Jamie C. Pritchard's Blog, page 3

Braindead Dairy #11: Keep Going!

First half of the month is almost done. Dry January’s a piece of cake. If I can stop being an idiot and pass my driving test third time I’d like to hit a remote lodge, near scenery that relates to my story. Even if it’s just for a weekend the technology detox would be good. It is, of course, the classic thing for writers to do – stow yourself away from humanity, smell the air, hug a tree, strike up a relationship with a friendly bear.  

I’ve stuck to my promise of no internet during the morning write. It’s helped. Who would’ve thought? I managed to iron out a big chapter in a single sitting (that’s good).

But something I’ve noticed is this can feel more like work than inspiration. Because I started off writing articles I’m used to the rewards keeping pace with the efforts. With a trilogy, one that’s far from done, you can do a good session only to see loose ends. However, I’m getting better at respecting the nature of a project like this.

Basically – THE BIGGER THE STORY THE MORE FAITH IS NEEDED – in actuality that means remembering that the more you keep working on it the closer it is coming into focus. In a sense it’s a mathematical certainty. There are only so many characters, they only do so much, there’s only so many scenes, etc.

Even if you complete a chapter only to realise it sucks and needs deleting – PROVIDING YOU DON’T STOP – you’re another step closer to completion. And then when that glorious days comes – when the main story arc and its many sub plots connect – that is when you can start to admire what you’ve done as you lovingly polish it.

There are some big changes that need to be made to before the re-edit of book I is done, but I’m ready for the graft!

I did once give up on a 55,000 word book but that was all kinds of dog shit.

Bloody Good Quote: Hannibal Lecter

“Don’t you feel eyes moving over your body, Clarice? And don’t your eyes move over the things you want?”

 

Origins: Ted Talley’s adapted Screenplay (1991) of Thomas Harris’s The Silence of The Lambs novel (1988). Lecter, recently voted the greatest villain in all films by Empire magazine, has a wonderful way of delving into the deeper reasons behind our actions, be it fear or the macabre. As a genius we’re obliged to listen to his psychological breakdowns, and yet, because we know his heart is black, we can’t but feel he is reaping his own dark rewards during conversation.

Given the way Lecter is often shot, staring at the camera, the first time I heard this quote I felt he was speaking to me.

 

 

Braindead Dairy #10: Love The Process!

Resolutions are for gimps (not the leathery kind). It’s about keeping promises with yourself. You know time is passing. You know you’ve got to get the most out of yourself while you’re here. I always do dry January. It’s a good foundation to push off from. No booze, lots of exercise, a refined routine…ah yes…I can feel the POWAH!

A good chunk was done last year but I was guilty of surfing while writing. IT’S A TERRIBLE HABIT! It’s harder to get into the flow, dig deep into the story. There remains a compulsion to browse when chewing over a sentence but I’ve made a new promise – I’ll only do so to change music or look up something that relates to the story.

I’d like to promise the re-edit of book one will be done this month, but I can’t. I refuse to sacrifice quality for speed. There’s an epilogue section which needs doing. I forgot about the whole cliff-hanger thingy

Horror Films or Books – What’s Scarier?!

Bloody Good Quote: Tom Waits

“He took down the tyre swing from the pepper tree, he has no children of his own you see.”

 

Origins: Mule Variations (1999). Gravel-voiced Tom Waits gave horror fans a treat when he released the unnerving poem What’s He Building? There’s an accompanying video that used to do the rounds on MTV. He gives us an outline of an unknown’s activities….random…disjointed…but with the growing desire to know what he’s building in his house. The rustic setting, the strange sightings, the sense of isolation. Certain things are repeated about having no friends and whistling a tune – giving the impression the narrator is spying as he speaks.

The quote uses plain language but is strangely menacing.

We’ll never know what he’s up to despite it ending with “We have a right to know…”

Awesome.

Braindead Dairy #9: New Year! Let’s Crush It!

