Outa Time

  For anyone keeping an eye on my twitter and facebook statuses you may have seen that I reached the 100,000 word count for my book “The Darwin Solution”. The thing is it’s not even finished. There’s still lots to do, like the final act for example. I will finish it and hopefully before the end of this year. It’s been in the making a long time now and progress is slow.

  The trouble is for someone like me I can’t give myself a deadline, a target to reach for because I’d just ignore it. (I’m barely managing to keep up this 500 word a week blog). I have a little time table that determines how many hours of writing I should be doing a day and I pretty much ignore it. I have a full time job to work around and I know it sounds like excuses but it’s amazing how a day free to write soon turns in to something else.

  For example today, a Thursday is prime writing time. I don’t start work until 6pm and from mid-day onwards I’m on my own with no one to distract me. But for me writing depends so much on moods. If I force myself to write when I’m not in the mood I just know it’ll reflect in my writing. And this can be true with a lot of things. Matt Lucas said whilst making the new series “Come Fly with Me” that the character Taaj was so easy for him to perform because he was so clear in his head. However a scene for the final episode where one of the characters wins an award was the hardest for him to do and get right. Even before seeing the making-of documentary I had decided Taaj was my favourite character and that the awards scene was one that just didn’t work.

  Today I was in the mood for writing the only problem was it was to write something else. I had an idea for a new story and I spent a long part of my afternoon researching Grimm fairytales and thinking of new characters. Perhaps the thing I’m most guilty of is starting new projects out of excitement for a new idea and never following through. The reason why I know I’ll finish the Darwin Solution is because it’s one of the only book ideas where I know how it’ll end and where the story will go. At this point in the story my main reason for not writing when I can is because I am yet to work out the finer details. Right now I don’t know whether my character is going to be imprisoned for a while or being taken to this room straight away.

  This blog was another thing getting in the way of book writing but I want to be strict with myself and keep to my own deadlines. It’s good practise after all. The thing is once I’ve finished writing this I’ll only have 2 and a half hours left before work and that just isn’t long enough to do anything.