Just as a warning, I am coming to you from a very fancy chair after having spent two hours studying Hamlet, so forgive me if I become overly philosophical.
It's no secret - actually it's kind of a point of pride - that I spent 5+ years writing The Scientist, and that I have had the characters nattering away in my head since I was thirteen years old. So while writing and editing the book was massively challenging and wild and beyond anything I ever expected, I grew to hold a certain level of comfort with the characters.
It's also no secret that when The Scientist started to grate on my patience, and when I found myself unable to face it with the necessary creativity and enthusiasm, I dared to start writing something new. That something new is actually my second novel. So about 2 years ago, I jotted down the first few thousand words of what would eventually become These Are The Gates. Obviously, those few thousand words were terrible, and they exist now only in the dreaded "first draft" folder on my laptop. But I don't think it was just the "first draft-ness" of those words that made them terrible. It was mostly the fact that I had spent over 3 years writing from one perspective - Grace's. So to venture into the head of a character who is wildly different was terrifying and seemingly impossible. So I held back, and I softened a character who I needed to be sharp.
The benefit of that experience, other than getting something new down on paper, was that it kicked me up the backside in terms of writing The Scientist again. For a while, I bounced between stories, probably until about six months before The Scientist was published, wherein I devoted all of my attention to that.
The Scientist has been published over a month now, and while I have written some of These Are The Gates, I've found it uncomfortable at best and terrible at worst. I'm a worrier by nature, so the idea that I couldn't write in any other voice than Grace's sent me into an earth shattering panic. How can I have a career as a novelist and only write one book? I guess the answer is obvious: Don't just write one book. Be brave enough to let the characters from The Scientist settle, pass them on to those who are willing to allow them into their imagination. Don't compare Grace to Alice (the narrator of TATG). Most importantly: Don't stop writing, you silly moo.
So that's what I'm going to do. As of right now, I have exactly 60,000 words of a new novel. It still needs a lot of work, and colossal amounts of editing and refining, but right now I'm feeling pretty good about it. Tomorrow morning I'll probably change my mind and tell myself that it's a poor attempt at starting something new, but right now, I'm feeling positive.
Just a few thoughts.
Wednesday, 8 October 2014
Friday, 29 August 2014
On Music and The Scientist
Hi all,
Today I thought I would post a couple of the major songs from my The Scientist playlist. I'm not going to include The Scientist, because that's a little obvious. Here we go!
First up, one of my very favourite songs in the entire world: Outro by M83. This song, and most of M83's music is incredibly well suited to writing. Mainly because there isn't an overload of lyrics to sully the words you choose, and because the music itself is incredibly emotive. I found with this song in particular, the slow build to the goosebump inducing crescendo, was perfect for multiple moments in the novel. I'm going to be very vague because of spoilers, but I will say this: running, copper sky and beaches at dawn.
Second, is none other than Tidal Wave by Sub Focus. This song is one of the few upbeat and dare I say it, happy songs on the playlist. As opposed to Outro, there's only one specific moment that this song carried me through, and again, I'll be vague. I'll simply say: Wednesday and driving. I always kind of held the opinion that this song is the epitome is the kind of music that Lucas likes.
Third, probably the most emotional song on the playlist, for me at least: Dirt by The Swellers. This song is different from all the rest because it's from an entirely different point of view. Because this song is so well fitted to Luke's point of view, particularly in the second half of the novel, I feel like it's the most powerful song I listened to while writing.
I hope you give these songs a listen, not only because of the weight they hold in regards to The Scientist, but because they're all stellar pieces of music in their own right.
Remember, The Scientist is now up on Amazon US and UK in paperback, and available everywhere on Kindle!
Elsie
Today I thought I would post a couple of the major songs from my The Scientist playlist. I'm not going to include The Scientist, because that's a little obvious. Here we go!
First up, one of my very favourite songs in the entire world: Outro by M83. This song, and most of M83's music is incredibly well suited to writing. Mainly because there isn't an overload of lyrics to sully the words you choose, and because the music itself is incredibly emotive. I found with this song in particular, the slow build to the goosebump inducing crescendo, was perfect for multiple moments in the novel. I'm going to be very vague because of spoilers, but I will say this: running, copper sky and beaches at dawn.
Second, is none other than Tidal Wave by Sub Focus. This song is one of the few upbeat and dare I say it, happy songs on the playlist. As opposed to Outro, there's only one specific moment that this song carried me through, and again, I'll be vague. I'll simply say: Wednesday and driving. I always kind of held the opinion that this song is the epitome is the kind of music that Lucas likes.
Third, probably the most emotional song on the playlist, for me at least: Dirt by The Swellers. This song is different from all the rest because it's from an entirely different point of view. Because this song is so well fitted to Luke's point of view, particularly in the second half of the novel, I feel like it's the most powerful song I listened to while writing.
I hope you give these songs a listen, not only because of the weight they hold in regards to The Scientist, but because they're all stellar pieces of music in their own right.
Remember, The Scientist is now up on Amazon US and UK in paperback, and available everywhere on Kindle!
Elsie
Monday, 25 August 2014
Welcome!
Hi everyone,
This blog is where I'm going to be posting all things related to The Scientist, my debut novel. It could be anything from trivia, songs that I listened to while writing, updates on reviews etc. Anything that takes my fancy, really. I'll also be posting about my second book, These Are The Gates, which I am working on now.
If you'd like to keep updated on my writing then don't hesitate to follow! You can also find me on twitter.
Here's a couple of links to get The Scientist:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Kindle Edition
Thanks for reading!
Elsie
This blog is where I'm going to be posting all things related to The Scientist, my debut novel. It could be anything from trivia, songs that I listened to while writing, updates on reviews etc. Anything that takes my fancy, really. I'll also be posting about my second book, These Are The Gates, which I am working on now.
If you'd like to keep updated on my writing then don't hesitate to follow! You can also find me on twitter.
Here's a couple of links to get The Scientist:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Kindle Edition
Thanks for reading!
Elsie
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)