for now. It’s far more important to finish the book than to keep messing around with things over and over again. I can always go back and change the POV once the rewrite is done. But the second part of me – the part which is naggy and whiney (let’s call her Marge) – disagrees with this logic profusely and will not allow me move on until I’m completely satisfied with every scene that has preceded.
Well, over the weekend, Marge finally won. So I put down my metaphoric pen and printed a copy of my manuscript. Then, with a newfound determination blossoming inside my heart, I combed through my rewrite, scene by scene, making changes as I went and refusing to set aside a chapter until I was convinced I’d done my best.
Now, this may sound like a bugger of a thing to do, but I absolutely loved it! It was so gratifying to polish a scene to satisfaction, stick a smiley face sticker on the print out, and then move along to the next. So far I’ve finished 16 of a total 36 scenes. Once I get to those last two pesky scenes, I’ll attack them with gusto and transform them into Aiden-POV scenes Marge will be proud of.
And then FINALLY I’ll be able to charge forward with no regrets 🙂
Anyone familiar with my favourite YA series, The Secret Diaries by Janice Harrell, will understand why this song is so dear to my heart…
I watched Kill Your Darlings over the weekend – you know, the one where Harry Potter gets to kiss Dane DeHaan? Now, I wouldn’t say it’s the best film ever (it was okay) but it has officially inspired me.
I’m not sure if any other writers will identify, but for me coming up with ideas for novels takes a long time – and when I say long, I mean l-o-n-g. Usually the full concept, plot and cast of characters is a culmination of many ideas over many years. I’ll start with a basic type of story I’d like to write (eg. a vampire romance or a fantasy with Norwegian folklore) and an idea of the kind of themes I’d like to explore (eg. drug addiction, obsessive love, the love/hate dichotomy of female relationships). But that’s about it.
For example, I always wanted to write a vampire novel. I’ve loved vampires since forever, and although I cannot say who the first vampire was that I came across (well, unless Sesame Street counts), I do remember reading Le Fanu’s Carmilla as a young teen and being fascinated by the relationship between Laura and Carmilla. Then of course I discovered Buffy Anne Rice and Bram Stoker through film (namely Interview With The Vampire in 1994 and Dracula in 1992). Oh, and TheLost Boys! How can I forget The Lost Boys? (It came out in the 80s but I wouldn’t have seen it until the 90s, given my age). Throughout my teens I was also an avid Buffy LJ Smith and Christopher Pike fan. Have I mentioned Buffy yet?
If you haven’t guessed yet, I’m a vampire child of the 1990s 🙂 But they were my teen years – some of my most formative years (well, that’s my excuse anyway).Â
As I was saying, I always wanted to write a vampire novel, but it took about ten years for me to come up with the right story. I guess it had something to do with the fact that I hadn’t really lived life yet. In my opinion, life is the best inspiration there is – the good stuff and the bad (maybe especially the bad). And finally at the age of 28 (after completing two degrees, having a beautiful baby boy, stepping out into the workforce, and having lots of those pesky life experiences) everything clicked into place. I had a story – and not just any story, a story that could span several centuries and several books, complete with love, loss, obsession, betrayal, and a really, really destructive ending – woohoo! Book 1 (the book I currently have on submission) is only the beginning of what will one day be an amazing series (I hope). But still it took me a long time to even get to the point where I could start writing it.
Step in Kill Your Darlings…
Anyone who knows me would know from the trailer that I’d be drawn to this movie…
It’s got:
– an Ivy League college in the 1940s;
– Obsessed professors;
– Self-destructive writers and poets;
– Jazz; and
– Murder.
What an awesome combination!
It’s also got Dane DeHaan (think David Bowie meets Leonardo DiCaprio). Yes, Daniel Radcliffe is in it but in my opinion DeHaan outshines him every second of every minute – all 104 of them. But then again I am biased – I’ve always had a soft spot for the preppy blonde hell-raiser (Sebastian Flyte, h-e-l-l-o… and not to mention Dickie Greenleaf, my dah-lings).
Oh my, those blue, blue eyes… soldier-brnes.tumblr.com
The movie itself was so-so, but — and this is a big but — it was the catalyst for the final pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, that has been slowly assembling in the recesses of my psyche for years, to fall into place. Finally – yes finally – I have the plot for the most awesome story ever – a story I was born to write (at least I like to think so).
And what story could this be, perchance? Let me explain…
My favourite YA trilogy of all time is The Secret Diaries by Janice Harrell. I discovered the first book in the series, Temptation, back in 1995. I was living at Kangaroo Point at the time and I remember reading it of a morning while I rode the ferry to school.
It’s about a girl named Joanna who transfers to a new school and is drawn into a mysterious group of kids who have a dark secret. Just before Joanna arrived, another member of the group – a girl – mysteriously went missing. Some say she ran away. Others speculate something more sinister. As Joanna is drawn deeper into the group she gradually learns the truth.
It was (and is) awesome – I’ve read it many times since. And even though the writing is simple and unadorned, the story and characters captivate me every time. It’s a shame Scholastic don’t re-release the trilogy like they re-released The Vampire Diaries and The Last Vampire series (by the way – there are no vampires in The Secret Diaries – it’s a basic contemporary girl-meets-boy-and-his-circle-of-friends, boy-and-his-circle-of-friends-have-a-deadly-secret type of story). In fact, it’s actually very similar to Donna Tartt’s The Secret History – except set in high school.
In case you are interested, there is a great review of The Secret Diaries HERE.
Anyway, why do I bring up this story? Well, ever since it touched my life I’ve wanted to write something just as riveting. Something that was a little bit The Secret Diaries, a little bit Brideshead Revisited. Something that was a little bit The Talented Mr Ripley, and a little bit Poison Ivy and Mad Love (yes, I love Drew).
And now, thanks to Kill My Darlings, I’ve finally got it!!! The final piece of my puzzle. And I’m very excited 😀
I wish I could tell you more, but at this stage it’s all gotta stay hush-hush. Unfortunately due to the intricacies of the plot, I think this novel will take me a long time to write . But it will be worth every painstaking moment of toil toiled, and every drop of blood, sweat and tears dripped.
Yanicke Forfang 