The Viking Sagas

BBC4 showed a documentary tonight on the Viking Sagas. How I'd love to have been let loose on them to rewrite this most peculiar of Legend series.
As a kid in junior school at St Bede's, I was noted for bringing in all kinds of comics - more notably Spiderman, The Fantastic Four and Superman. I also brought in comics such as Thor and his magical hammer. The stories about Thor weren't that great in the mags (or comic books, as MG says they should be called!), but everyone read them, all the same. I remember when our tutor, Mrs Gardner, fell ill and the Head, Mr Hallas, took over our class for the run-up to the 11-plus exam. Picking up my Thor comic, he asked everyone who had read it to put their hands up. Most of the boys did, but none of the girls. Then he asked all of the boys to draw a picture of their own idea of Thor. My pic was useless, as I can't draw to save my life, but one of my mates was a guy called Andrew Keedy, who is now a noted local artist, and his pic was brilliant. He managed to capture the feeling of life in the time of the Vikings, which was a slightly different feeling to that of the image of Thor.
At St Joseph's, I found a book on the Viking Saga, and another on Nordic legends, and was extremely disappointed. They were written by someone who didn't have any feeling for the stuff he/she was writing about. I've read others, and the writers again seemed not to care too much as to whether their intended audience would like what they were reading. Maybe, I wonder, this is the reason why they have failed to take off.
Writing a comic book about Thor, Loki, Asgar and Valhalla is easy with titles like those. Translating them into film is not that difficult a step. Try using other names from the Norse legends and, in most parts of the world, you will turn people off. Therein lies the main problem: attraction. As much as I have read them in the past, I'm not deeply moved to read them again. I'll just get annoyed!
But still, I'd love to rewrite them. Maybe, if I never get published - a probability - I might just do it for my own pleasure, as they are great legends just poorly represented. You never know!

You can't unstitch the past

Nope, you can't... all you can do is not regret too much and try to do things better in the future. Don't kill yourself over your mistakes. Looking ahead is far better than looking over your shoulder - you're less likely to fall over again, for sure... and I've fallen over lots, I can tell you!

But I'm still around, still looking at blank pages and trying to fill them with something. Will it ever amount to anything? Can what you believe is art actually exist if no-one else sees it? The inner turmoil.

Crazy life...

A piece of magic

In the end, I realised I had better map out what was going to happen in the next few chapters, otherwise I was going to get lost. I was glad I did this, as it cleared my head and allowed me to think about things a bit more. Of course, I haven't written a total plan, but the order of events thus far created looks a lot better than the small fog of confusion drifting about my thoughts.
Something must have clicked, though, during this bout of planning, for suddenly I had an idea. A little piece of magic crept in where there wasn't any to be seen. Ha! Amazing what you can achieve with a bit of thought. I'm not saying I would have thought of it later, given that it wasn't originally there, but I do wonder why I thought of it now. Perhaps some magic was needed, or was going to be needed, and I subconsciously picked up on it. Not sure where it will occur within the story, but it must and will! Yeehaa! I'm smiling as I head off to bed.
Two other pieces of magic to reflect on: the first, Manchester United's defeat of Chelsea inches them closer to the title and adds more confidence to everyone as they prepare for the Champions League Final; the second, the tv trailer for Game Of Thrones does give me some hope that my epic fantasy (rejected and set aside for a while) may one day be revisited. But that is a long way away. I don't read it, now; I prefer to keep it fresh and hidden away until I need to go back to it.
So, I'm rather upbeat right now. Not writing quickly, but writing what I hope is something good. At about half way my trusted readers will see what they've helped me with. Fun and the future!

A scene revisited

I did say that I would be returning to the scene that was the ending of the first chapter. And I have - a new extra chapter has been created from it, placed further down the line, all typed up and ready for revision at some future point. Two chapters out of one and both of them necessary to the development of the story: can't be bad, can it? The story is now moving on and heading into deeper waters. Sink or swim lol
Briefly looking through what I've put together, it's apparent that almost all of the chapters have that unfinished feel about them. This is good, as I will want to make them feel finished after reviewing them. I did have a slight dilemma, in that there was a nagging thought that I should go and complete them before moving on. Sanity prevailed, as there are so many chapters still to do and write up that I would have been stalling progress at the very point I needed to be making progress. No contest!
There will come a point when it would seem madness to carry on without ensuring everything was as good as I could have made it. I do know, more or less, where that point is. But, at the moment, I have to keep writing into the future. Feeling good about what's there so far, though :-)

Time to move on, I think...

I've found it a little bit difficult to write where I am. The flat I'm in, though in a nice area and looks nice, is not all it was cracked up to be. You can't sleep in the main bedroom when it's windy; parts of the wiring and other 'home' things could have been done better. Other stuff, as well. It feels more like a run down hotel room. Still, I have the power to move, so I probably will. Part of my policy of not settling for second best. Oh, and I've put a stop to immediate comments on this blog. I need to check them, first. I know I don't write very much of interest in this place, but someone put a rather non-complimentary, anonymous comment here concerning the Mayans and 2012, just because I happened to mention it in a blog post. I was even informed that the world would end in the year 3 thousand and something! Guess I'll just miss it by a few years. Me being me, I'd love to have discussed what was said. Then again: an anonymous comment? Something tells me that whoever it was wasn't being friendly...

Who'd be a writer?

