Interesting times

There is a Chinese curse that says ‘May you live in interesting times.’ Sometimes I wonder why this should be considered a curse - I like being interested. I like interesting times. The truth is that I can’t really recall the last time I was bored or wondered what to do, I always have something that is calling to me – usually too much. And I love it that way.

Recently I did an interview about ‘My Writing Day’ for a UK writing magazine and I had to give an idea of how I work. Some bits of it were easy - Most of the time, life jogs along at a fairly steady pace – I have a three book contract so the next twelve months divide up nicely into Preparing/Planning/Writing/Panicking/Revising if necessary/line editing/proof correcting for each book. And then I weave in other things - teaching workshops, going to conferences, reading for the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme. I’ve been used to this for a while and it works for me. I can juggle those things most of the time. Occasionally I drop something but not often. I've even managed to add in an extra here or there if I thought it was worth it.

Then sometimes life throws things at you and you have to rethink everything. The juggling gets more complicated and you have several more things to keep up in the air. And you really can’t drop any of them. But there’s really a bit too much to manage – that’s when interesting times become a bit of a curse.
Why do the ‘interesting’ bits all have to come at once? One now, and another when I’ve dealt with this one would be nice . . .

I started this last week in position one – as I described in the second paragraph – jogging along – then things started to happen. A plan I suggested to my editor for two linked books was grabbed at – but the two have to be in in less than one and a half deadlines, not the usual two. Then we got some exciting news. Not for me, for the BM, and I can’t say much about that yet until it’s all sorted and finalised – but it involves an experience that I can join him on and there’s no way I’m going to miss it if it really does happen. It will also be fascinating as research so that’s another reason I’m not going to miss it.

That’s next weekend – and of course that means that I shall have three days taken out of the time between now and the first deadline. So it’s going to be nose to the grindstone all week to make sure I get a good foundation down before the break.

And I just know what will happen. I’ve been feeling my way into this book and going through the ‘warming up’ process that comes with getting to know my characters, feeling what they feel, understanding why they are here, where ‘here’ is and where they/we go from here. By next Friday, I expect that if the usual way of going about things happens, that I will really feel we’re on our way together and I’ll be looking forward to writing down their story, as they dictate to me – and I’ll have to leave it to go somewhere else for three days . . .

And all the time I’m involved in something else, those characters will be nagging at my thoughts, telling me things, letting me see scenes that I didn’t know were going to happen but suddenly now have to happen to tell this story right . . . While at the same time, I will be trying to observe lots of other things and make notes, mental or physical and learn and enjoy and just experience . . .

Of course I’ll have a notebook with me – I always do – and I’ll have my Dana for when I can get a chance to write up the ideas - or the research . .. And I know I’ll have a wonderful time . . .And I know that when I’m forced to take a break like this I always come back invigorated and with ideas buzzing because I’ve had that ‘thinking time’ that is so vital to letting a story ‘brew’ inside my head. And so when I get back home, the story will write itself quicker and possibly better for taking the time out.

But right at this moment, all I can do is think of everything I have to do between now and Monday morning next week . . . And the panic buttons start being pressed . . . And that’s when I wonder if ‘living in interesting times’ might well be the double-edged sword that the Chinese saying has it.

But I also know that, come hell or high water, I’ll cope. I’ll have an experience of a lifetime – one I never thought I’d enjoy – I’ll write the book – and I’ll live to tell the tale. I’m sure I’ll have a great time. I just wish it didn’t all have to happen at once.

So if the blog postings are a bit sporadic over the next ten day - don' t be surprised. I'll be living some really interesting times.