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| Crystal Palace |
Finally returned to writing after a long hiatus. Just polished off 2,000 on Still Life, a story exploring postmortem photography past and present. Looking at the age of Victorian England and the Great Exhibition, through to very modern maternity wards.
It is extremely difficult to go back to writing after you've taken a long break. As most writers will tell you, it's a muscle, and if you don't use it you lose it. Well, not entirely, but it takes some work getting back into shape.
The weirdest part is when you think you remember where you left off, then return to find an extra couple of chapters you hardly remember writing. That's when you really know you've been away too long.
However, it is nice to return to a solid manuscript. It's now at around 57,000, so just reaching the edge of a novel. I think it's easier to find enthusiasm for finishing something off than for building it up. Less of a marathon ahead. I've got a fairly clear idea where I'm going and the characters are fully formed. I'm also feeling more at ease with the Victorian era, which means I can write more words before I need to stop and Wikipedia something.
I have about a week left to press on with it, then taking a break. Off to India for Christmas. Hopefully that'll refresh my brain, as there's quite a few projects I want to work on when I get back.
After a long period of distraction and side projects, it's really nice to come back to the page.
>then return to find an extra couple of chapters you hardly remember writing:
ReplyDeleteIn a recent interview in the Observer Barbara Taylor Bradford said
“(I look back) and think “I can’t remember writing that at all”, I recently came across one about a journalist in Sarajevo at the time of the Balkans War and didn’t remember anything about it. So I started reading it again. It turned out it was a really good book.” :)