Friday 27 May 2011

Writing Fit

Apparently living on 4 hours sleep, codeine (for a clicking jaw) & Irn Bru (the real national drink of Scotland) isn't healthy.

Who’d have thought it?  On the plus side I don’t smoke or drink, which probably makes me a bad writer type as many of the great writers did. 

So, I'm on a health kick. 
 

This consists of –

  • Trying to wean myself off Irn Bru (the sugar laden drink from Barrs).  This isn’t easy.  The Bru is like crack cocaine to me.
  • Starting to do more exercise. I walk for miles with the dog every day and have inner thigh muscles of steel, but that is clearly not enough. So, I have began doing one of the 10 Minute Solutions DVDs. Target Toning is meant to be toning for beginners.
  • Trying to con myself into believing I don’t like chocolate. I have shown remarkable restraint. My proof is the big bar of Galaxy that’s still sitting in my kitchen.
  • I have started listening to Paul McKenna’s I Can Make You Thin hypnosis tape. In the absence of him being willing to pay for extensive liposuction I listen to the tape. The weird thing is it works. The day after I’ve listened to it I find myself eating less.

Now, if only I had time to listen to the tape more.

Monday 23 May 2011

It's stormy here on this island

Today on the Isle of Cumbrae where I live, I woke up to this -


And this....



Makes us realise just how small we all are.

Wednesday 18 May 2011

Is there such a thing as method writing?

With method acting, actors try and create the same emotions in themselves as their characters feel. I try to do the same with my writing.



For instance
- if I have a character who is trapped and starving, I try to pretend I feel the same way. I will write that part whilst I'm hungry even if it means not eating anything for the rest of the day.

- if my character is thirsty, even if I  need a drink I won't take one.

- if they're scared I will try to go back to a time in my life when I was also scared. I will go to that place in my head and try and recreate it. How did I feel, what was the helplessness like, what range of emotions did I go through, did the fear have a smell, a taste? How did my mind and my body react to it?

- if they're cold, then I will be cold. We're in this together - me and the character I've created, so why should I sit in comfort whilst they suffer? 

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