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Wednesday 24 July 2013

Well that was easy

Almost as soon as I stepped off the blogging treadmill, I resolved a problem which has held up a new novel for two years. 

It was a flash of... well I won’t big it up as inspiration, but the solution just popped into my head and now I’m motoring through the thing. I could have it done and dusted in a few more months.

I think I know why too. If I’m blogging, then my idle musings are dominated by real people and events. If I’m writing, my idle musings are led by my characters. What would they do in such and such a situation? Where are they taking the story? Are they mad?

For me the issue can’t be forced. In other words my musings depend to a large degree on the outside world. So if I’m blogging and the outside world real people are chucking hints at me, there is little room left for purely imaginary characters to strut their stuff.

It was almost startlingly sudden too. Stop blogging – bang! Two year old problem solved, the writing cranks up and I’m motoring again.

It’s an insight into the mechanics of my own mind where one type of involvement suppressed the other to such a degree that I just couldn’t do both. In many ways an odd but enlightening discovery about limiting effects of involvement - discovered a little late in life.

It’s also an insight into how actors on the public stage involve us with the trivia of today to such an extent that it suppresses certain types of creativity. It sounds terribly pompous in the context of my own writing, but does the cult of celebrity crush the delicate flower of genuine creativity?

Update:

Mine must be delicate – it’s stopped again. Must be all this bloody sunshine.

7 comments:

Sackerson said...

Are you back, or just passing through?

A K Haart said...

Sackers - just passing through at the moment. No time for anything else!

Thud said...

Well hello anyway.

Sam Vega said...

Very good to hear from you again. But why are you blogging to tell us this? Have you given up on the "serious" writing for a bit?

Who seems the most "real" to you - us lot, or your creations? I'm sure there is a short story in there somewhere.

A K Haart said...

Thud - hello again.

Sam - no, the serious writing has given up on me at the moment. You lot seem entirely real to me, but blogland is so absorbing it isn't easy to put it to one side.

Macheath said...

Sam's definitely onto something there!

I'm glad to hear the Muse has been kind recently; I look forward to reading the results.

A K Haart said...

Mac - it stalled recently, but maybe the fine weather is to blame.