Sunday 18 April 2010

One more brick in the wall


I have hit a brick wall with my writing. I am trying to decide where to introduce Saba, the Afghan girl. Do I introduce her fairly early on or let the others have a couple of adventures first before they find her. Maybe with just glimpses of her as a tantalising taster of things to come. The trouble is my brain is full of the dilemma and I can't think of anything else or move on in the book in the hope of letting the answer come to me whilst writing.
Oh the decisions a writer has to make. I can agonise for hours on a name. It can make all the difference to a character and if you pick the wrong one it can be a disaster. If anyone says to me writing is easy I think I may throttle them at the moment (yes I am sure that is an academic term). Barthes says 'the author is dead', I would like to tell him how wrong I think he is though they might wish they were when they are struggling as much as I am. The author is definitely alive and kicking and bringing their cultural moment to their writing ready to be interpreted by the reader and their own personal cultural moment.
Writing can be painful when it is not flowing. It fills every waking moment as you try and work your way through it. It becomes an obsession as you try out several versions in your head but nothing seems to work. But then suddenly (and hopefully) this amazing solution will come to you and you start thinking why didn't I think of that before. It is so simple.
Am not there yet with Saba but hopefully I will be soon. (If any of you have any bright ideas for speeding the process along, please let me know)

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