Gone Writing

Viktor – the King’s Man

Andrei – the King

Stacia – Andrei’s queen

Nikolai – Andrei’s heir

? – Andrei’s younger brother

Tatiana, Susanna – Andrei’s daughters

Asian Mist – decaf lemon/ginger tea with gingerbread syrup and foamed milk. OMG! So good!

I intended on a decaf mocha when Ter dropped me in the village, this morning. Viktor is a dark, earthy character (unsure what that means yet—saturnine? Brooding? Serious? All of the above?) and the mocha seemed to fit, but ginger will always trump coffee, even coffee heavily laced with chocolate.

So. CR goes live this week as Ru pursues an exercise prompted by a generic instrumental entitled “Crystal Mist”. I liked the poetry of the words so much that I tried to imagine what a crystal mist looks like, and from there I got pictures, feelings, the sense of a story—one I’d like to write in the style of “Four Legs and a Tale”, i.e., by freestyling in the moment.

The idea struck a few weeks ago. I’ve been writing mentally while waiting, as Agatha Christie recommended, for a chair, a table, a typewriter and some peace. I’m on vacation this week with the house to myself. The planets are aligned to let me begin. All I have to do is stay out of the way … yet already I fear that putting words on the screen will dilute the strength of the vision, that my skill will reduce a potentially vibrant piece to something pale and—dare I say?—boring.

Geez, Ru. Viktor wouldn’t have chosen you if you weren’t up to the task. It’s just the usual artist’s fear of the blank canvas. All I need do is close my eyes and start transcribing. I’ve recently picked up a couple of new “be here now” tricks, so this story is a test of quantum physics as much as a creative endeavour. Not like the salvation of the world hangs in the balance; again, I’m just playin’.

I’ll keep the blog posted with my progress. Right now my job is to quit dawdling. Time to get on my horse and gallop through that crystal mist.

Live From the Ocean Room ...

… it’s Friday morning! And a gorgeous one it is, too, given that I spent most of Wednesday night and yesterday laid flat with the worst migraine I’ve endured since May the 8^th. There is nothing like 24 hours of pounding, nauseous darkness to make you grateful for a new day. Ironically, the headache struck just as “Glutenous Maximus” went up and the day after I’d been happily telling the gang at work how they’ve pretty well ceased since I went gluten-free. Less is truly more, however; rare as they’ve become, the severity has been shocking in its intensity. Ter had to type my email to the office yesterday because I couldn’t even sit up without wanting to barf – I lay curled on the sofa with my eyes closed while she wrote on my behalf. She’s the best friend in the world.

But enough of that. The headache is pretty much gone, I’m on a legitimate day off and I have plans to write. I intended to tackle the angels once more because I’ve been struggling with them; the story is coming so slowly that I have fallen into the trap of second-guessing every scene and have therefore rewritten the most recent one at least three times. I don’t know what the problem is. Could be that it’s a new world and I have no idea what I’m doing with it, but I suspect it’s more (or less) than that. I’ve simply been unable to immerse myself in the story. Starting something new takes real commitment and I’ve just not been there. I watched a cool documentary about Agatha Christie a few weeks back. She`s a great source for writerly quotes and this one stayed with me:

“All a writer needs is chair, a table, a typewriter and some peace.”

Without complaining, the peace part is missing. I live in a world full of distractions that prove particularly tempting when I’m embarking on a brand new project. So, when contemplating what I would attack today, Ter suggested that I let go of the struggle and write whatever the heck I want. I thought I wanted to write the angels, but what I really want is a cup of Persian apple tea and that was my first hint. The hopeless knot in the novel has managed to unravel itself and the story has regained traction, so back to Castasia go I. And today I’m happy to be there.

And here.