Monday 25 April 2011

Not empathising enough



My latest chapter is flat. That means I need to go back and do something to lift it out of the doldrums where it currently resides. There are several points where my protagonist is not seeing things he ought to see, and the secondary character is so faint that she could have vanished into the pages and no one would miss her.


Sad but true. It's the chapter I didn't want to write, so it's obvious what is happening - my heart just wasn't in it. Writing misery topics is not for me. But somehow, I'm going to have to focus and empathise, and I'm going to have to do it soon. I might need a big glass of red wine to see me through...


The pic is of Darnley's house in Stirling. He's reputed to have stayed there, even if he didn't build it. The ground floor now harbours a neat little kitchen-type restaurant with an intriguing stone ceiling built on a curve. (I'm sure there's a term for it, but I don't know what it is) We enjoyed scones and coffee around this time last year.

1 comment:

Anita Davison said...

You are too hard on yourself, more critical about your work than your critiquers are-but if it helps you write 'The Masterpiece' maybe it's a good thing.
I still love Defiance

More flames on the fire

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