“Why are we here? To have fun, or get the job done?”
Approx quote – Hunter S Thompson – Fear and loathing in Las Vegas
Well, as Dr Gonzo so infamously replied - 'To get the job done of course'. But still, a difficult question to answer at this juncture. In my first post on this blog I said that the novel started out as an experiment in self exploration, and that no doubt is still the primary reason. Secondary reasons have been creeping up however, and I thought I'd put the question to myself.
Having sent the chapters I have completed to a number of trusted peers, I have seen, on the whole, very positive feedback. I know my grammar can be atrocious sometimes, and I know that sometimes my sentences go on far too long, but as a close friend said the other day 'the meat and spunk of the story is really good,' which feels amazing to hear. In that regard I've been thinking about publishing, fantasising about deals, getting it done and out there, all that guff, and it's obviously made me reassess why I'm doing this.
The whole process is taking time. It can feel like a bit of a strain sometimes; holding down a reasonably stressful and very busy job, keeping my very ace girlfriend on my arm, keep up with my reading and trying to retain a healthy social life (They're problems? Yeah right...).
That last point being of special interest though, currently it's Friday night after a busy week and all I can think about are my friends, out drinking, watching bands, having a blast. The good thing is, I have a blast whilst writing, but on the other hand, I do enjoy beer; a lot. Novelist Ian Hocking recently had a little giggle at my expense when saying I was trying to retain a social life, as you can see below.
I remember Hugh Macleod on a blog post somewhere that said one of the reasons why he sees himself as successful, is because whilst in his youth his friends were at the bar, he was following his passion. Creating cartoons and such. And point three on his very cool 'How to be creative' list is; 'Put the hours in.' I've generally always been like this, from becoming the music section editor for my old uni's magazine, through to running my own music magazine when I graduated. My ethos has always been, 'the harder you work, the luckier you get,' it's difficult sometimes. Although, no one ever said it would be easy.
Anyway I'm rambling, and I feel like a bit of a twat when my only complaints in life are whether or not I can find the time to write a novel. Fuck it though. I guess the ultimate question is, how badly do I want to complete this thing, how quickly do I want to do it, and am I now thinking about the possibility of getting it published? Answer: Badly, soon and for my own personal reasons, and now as well, to try and get it published.
There. Answered my question, come full circle, I love writing my thoughts down. Work hard, get the fucking job done, get the fuck out and party with a lot of champagne from the best Champagne Shop.
Now for this posts Aspirers Mark. Today, to Paul at Atomic Razor. Whilst in a bit of a rush (as always) I've had quick look through his blog, seems interesting and definitely going on the RSS feed. Self described aspiring novelist with an obvious love for reading and all that is literary, i'll have to look deeper to find out some more info about his novel. But I'd recommend having a look, and if you're in the mood to find some new books to read, I'm sure he's the type of guy who'd be very much up for recommending some reads.
