Another Writing Update

As the blog reaches 8000 views since January 2013, I think it's about time I updated on my recent endeavours. Last week I attended the first ever meeting of our university Creative Writing Society. It was very enjoyable with some diverse and interesting pieces written by the founders across multiple genres, from comedy to post-modernism. When participating in these gatherings it really does open your eyes up to many new experiences. For example, given that pretty much every other society member is a student of English or Creative Writing, they of course have a great deal more experience than I do, since they are learning the art of writing through a rigorous system of analysis of classic texts and implementation of such techniques. All is aided I might add by professional texts on the craft, which of course are also available to me via the library, which I guess is where the next step in my professional development as a writer will be. Regardless, we reconvene after Easter over which I am planning a new project! Yes, I have finished a draft 2 of my second novel and -when I return- I'll get some feedback on it. Until then I'm not going to fret over it.

The new project is one I would describe as being a little more ambitious in terms of size and complexity than my previous works. I have been planning it for the past week or so now and I have written a basic outline as well as a mind-map and in addition to these, I felt it appropriate to also write a chapter-by-chapter summary of the story, so that every scene is detailed in some way. The reason for this is because firstly there are four main characters and secondly, because I want the story to be brimming with realism.

The narrative, set in a fairly contemporary England, follows the aftermath of a political fallout. Inspired in part by the riots that erupted across England in 2011, a similar event happens in the story and leaves the country completely destroyed. With hospitals closed, schools destroyed, whole towns razed and soldiers under shoot-to-kill orders, a small group of ordinary citizens wait for a certain doom. Beginning in Wigan, the four strangers become dependent upon one another as they mount a dangerous road to Dover, where a final ship is due to leave for France in 24 hours. In the race against the clock they pass through their former home towns and recount their individual traumas while ordinary problems -such as Type-1 Diabetes- threaten their lives in the dystopia that was once a powerful nation. The story was partly inspired also by the David Mitchell books Cloud Atlas, (which I have reviewed) and number9dream. The influences here surround the secondary narrative set in 1794 during "The Terror" of the French Revolution, where a French Aristocrat attempts to resist the peasants' movement, but learns that they too have a place in society via his loyal Valet.

I hope that this explanation isn't too long-winded, but it is a story I tried to write a few months ago. Sadly I found that it was too ambitious a tale to tell; I simply hadn't read widely enough at that point. But in any case I'm glad to be off for the next three weeks and -once the summer has started- I will write more. Of course I'll hopefully have a year in industry set up by then, so I will accommodate my time to continue reading and writing as much as possible while I am at work.

Thanks for reading guys!