The Idea Storm

Terry Pratchett (who has enough ideas for all of us put together, it seems) writes in Wyrd Sisters of Hwel the playwright, who is unusually attentive to the ideas that sleet through the universe. More hit him on the noggin than anyone else, and plays pop out of him left, right and centre. He’s not necessarily happy about it, but he’s certainly creative. Neil Gaiman writes of Richard Madoc in Dream Country, book 3 of the Sandman series, a writer bereft of ideas and going to extraordinary lengths to break the dry spell. China Mieville likes the conclusion of the story so much, he’s suggested that there be a book of stories put together based on it.

I’m somewhere in the middle. Ideas come to me relatively easily, but not easily enough that I never worry about never having another. Dry spells occur from time to time. When they do, it’s important to not panic, try to remain open to my surroundings. Inspiration can strike from the strangest of places…

Today’s been a good day for ideas. I’ve been picking away at something in the back of my head for a while now, trying to untangle a bundle of potential plots. This morning, walking to the canteen at work on the way to get a coffee, I passed a wall full of abstract paintings, recently put there by a fellow worker. One, a riotous mix of blues and reds, smeared choppily on in thick oily brush strokes, really struck me, and I heard someone say in my head “Fire on the water! The water’s on fire!"

I walked away, the image percolating in my head.

An hour later, I have the plot of a book. I’m going to call it “TFOS”, abbreviated here until I’ve actually written it.

Sometimes it really is that easy. Odd coincidences and images collide and create something unforeseen. There’s more work to do, of course: a lot of tweaks, some adjustments to be made. What I end up with may not resemble my initial idea at all. The combination of plot machinations, character interventions and further inspiration may pummel the idea into a completely different shape, but only time will tell.

It’ll be fun finding out.

Culture

I've been immersing myself in culture over the last few weeks. Seems only fair I should mention a few of the events here.

Firstly me and the wife got free tickets to see "The King and I" at the Royal Albert Hall. Daniel Dae Kim (him offa that Lost) played the King. Here he is in action, erm, sitting on a bed:


It was a charming production, although the sound levels in the Hall made it difficult to hear some of the actors when they weren't singing. Stunning set designs too.

We've also been catching up with films we'd missed. Special mention has to go to The Lives Of Others, which just blew me away. An amazingly moving film, packed full of great performances. It thoroughly deserved the Oscar it won in 2007. If you've not seen it, search it out and watch it. You won't be disappointed.

Other films we've seen recently include 300 (meh), Ghost Town (very good), The Last King Of Scotland (good as well, but a slightly bewildering mix of fact and fiction), and Wanted (the less said about the better).

Another cultural event took place last night in Trafalgar Square, when we attended a free open air screening of La Traviata, Verdi's opera, that was being performed in the Royal Opera House just around the corner. I'd not seen it before, and it was a great performance, added to by the surroundings - including police sirens, helicopters, and the odd person trying to walk across your picnic. Always fun. My favourite part of the evening was, after the live announcer had been informing everyone that the Royal Opera House was up to date and you could follow them on twitter, he turned to the assembled crowd and said "Will you all tweet tonight for us?" to be met by a crowd of boos, "certainly not", etc. I think I just saw twitter jump the shark.

I've also been rereading favourites of mine from my bookshelf, ostensibly to distract myself from the novel, which is at a delicate, almost-out-there-but-not-quite stage. Rereading things like the Sandman series, or the Dark Tower series, guarantee that I won't stumble across a plot device or character that seems eerily similar to something I've written. I've been avoiding reading the book reviews in SFX and on io9.com for a few weeks, too.

The book is getting a final spit and polish, which should take around a week to finish. I've sent off the first three chapters and a synopsis to friends of friends, and the feedback is starting to come in. Thankfully it's positive, so far at least. I just need to finish this draft and then I can switch off the brain and enjoy the summer!