Inspirations

Just watching TV is inspiring at the moment. A couple of days ago I watched the Al Pacino documentary, 'Looking for Richard' and spent the next 24 hours with iambic pentameter running through my head. Now I watched the BBC series 'Messiah' and I'm drawn again to writing dialogue, telling a story literary through words rather than actions. I watched the first one (brilliant, full of surprises) but the second one got me critical of pace, the obviousness of the multiple murders and the way the police are always just a few minutes behind the villains. Suspense is powerful, but not when you know where and when to look.

It did make me think about the way I see stories; visually rather than hear them. I see in TV scenes, or film script much more than I ever thought I did, and I think the level 3 creative writing course might be a helpful progression to A215. It makes me want to rewrite 'Raging Softly', my most recent novel, and help it come alive in a more visual way. I know one of my weak point is description of place and people (well, I already know what they look like!). Perhaps translating what I 'see' more directly onto the page would be helpful.

Writing every day makes me think much more in words. It's the one thing I need to work on, because I'm very prolific when I have a writing habit. I find 1000 word minimum if I aim for 500, I'm competitive with myself. I had a pedometer at Christmas and became so committed to beating yesterday's score I ended up walking for miles - with a bad back - then doing another long walk in the evening. My back then firmly told me I couldn't do that any more and put me on the sofa for a few more uncomfortable weeks. So, a writing habit beckons. I end up doing it before bed, though, not very sociable, because it's so hard to get an hour or two without interruptions in the day. Perhaps the family need to get in the habit of my writing habit too!