Memoirs

I am reading memoirs at the moment. I bought five of them - The Mistresss' Daughter by A.M. Homes, Somewhere Near The End by Diana Athill, The Diving Bell And The Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby, Antigona and Me by Kate Clanchy and A Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. I haven't read Joan Didion's book yet but I've read the other four. I think the one that I've enjoyed most is Kate Clanchy's book, closely followed by A.M.Homes. I was very disappointed by Diana Athill. The book is really very slight and doesn't have much depth to it. There are some interesting thoughts in it but altogether I find it strange that it should have won a major award. The Diving Bell is perhaps the most tragic of the books and there is some wonderful writing in it. And yet some how I didn't feel that I had come away understanding what that experience is really like - perhaps he couldn't find words to describe such hell and perhaps I should be grateful that he didn't try.

A book to read

Quick book recommendation here. You must read 'Out Stealing Horses' by Per Petterson. It is about an elderly man living in a remote part of Norway who remembers events which happened in the same area after the second World War. It is wonderfully quiet and spare and thoughtful. The sort of book which it is hard to find at the moment. The sort of book which reminds you why reading and writing are important. After I read it I immediately went out and bought copies for a couple of friends.

Things going on

For me, there are many things going on right now. I've been commissioned to write a play for the Everyman theatre, I've got an article published in You Magazine, I'm having vague conversations with someone about writing something for television (not something I've ever thought of doing before) and also vague conversations about travel articles. Unfortunately the novel isn't really happening right now but I'm about to get back to it.

Laurie Lee

Last night I met Laurie Lee's widow. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't even know that he had a widow. But I was weak at the knees meeting her. For me, that's something I'll be telling my grandchildren. I felt some how that I was within touching distance of genius. Because Laurie Lee was really one of the great writers of the last century. Also one just knows from his poems that he was also a wonderfully kind and gentle man. Having met his widow, I'm now going to start reading some of his books again. I know I'll be inspired. I need that at that moment.

The two year crisis

I'm having a crisis about my novel. I've been writing it for two years and I suddenly realise that large parts of what I've written are entirely off the point and need to be scrapped. I don't feel good about this. Except that I've been through this with three novels before. It always seems to happen. When I'm two years in I always realise that the book isn't about what I thought it was about. It's depressing but perhaps it is just part of the process - or my process, at least. And the main thing I've learnt about writing is - DON'T ARGUE WITH THE PROCESS. Arguing with the process wastes time and gets you nowhere. So I'll just keep going and hope that it comes right. I think that it will do but I get bored of waiting.

Slog - and inspiration

I'm writing pretty regularly at the moment but it's a slog. I do find myself wondering whether it is worth it. I'm still so far from finishing my book and I don't know whether it will get published. I've had two published but that isn't necessarily a help in getting a third book published. But then something happened which helped. My mother turned up with some DVDs she got from some charity shop. Amongst them was the Jeremy Irons / Anthony Andrews TV adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. I watched it and I just loved it. I've seen it many times before but it doesn't get less engaging. It includes Jeremy Irons reading quite a few sections from the book. The language is so luscious, the sense of love and loss so strong. It sent me right back to my desk. If there is any chance I could ever write like that then I that is enough reason to keep going .....

Website

I am finally about to have a web site and this blog is going to be attached to it. Or at least I hope that it is. It has taken me about three years to get someone to set up a web site for me. It could have taken about a week. I also think that no-one will look at my web site but maybe I'm wrong. I hoped that this blog might put me in touch with other writers and it hasn't really done that but I've enjoyed it anyway. Probably the web site won't do that either. Ah well ..... writing is a solitary profession, I suppose. I'm looking forward to getting back to my book after Christmas.