editorial

Wow, I am totally drained. Have had very little time for conception of the novel because of my part in our editorial team. I really loved the reviewing and searching out Christmas suggestions for reading gifts. It was also great to revisit Thai'd Up (a novel in progress)and be able to be distanced enough to see where it needed reworking - and also where I can take it. Very cool.

My PC has decided it doesn't want to play the editorial game. My brain is also saying, 'Art and technology are incompatible in your mental database'. My brain is absolutely right.

Having waited all week for someone to submit a proposal of artwork for the front cover of edition one of Solent's Friction magazine of fiction, I have ended up having to hurl something out. Fun for five minutes until I realised how long it has been since I considered Art for graphic design purposes... I remember why I hated typography so much.

Having spent time researching academic psychology papers I discovered some amazing treats about the super ego. My antagonist has another dimension now too.

Profiling

Spent a good few hours researching academic literature on psychoanalysis and case studies. I'm saying no more than that here, apart from this; thank god for undergrad access to peer reviewed information. But some of the reading is chilling.

My main characters are starting to give themselves another dimension. My protagonist's psyche could be very ambiguous - if I can get my head around how to work the narrative style.

Think I have a few books to visit just go give myself some perspective in differing tastes: American Psycho and Perfume... and maybe have a look at Monster.

self doubt

I have officially started to form the embryo of a novel. It's seemingly viable! YES! Now that I've used up my allowance of exclamation marks I shall calm down.

University lecturers are very inspiring characters - full of enthusiasm. I guess that's when you know you have landed in the right place - even if it may be at the wrong time. University cutbacks are slaying us all.
However it's panning out nationwide, something is happening for me through a small and wonderful bubble of possibilities. The flash of scenes which catch me at stupid, inopportune moments is a killer. Show don't tell: if you could have seen me desperately pulling my hair out during lectures, you would know.

I'm smitten with my protagonist, thank god. I'm kinda smitten with the antagonist too - but you have to love to hate them. Have formulated their monologues (their statements of being for my own reference) and one of these has somehow found it's way into the narrative... thank you, Sara Bailey. The character development excercise really helped.

It's a crazy world I'm in, when one minute I'm working on my novel, but then the next I have to look at fiction for young people, ghostwriting, screenwriting... gaads, my heads a mess. At some point the crazy creature within will start to rear her head and everyone will see the bonkers girlie who peers at me from the mirror.
Yikes.