Writing a new book isn’t just about the physical act of writing (and believe me, writing is a very physical act, and not just a matter of tapping away at a computer keyboard) but also involves at its heart the more speculative acts of research, enquiry and fantasy.
I liken the act of fiction writing to the act of assembling a jigsaw: not only without the picture on the front of a box, but also without the very box itself which would give you a clue about what the subject of the fiction is all about. Sometimes you wonder whether what you’re writing about actually belongs to another box altogether and has nothing to do with what you’re writing now.
This week I’ll be exploring the act of writing my next publication, ‘Confessions of an Ageing Figure Skater’ and hopefully will be providing some insights into what seems to be working and what seems to be a complete dead end. Sometimes those two things masquerade as each other: a reminder of William Goldman’s infamous aphorism, ‘No-one knows anything’.
Our catchphrase at NOP is ‘The Truth, The Whole Truth and Anything But the Truth’ and this is a useful permission to give yourself when working on your next blockbuster. Sure, your work has to come from your truths but it’s equally true that you don’t fully know what your truths are, especially if they involve other people with their own truths. Whether there can ever be a single source of truth is a moot point and is something that fiction writers will only be too well aware of.
Put yourself in someone else’s shoes for more than a moment and you’ll realise there’s more to your life than meets your eye.
