An alien voice under a duvet of dreams.

Why is it… August 19, 2014

…that the closer the writing module gets, the less inclined I am to write?

I’ve been pondering tapping out a blog post for the last couple of weeks, but every time I open up the textbox I think why would anyone want to read my mind-junk? It’s the same with my stories. I think what story have I got to tell and why would anyone be in the slightest bit interested in reading it? As you can see, the evil curs known as Procrastination and the Inner Critic have dropped by for an outstayed-your-welcome-already holiday. Fabulous. That’s not to say I haven’t been writing. I just haven’t been writing a lot. I’ve jotted down some ideas, but as of yet I have not had the drive to expand upon them. Procrastination has taken me by the hand and convinced me that I need to be watching this show or playing this game, so while I have the mental inspiration, I do not have the physical expiration… I am holding my breath rather than holding a pen. It’s not so good seeing as air is not a particularly functional writing implement.

Despite not writing (much), I have been reading. A lot. Well, a lot for me. I’m not an incredibly fast reader, and considering that I can count on one hand the number of books I’ve read over the past two summers, then I’m doing pretty well this year. In the list I put up previously, I have read through:

• Tinder by Sally Gardner
• One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez – 6% through on the Kindle. Beginning to suspect this is a book that needs to be read as a book and not by e-reader.
• Wonder by R. J. Palacio
• Tanglewreck by Jeanette Winterson
• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness – next on the ‘to read’ list.
• Varjak Paw and The Outlaw Varjak Paw by SF Said.
• A whole bunch of creative writing books that will be used for the module. I have made a start, but snail’s pace about covers it.

So while I’m not through this list, I have read other stuff:

• Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell – a lovely story about friendship and family and the rooftops of Paris.
• The Bone Dragon by Alexia Casale – another story about family, but through the opposing dichotomies of destructive vs. nurture and biological vs. adoptive.
• Glaze by Kim Curran – an interesting near-future story about the perils of social networks.
• Geek Girl by Holly Smale – a modern take on the Ugly Duckling.
• The Julian Chapter by R. J. Palacio – the bully’s viewpoint (a side ‘chapter’ for Wonder).
• Marx for Beginners by Ruis – a Ronseal title. Tells you all you need to know.
• Write Your Novel from the Middle by James Scott Bell – Ronseal again. But an interesting take on writing guides.
• The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks – Bleaky McBleakerson. No hope, no glory. Would suit a soundtrack by Leonard Cohen.
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – Bleaky McPretentiouspants (my opinion only). But if I was a teenager, I’d probably love it.
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo – A fabulous little tale of a toy rabbit’s journey to find his original owner (but also himself).

and I am currently reading:

• The Problems with Dostoevsky’s Poetics by Mikhail Bakhtin
• The Intruders by Michael Marshall (not a book that should be read in the same room as a child who talks in her sleep…)
• Radiant Girl by Andrea White
• The Writer’s Guide to Crafting Stories for Children by Nancy Lamb

So I’ve impressed myself by getting out of my can’t-read-for-toffee funk. And I have a whole new list of books I need to read in preparation for next month and the start of the writing module. I think my head might just fall off – which could be a result of holding my breath for too long!