C.C. Parfoot's Blog
March 7, 2023
When a writer writes
The fun part of being a writer, and some would say perhaps the bane of a writer's life, is the constant immersion in your fictional world.
It might be you have a plot knot, and you are tyring to untangle it, Gordian or otherwise, and when they appear they are all Gordian, and they wake you up at 2.00 or 3.00 am with the most ingenious solution.
"Ah ha," you say, and make either a mental note of it, or turn on the light and jot it down on the pad that you always keep beside your bed for these very occasions. And when you get yourself in a proper heap the next morning, and sit down in front of your computer and look at the idea you had, you realise, it's not going to work as well as your sleepy brain thought it would. It needs work. But the idea has knees, even though it's a bit wobbly, you just have to take a moment or two or perhaps a bit longer, and teach it how to dance.
The good thing about doing multiple drafts is you come to terms with what the plot wants and needs. You get to the point where you listen to your characters, and often they will present to you the solution to the issue you are having.
A writer should never block the narrative. It can and does wander off in it's own direction. If you follow it, you may end up in the most wonderful, amazing places.
It's all part of a writer's life, the process of getting the story on the page so that your readers will enjoy what you have been wrestling with these past few months.
I think that's what brings me back to the story I am currently working on. I can feel the pulse of it, and I know it has life. It's up to me to help it find a place in the world. And that's the hard bit. And the fun bit.
It might be you have a plot knot, and you are tyring to untangle it, Gordian or otherwise, and when they appear they are all Gordian, and they wake you up at 2.00 or 3.00 am with the most ingenious solution.
"Ah ha," you say, and make either a mental note of it, or turn on the light and jot it down on the pad that you always keep beside your bed for these very occasions. And when you get yourself in a proper heap the next morning, and sit down in front of your computer and look at the idea you had, you realise, it's not going to work as well as your sleepy brain thought it would. It needs work. But the idea has knees, even though it's a bit wobbly, you just have to take a moment or two or perhaps a bit longer, and teach it how to dance.
The good thing about doing multiple drafts is you come to terms with what the plot wants and needs. You get to the point where you listen to your characters, and often they will present to you the solution to the issue you are having.
A writer should never block the narrative. It can and does wander off in it's own direction. If you follow it, you may end up in the most wonderful, amazing places.
It's all part of a writer's life, the process of getting the story on the page so that your readers will enjoy what you have been wrestling with these past few months.
I think that's what brings me back to the story I am currently working on. I can feel the pulse of it, and I know it has life. It's up to me to help it find a place in the world. And that's the hard bit. And the fun bit.
January 10, 2023
Sometimes you have to stop and smell the flowers
Part of being a writer is the joy of discovery.
Yes, you might sit down and plan out exactly what you are going to write and when, chapter by chapter, but that's not where the fun comes in.
The fun happens when the story takes over and you go off on a completely unexpected and different adventure.
Rabbit holes and tangents.
You sit back after having written a scene or two or three, and you sigh and say, "Where did that come from?"
That's part of the real joy of being a writer. You never quite know where the story is going to take you. And if you have that joy happening while you write then so is the reader.
Of course, sometimes you need to sit down with a cup of coffee or tea and stare out the window and think about where you left off.
What is your main character doing? I like to leave off knowing where I am going to take my hero. Sometimes though, I get to an impasse, and I have no idea at all.
I am writing the sequel to my novel EDDIE, and I am at an impasse. EDDIE has come through a very difficult and life-threatening situation, and he has once again rescued his friends, against a singular and nasty foe.
But now, he has to move on, and he needs a new threat to overcome.
Time to sit and stare out the window.
And trust that just as the last scene came to me in a flash, so the next scene will also.
And EDDIE will move towards the next step in solving the problem that is on his plate.
Yes, you might sit down and plan out exactly what you are going to write and when, chapter by chapter, but that's not where the fun comes in.
The fun happens when the story takes over and you go off on a completely unexpected and different adventure.
Rabbit holes and tangents.
You sit back after having written a scene or two or three, and you sigh and say, "Where did that come from?"
That's part of the real joy of being a writer. You never quite know where the story is going to take you. And if you have that joy happening while you write then so is the reader.
Of course, sometimes you need to sit down with a cup of coffee or tea and stare out the window and think about where you left off.
What is your main character doing? I like to leave off knowing where I am going to take my hero. Sometimes though, I get to an impasse, and I have no idea at all.
I am writing the sequel to my novel EDDIE, and I am at an impasse. EDDIE has come through a very difficult and life-threatening situation, and he has once again rescued his friends, against a singular and nasty foe.
But now, he has to move on, and he needs a new threat to overcome.
Time to sit and stare out the window.
And trust that just as the last scene came to me in a flash, so the next scene will also.