The new year is swiftly coming. It’s not a time for resolutions but revising. I know what I’ve got to do. It’s just a case of refining my output and, most importantly, FINDING THE JOY IN WHAT I DO. It’s a great time, a spiritual time. It’s essential to look back and put into context what I have done over the last 12 months…

Draft of book II done.

Structure of Book III outlined.

Re-edit of Book I three quarters done.

Not too shabby. To all fellow writer’s who have stuck at it – GIVE YOURSELF A PAT ON THE BACK! You need to because nobody else if gonna cheer you on. Many days have felt more like work than expression, but those good days DO come (even if it’s just a sentence you’re happy with), and in those moments the story you began because you FELT IT DESERVED TO BE TOLD begins to feel like you NEED TO TELL IT.

Whether it’s to make money, or simply be worthy of your best efforts, writing is always a slow roast. Time is on our side though. If you can up your efficiency this year then what you will have to show for it when 2019 is done will strengthen an unstoppable work ethic.   

My basic goals are to finish the re-edit of book I, finish the re-edit of book II, and get stuck into Book III.

But these are just general markers to respect. You can’t become fixated on them. I say that in a way because me writing every day is pretty much inevitable. What isn’t, and what I must master, is to enjoy the flow of the creative process. “Learn how to get paid for playing,” I think British philosopher Alan Watts once said. I like that.

And on that note – time to crack open a beer and get merry!

Bloody Good Quote: Robert Bloch

“Despite my ghoulish reputation, I really have the heart of a small boy. I keep it in a jar on my desk.”

 

Origins: Unknown. Probably during an interview. If you know, do tell! The author of Psycho (1959) uses a nice technique here which helps make it pop. The first sentence acts like a decoy, puts forward an innocent tone, allowing him to catch us off guard with the next. You’ll note it has the same rhythm as a joke. Comedy, of course, goes together with horror very nicely.

Braindead Dairy #7: A Good Villain

There was a dude called Henry Ward Beecher who once said that most of us do things thrice – once in anticipation, once in actuality, and once in rumination. He claimed to do things only in actuality, thereby not only saving time but making his single effort more potent. It is the ongoing war of creative minds, to execute and then not be too critical. The more you care, the more mental static there tends to be…SO…MUST…OVERCOME…AARRRGGHHHH…..

It’s a milestone chapter in Book 1. Someone important is getting killed. The large monster is the culprit.  These really are the make or break moments of the book. There are all kinds of things I am trying to get right, to get that balance a series needs – characters, world development, motivations…yadayadayada. The most important thing BY FAR is to make those monster appearances POP!

Some say a story is as good its villain. YUP! They don’t just have to be intimidating but compelling. The best ones have a touch of the suave – Joker, Hannibal Lector. Now I’m not sure a huge prickly abomination can be suave but you CAN make it an unnerving study, insane to behold yet tangible. I guess there’s a bit of Lovecraft in there in terms of scale and time scale though not as fantastical.

To make an original monster is the main aim. To get the reader to smile. To make them think, “ahhh, that’s cool!” What I love most about horror I essentially want to reproduce in the bosom of the consumer. Isn’t that sweet? I want layers to be peeled off while keeping its true nature obscure, you know, just to be a twat! I want its presence to be so good that it’s only AFTER it’s left the scene that the loss of someone important kicks in.

I like how it’s shaping up!

Book Review: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde

Bloody Good Quote: Clive Barker

“Whatever our race, our religion, our politics we are faced every morning with the fact of our bodies. Their frailties, their demands, their desires.”

 

Origin: The Introduction to the One flesh exhibition, 1997. Regardless of what you make of his art, Clive Barker’s ability to frame our all-too-human dilemma of an existence is a honed talent to say the least. As great as life is in so many ways, as intelligent and creative as we are, as empowering it is to connect with others, we’re also incredibly restricted, bound by our five senses, given to dangerous indulgences, doubts, easily done in by a tumble down the stairs.

Quotes like this remind me that, yes, a body is a heck of a thing to be caged in.