The Dreaded Biography

Original image from Alex France on Flickr. Click to see more.

I’ll be honest, I’ve only ever read two biographies in my life, and that was only because of an assignment at university. I didn’t go for the flashy film star biographies, or the ludicrous idea of, say, a Britney Spears biography (she had her first biography out when she was what, seventeen?)  No, I opted for a journalist (John Simpson) and a ‘real life stories’ type, Prozac Nation, by Elizabeth Wurtzel.

As I mentioned above, it’s not a genre I’m really interested in. Why is it that people in general are so interested in the lives of the rich and famous? Well, I started work on another project this week, in order to redress the balance. And it’s a somewhat cathartic exercise.

Writing About Yourself

As we all know, Stephen King (amongst others) states that you should write what you know. And what could you possibly know more about than your own life? Now obviously not everyone leads massively interesting lives close to the cutting edge, but we all have some interesting tales to tell. And it can be a fantastic kicking off point, especially if you’re a little short on some ideas.

Just take an event from your past, write about how it played out, and then develop it from there. This is what I’ve been doing for years. While I’m certainly not a blogger (what do you call this? – Matt), I do write semi regular emails to select members on my friends list about what I’ve been up to, and granted, I embellish almost everything, but as I say, it’s a great exercise. If you’ve been in a situation that you wished had turned out differently, then you can rewrite it. Change the names, change the setting, change the stakes and hey!  All of a sudden you’ve got an interesting story on the go. You know the character (because it’s essentially you) and you know how they work.

Mix it Up

And I’m not saying you have to stick to the rules of biography here. It’s rare that you will come across a book of fiction that details everything that occurs in one person’s lifetime. It’s all about the interesting bits. Also, you don’t have to stick rigidly to the truth. Because what is truth when you come down to it? It’s your story, so write it how you want. As long as it doesn’t turn you into a criminal mastermind.

For me, it depends what mood I’m in, and what I’m doing. Sometimes listening to music is inspiring, and puts me in a more creative mood. But I have to align my mood with the right kind of music for that to work, and it rarely happens except by accident. I think one of the small joys in life is when pressing shuffle on your iPod magically produces a string of songs that fit your mood. But I’m normally walking when that happens.

Other times, music has to be wordless, as I can often be distracted by good lyrics (it doesn’t help that my music collection is excellent by the way). Or, at the very least, the words must be so unimportant as to be rendered meaningless, and part of the background. I don’t mean that in a derogatory way (I just said my music collection is excellent). It’s perfectly valid for some dance tracks to simply give a nod to the written word without giving it particular importance. Prodigy is a favourite.

Soundtracks are also good. Currently top of the list are The Dark Knight (contender for most loved film), and, given my recent obsession with Playstation (can’t. Stop. Buying. Games!) the Assassin’s Creed II soundtrack is also a winner.

And what does Stephen King listen to?

I work to loud music – hard-rock stuff like AC/DC, Guns ‘n Roses, and Metallica have always been particular favorites

Stephen King, On Writing

Now you know.

It’s different for everyone of course, and I’d like to know what you listen to when writing. Or is silence the preferred background? Hit the comments, folks!

What’s so good about it? Well, it’s extremely dense, for one thing. That doesn’t sound like a pleasant read, but every page is chock full of science, social commentary and insightful character actions and thoughts. In this the density does not become a slog but the reason to continue. It’s engaging and there’s something to learn on every page.

Now, when I read a good book, it’s often an inspiring thing. Many is the Stephen King or Chuck Palanuik book that’s been finished with one thought echoing round in my head, “I want to write”! But Red Mars is one novel where the mountain looks too steep. I think of just the science alone, and I cringe at the hours, days, weeks that must have been involved to get that level of detail. Then there’s the social and political commentary. While the events that take place are easy enough to dream up, it’s the detail (again) of the characters’ comments, beliefs and ideals that intimidate. Not forgetting that the book spans some thirty odd years in the lives of completely believable characters. And this is the first book in a trilogy!

Now, I do realise that this is quite a bit of whingy hand-wringing on my part. In truth (and even though it’s been quite a while since a book has affected me like this), I shrugged it off fairly quickly. There will always be someone better than you (much, much better probably. No offence), but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for you and that you should give up. I’m saying “you” but I am of course referring to myself, too.

