Shouts from Down Under #2

The richness of ideas for writing is...what was I saying..?

You should now be a fair chunk of the way into the chocolate centre of your novel writing. And the boiler needs stoking. The coal needs shovelling in. Like the Nutrigrain adverts. Whatcha put in is what ya git art.

So, with the celebratory time of the year just weeks away, I will be Santa Clause and bring to the naughty writers who have been disobedient and bad all year - a lump of coal. Lots of coal. What? For the stoking of your ideas boiler?

Mirror - Free...what could possibly go wrong?

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/kingston/other-home-decor/free-mirror/1129627722

Mandrakes.

"It possesses stimulating and narcotic properties"

http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/mandrakes/

Sykes.



I'm not sure the next idea is that healthy for an active novelist's mind. No, the novelists active mind. To be exercised therewith.

Food

http://imgur.com/gallery/4B1rC4u

Matches



I'm just trying to help, 'k? I mean, I'm not writing this year. Not for Nano. Leaving lumps of idea coal in a sock on the mantelpiece is my duty.

Bus

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-view-details.html?adId=1128822825

There's a series I have seen recently that as usual everyone else has probably seen months ago. But it was still fresh viewing for me and an intriguing premise. Glitch. On Netflix. I'm a little disappointed because it seems to have finished, but I suppose there'll be more episodes.

Why is it that writers have a fantastic idea, the beginning is good, strong, hooking, grabbing, and the acting is so real you are frightened with them, you react with them, you are them.

But then there is the moment when the paint fade sets in. You see it begin to happen and sure enough, you can tell the writer or the script person or the director, whoever, has run out of ideas. They almost seem to ad lib it. Like Sykes. But without the success.

The plot turns corny. You are wrenched back away from that first hand interaction. That baptism of being entangled in the same horrific events and impossibleness that they face. You pull back from it screaming and kicking the author had you hooked so well. You don't WANT to. You fight against feeling cynical. You try to make excuses and think, well, it's not that easy to write convincingly something that is impossible and hasn't happened. That we know of. Ok, it has happened but those stories are always related third or forth hand at best.

And if we have had something crazy happen at level insane, like, it's hard to stay convinced ourselves that it really happened.

You can tell when the ideas run out, because the writing and the acting over compensate.

I'll give Glitch one thing. They didn't overdo the music. WHY CAN'T DIRECTORS GET IT!!? Music should be minimal. If at all. Almost nothing. Because life has audio in case people have forgotten. And real life audio knocks the scare pants of artificial sound effects any old 3am cemetery morning.


I have to go collect pizza. Now there's another idea for your Nano efforts. Pizza.

Sparky