And EDDIE will move towards the next step in solving the problem that is on his plate.
December 31, 2022
Milestones on an open road
Hi everyone,
With the publication of my first novel, EDDIE, just before Christmas I felt I had achieved a huge milestone. They first started using milestones back in the days of the Roman Empire to help with troop movements. They marked not only how far you had come but also how far you had to go to arrive at your destination.
I felt like that when I put the very last full stop at the end of the last sentence of EDDIE towards the end of last year. Lots of endings, but not really. I deliberately left the mystery of Technician hanging, ready to pick up and carry it into the next book. Kind of like at the end of the Fellowship of the Ring when the characters you have come to know and love part ways in the most cliff hangy of circumstances and you just have to turn to the first page of the next book to follow through and find out what happens next. I love that kind of book.
It was awesome to see my book finally in print, but even more amazing is the thought that the journey hasn't finished yet . EDDIE goes onto to another big adventure. As a matter of fact, there are several adventures that I have set up for EDDIE, the next being EDDIE and the Haunted Mansion.
For me the fun of reading is about going on the journey. You never quite know what's going to happen to the characters you like, and you really want just uppance to come to the baddies. But the best part is enjoying yourself along the way.
I recently re-read Treasure Island. I hadn't visited it since I was a boy, and although the story was familiar, it was refreshing to sit back and once again follow Jim Hawkins on his adventure to the Island. All the things I'd forgotten about the story were new again, and although I liked John Silver, I didn't.
Just as you go on the journey as a reader, you also go on the journey as an author. The best part about writing a book is maybe having some idea of where you want the story to go, but find the story has its own ideas and you wander off down a rabbit hole, a bit like Alice, and suddenly the Mad Hatter is in charge of the tea party and things got a bit more interesting and exciting than you through they were going to.
Those are the bits I really enjoy. At the end of the day I put my pen down and I say, wow, that was amazing. Where to now?
That's what keeps me reading, and it also keeps me writing. I want to know what's around the very next bend. What dangers will EDDIE face? What happens to Crafty and Mrs McKenzie?
For a long time, when I was younger, I carried a quote from Robert Louis Stevenson in my wallet. It went something along these lines:
The untended Kosmos my abode,
I pass, a wilful stranger:
My mistress still the open road
And the bright eyes of danger.
Open roads are exciting, you never know where they will take you. Put Google maps to sleep and follow along just to see where you end up, that's the real fun of it.
With the publication of my first novel, EDDIE, just before Christmas I felt I had achieved a huge milestone. They first started using milestones back in the days of the Roman Empire to help with troop movements. They marked not only how far you had come but also how far you had to go to arrive at your destination.
I felt like that when I put the very last full stop at the end of the last sentence of EDDIE towards the end of last year. Lots of endings, but not really. I deliberately left the mystery of Technician hanging, ready to pick up and carry it into the next book. Kind of like at the end of the Fellowship of the Ring when the characters you have come to know and love part ways in the most cliff hangy of circumstances and you just have to turn to the first page of the next book to follow through and find out what happens next. I love that kind of book.
It was awesome to see my book finally in print, but even more amazing is the thought that the journey hasn't finished yet . EDDIE goes onto to another big adventure. As a matter of fact, there are several adventures that I have set up for EDDIE, the next being EDDIE and the Haunted Mansion.
For me the fun of reading is about going on the journey. You never quite know what's going to happen to the characters you like, and you really want just uppance to come to the baddies. But the best part is enjoying yourself along the way.
I recently re-read Treasure Island. I hadn't visited it since I was a boy, and although the story was familiar, it was refreshing to sit back and once again follow Jim Hawkins on his adventure to the Island. All the things I'd forgotten about the story were new again, and although I liked John Silver, I didn't.
Just as you go on the journey as a reader, you also go on the journey as an author. The best part about writing a book is maybe having some idea of where you want the story to go, but find the story has its own ideas and you wander off down a rabbit hole, a bit like Alice, and suddenly the Mad Hatter is in charge of the tea party and things got a bit more interesting and exciting than you through they were going to.
Those are the bits I really enjoy. At the end of the day I put my pen down and I say, wow, that was amazing. Where to now?
That's what keeps me reading, and it also keeps me writing. I want to know what's around the very next bend. What dangers will EDDIE face? What happens to Crafty and Mrs McKenzie?
For a long time, when I was younger, I carried a quote from Robert Louis Stevenson in my wallet. It went something along these lines:
The untended Kosmos my abode,
I pass, a wilful stranger:
My mistress still the open road
And the bright eyes of danger.
Open roads are exciting, you never know where they will take you. Put Google maps to sleep and follow along just to see where you end up, that's the real fun of it.
