I have had an email from Amazon telling me that The Outcast by Sadie Jones is winging its way to me as I type. According to an interview with Amazon, the author says that The Outcast is about a boy called Lewis - his childhood and adolescence – as he grows up in the stultifying world of the home counties in the late forties and fifties. It is an everyday tale of drunkenness, violence and a fair amount of sex, set amongst the well-brought-up professional classes. It is also a love story. I can't wait to get reading.Mind you, who am I trying to kid? You only have to go to the hall on the way to my room to see two towering piles of books waiting for my avid attention, along with three bookcases. I shall be honest here and admit that there is another rather large bookcase on the landing that you will have passed to get to the hall. In my room there are two piles on a chest and several by my bed. I have family coming for lunch on Sunday and am simply going to have to try and find more hiding places for all these books. It's getting embarrassing now and it's not as if I'm managing to read as many of these books as I would like to but I am still working through 'How to Write a Breakout Novel' and at least my rewrite is coming along well.
Early this morning at 1am, I was bemoaning the fact that however much I think of plots and characters, my brain is having some sort of shut down at the moment. I said to R, 'You don't think this is writer's block, do you?' He just snored in answer to my angst. I've always thought I don't believe in writer's block. What do you think? Does it exist or is it a myth?
All is not lost though because I think I've been saved by the funniest email I've ever read from Andrea who told me a hilarious story. Unfortunately, I was reading this email at work and guffawed just a little too loudly for it to have been work-related. Nevermind, I think it's done the trick and triggered a story in my head. Phew. Oh yes, I've got tomorrow off work so my weekend starts here. Yay.
13 comments:
My TBR pile is so huge it's scary! I can't even look at it anymore...
Great news on the story idea! I'm not really sure what writer's block is - what I suffer from is 'writer's anxiety', when I worry about my writing and ideas so much that I don't get anything done. A break tends to do the trick with me.
I've never had writer's block - just writer's frustration at not having enough time to write!
I find it almost impossible not to keep on buying more books even though I have piles still waiting to be read. Still, I suppose there are worse addictions.
Writer's block? I try to avoid it, but I do know that feeling of getting completely bogged down and not being able to move a piece of work forward. Working on something entirely different normally works for me.
My TBR pile is huge as well!! (I keep thinking that if I just move it round the house no-one will notice....OMG I'm turning into my Gran....that's what she does!!)
Glad your e-mail has kicked started some ideas (I'm going to go and lie down now after that revelation!!)
C x
Good luck getting out of that fur lined rut called writer's block. I wish you many good words. The Outcast sounds intresting, I must resist the urge to buy anymore books though! Must! You are a winner on this week's wordless Wednesday btw.
yvonne - I think I must be suffering from writer's anxiety too. I'm probably trying to do too much at one time and managing to get no where.
helenmh - yes, that is a pain. More hours in the day please!
maddie moon - it's nice to know that there are other people out there who are addicted like me.
I think I need to slow down and try and do one thing at a time and that way I might just move forward a bit.
carol and chris - I think I've already turned into my gran and keep seeing her when I look in the mirror. She looked great for 85, I just happen to be half that age.
dj kirby - oh thank you. It's lovely to win at something. You've cheered me up. I shall go to the shed in a better mood now.
The Outcast is worth moving to the top of the pile, I think! I was going to say my piles are getting bigger, but it doesn't sound very nice...
Glad the writing is back on track...strange what can set you off again isn't it?!
karen - I can't wait to read it. I have to say that the only piles I don't mind having are the to be read ones.
I'm relieved that my mind has been spurred on again. It's a relief.
I'm banned from reading at the moment as I'm trying to concentrate on writing. I know that's a dangerous game but for the time being, I'm on top of it!
I have writer's block all the time, in that I can't actually get started. All I need is a plot, characters and a good ending. Apart from that I have the makings of a best seller.
tam - I think that sometimes it helps to focus 100% on what you're writing. I know that I have to occasionally do that too.
swearing mother - lol, I know exactly how you feel.
I have writers block, but most of the time its tiredness and frustration about not being more motivated...so I tell myself its writers block.
motherx - I agree and think writer's block comes in various guises & maybe mine is because I'm trying to do too many things at once.
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