Or should that be 'Who'd try to be a writer?' Solvey's flagging up of yet another internet incident was a reminder of just how tough it can be when you present your thoughts to the writing world in the form of a story. Whatever the rights and wrongs, the whole thing could have been avoided by keeping reviews initially internal, away from the public eye. Both the writer and the reviewer, along with the website administrators, could determine the veracity of the argument. The all-important word integrity needs a look-up. It was self-published ffs. There had been no hammer beforehand by anyone other than the writer. The review that sparked the latest row was actually rather light in terms of assistance to the reader. It lacked substance, which, I believe, caused the negativity - true or false - to stand out. Nothing, though, could have prepared anyone for the writer's response! Don't get me wrong: I've had a blast back at reviewers and commentators in the past. It is everyone's right to defend yourself, especially if you are right. You cannot say 'don't defend yourself in public' if the review is made in public. However, you really must try to determine if you are right if you are going to argue back. Being poked with a pointed stick is no fun, and some people sharpen their sticks for no other reason than jealousy and their own inability to get anywhere, or to be recognised as good in their chosen field. "Look at me! I'm disease free!" is usually the real motive behind the stick. They are trying to impress someone, and may have their backing for any number of reasons. The reviewer is not always right, and if there is no reply, other people who are inexperienced, open to suggestion because of their lack of experience/knowledge, may believe the reviewer is right. What future will they have in the writing world if they follow perceived truths that are anything but the truth? And I'll repeat: it was self-published! Criticisms either way meant nothing. There was no pass or fail along the way. It just went up for sale by personal right. No agent; no traditional publisher. I'll leave the indies out, as the spiral hasn't been fully established yet. Enough said. I've got four trusted readers who I can rely on to give true reviews, as opposed to reviews with ulterior motives: Solvey, Noel, Rich and Becca. They are worth a million would-be fiction reviewers I've encountered. And they work with a view to agent/publisher submissions. Not self-publishing.

A weekend's a long time in football

So it proved! My beloved Man Utd produced a second half performance, the like of which no other team could have produced - discounting Newcastle's 4-4 draw with Arsenal, which was great to see, but which was a rarity away from Man Utd. And everyone else's results were not good enough. Surely, we have begun the push towards greater glory at the end of the season! Two months are a long time in writing, too. Especially when I haven't written anything down on paper. I'm thinking about stuff, though, and an idea I've had, which, if it works, could open up things even further in terms of direction. I must guard against introducing new things without thinking of the consequences. But it seems to be a good thing this time, and could be used later in any future books - if I manage to create them. I won't write until I must, so I have to wait. Won't be long, as I can feel it. It's the way of my current method. It's worked so far, as it's kept me seeing and writing the same vision. Can't be bad, can it?

Phoenix from the flames

That was a much better peformance from the guys in red! Arsenal played well enough, but they had no answer to the relentless movement the new formation created. The da Silva brothers were a revelation in their forward postions, and the return of Valencia gave me great hope for the future. Even Gibson showed more than he has been. Not sure what's going down with Berbatov. It may be that he doesn't fit in any more - his recent rise to prominence came when nobody else up front was doing it. Now that Hernandez and Rooney are showing signs of gelling, Nani and Valencia might find even more space to create stuff. I'd be surprised if Berbatov puts up with the substitute bench and I think he could be off to Europe next year. I hope he proves me wrong, though.
I think Marseille don't have anything to offer and our glorious Red Devils might sneak this Champions League. The Premiership is OURS!

Quo vadis?

Now that I'm well into the story proper and contemplating the future, I've found myself again thinking about the kind of agent who might be interested in my tale. I've looked around and noted the names of agents who are looking for science-fantasy. One of the agents listed is the one that gave me my best-ever reply to an earlier work, but which also gave me my worst rejection, in terms of emotional impact.
"Your work is very well-written, and you have done well to send this to me."
My heart-rate increased.
"Unfortunately, my preference is for dark fantasy, and I would therefore find myself unable to represent you..."
My heart stopped. I'd hit the post... again.
With this new one, I feel like I'm writing a big one (well, that's always the plan with my stuff), with future tales attached. Hate to think I'll hit the post with it, though I have to be prepared for it.
On that note, I sincerely hope Man U don't hit the post against Arsenal like they did against Liverpool. I can take defeat in an important match, but not in the manner of that last one. Not recommended!
Saturday... a new day...

The Devil may care!

No, I'm not getting all religious! As you can see by a couple of my friends' comments, it's easy to dismiss if you don't actually care. And why should they? Another question could be: why don't they? Personally, I think most people actually shy away from the truth (or a difficult question), preferring not to dwell and, instead, make light of things. They probably do care, just won't go there. Or have been there and won't go back there, for some reason.
Experiment over: I got the answers I expected. And one that I didn't expect, so I deleted it - well, it is my page!

As a writer, though, I have to go there.

But I've had to ask myself: who would be interested in a story that may ask more than the usual questions of life over death? How many would care? Obviously, some people wouldn't care, in any walk of life.

So I guess, then, you have to ask the right people. You have to attract the right audience, or appeal to the right people. The ones who care. So who are they?

And if I can unearth answers - at least, answers that may not be truths but are plausible answers in relation to the story, would they accept them as possible truths and ask questions back, or reject them as rubbish and move on in search of something else?
They'd have to have bought it first! Aha! The secret to a bestseller, perhaps.
Hmm, I need to ask more questions. Especially of myself. And at least discover who my audience is expected to be.
A rather disjointed post, probably reflecting the point I've reached within the tale.
Writing life...

Who created the Devil?

Hmmm...

The Ides of July

Best not say beware of them!
But I must be aware of them!
I'll be off for two weeks in the middle of July. I fancy taking off somewhere different and contemplating my fate.
lol
At this point, I'm determined to have at least half of the story done. Further, I'm also determined that a couple of new things won't have been introduced yet and so there will be something left to freshen things up and help to maintain interest. Of course, if I'm desperate for change at that point, then I'll probably be in trouble. It's not a sticking point for me, just I'd like to think my sleeve is large enough to hold something important that's going to be hidden up there.
My reminder to myself not to let up with anything, nor must I rush anything. Timing...