Monday, December 3, 2007

Blocks of the non-building kind

You know, I tried. Tried to enjoy the pink newness of the new blog. But the lure of the old one is just too strong and, besides, I like the template better. So yes, I'm back here again.

I started work (officially) on the new novel today. I managed a whole thirty minutes and 1,000 words. I don't know what I've done to short-circuit my concentration abilities, but it's amazing how difficult it is to sit and focus on writing. Suddenly I have an overpowering urge to pair socks, make coffee, write an email ... anything to put off that godawful moment of actually putting some words on the blank screen. In fact, sometimes there isn't even a thought-process involved. I go straight from staring at the screen to standing by the coffee machine, moved there by an unstoppable force.

I think it makes things more difficult that this novel is based on my life in Zimbabwe. Some of it isn't the easiest to remember. My previous novels have all been fantasy (apart from a brief and embarrassing foray into historical romance), and this real-world lark is a lot trickier. I'm finding the books The Artist's Way and The Sound of Paper by Julia Cameron very useful at the moment as tools to unblock creativity and free myself from the impressive array of neuroses that jump up and down every time I turn on my computer. Amazing how many little voices come into play (I mean that in a non-schizophrenic way (probably)).

I'm meeting with my advisor next week, and I'm not really sure what to expect - but I think it will be beyond valuable to be answering to someone while I write.

By the way - does anyone reading this know of anybody who would do a fairly inexpensive website design and build?

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