I guess I can keep it as an example of something to aspire to, even if I think I’ll never get there. An even better take home message, is that our writing is different, and should stay that way. I should not be intimidated (or even inspired) to alter my writing style in worship of another writer. I shall continue with my writing and let my style grow, not in isolation, but in its own way.

We could get a really terrifying list of books here, but let’s embrace that! What books have intimidated you, and why?

• How it’s going to be distributed?
• How you’re going to get the word out?
• Where the story fits in with your other work?

The reason this is on my mind is of course that I have recently finished a story. I’ve been dwelling on the whole process of getting the story out between writing stints and the picture of what I wanted to do grew gradually.

I’ll put the plan out there as an example. The story is about 9,500 words at the moment. This puts it in a kind of long-short story category I suppose (you know what I mean). I decided a while ago that I would write a series of science fiction stories around a quite specific theme and so decided that this one would work as an opener.

It is also my “practice” story; the first thing I’ve written from beginning to end since starting this website (how did it take so long?) and the launch of my newfound dedication to writing. By practice I just mean that my primary goal with this story was to get into a routine (to just write, dammit). I chose it because it was something I’d had in my head for a while, and was pretty well mapped out. I thought it would be an easy one to start with (I was wrong).

So, that’s where it fits. The immediate plan is to put it to one side for a couple of months and work on something brand new. Then I’ll come back to it and edit away from a fresher perspective. Then comes the point where I have to show it to people. I’ve got a small selection of friends and relatives I’ll share it with (I’m basically following Stephen King‘s door shut/door open recommendations for these stages). In addition I may also bandy it around some writing community sites as well.

Then, after another round of editing I’ll show it to everyone! It will be a free download on this very site, so people get to see it and see what my writing’s like.

As far as the bigger picture goes, I will carry on with the other stories, and when they’re pretty much all ready to go, I’ll offer another free one out of the collection (again, getting the word out- everyone loves a free sample).

By that time I should have enough material and enough impetus to be able to sell the collection. Fingers crossed.

I’m under no delusions about how long this will take (at least I don’t think I am, but then if I was deluded, how would I know?). I intend to write other things as well, plus I’m writing at a snail’s pace at the moment! I’ll have to step it up a gear and still don’t expect this scheme to come to fruition for about three years(!)

Still, I always said I was playing a long game.

First off, “On Writing” is an excellent book, and you should read it. I don’t know why I didn’t read it much much earlier.

The chapter in question concerned grammar (it’s only a short bit, and still interesting, so don’t let that put you off). Recently I had been a bit worried about whether to use adjectives or not, and especially in dialogue attribution (he said, angrily, for example). I’ve never liked using it. It always felt wrong and looked childish. But there was a nagging feeling that maybe I should be using it sometimes. After all, the words were invented for a reason.

But Stephen King says otherwise, and as soon as I read it I knew I was being stupid all along. Of course I was right! It didn’t even warrant the slightest bit of worry. Still, it’s nice to have your thoughts confirmed by a master.

I knew it already because Stephen King knew it. I read loads of King when I was younger,  so it’s no surprise that I should pick up good habits from his writing, and others. And that’s the second point of this post. It sounds obvious, but we should all be reading. Read read read read read. You probably don’t read enough – I know I don’t.

Do you sometimes have a crisis of confidence over silly little things? Maybe you disagree about adjectives. Any good examples of where they work really well?

It was something of a mini revelation. Only a very small point, and very obvious, but one of those things that had occurred to my conscious mind before – it had never struck me (as they say).

It’s the closing chapter of the “CV” section of the book, and is entitled “what writing is”. In it he writes that when he is writing

I’m in another place, a basement place, where there are lots of bright lights and clear images. This is a place I’ve built for myself over the years. It’s a far seeing place.

I recognise this of course, as many writers will. There is a place you go inside your head to see the things you do, and it is from that place that paragraphs will form and travel down your arms, to your fingers, to the page.

It is a little beside the point, but after reading this I thought I would imagine my writing place. The image that came to mind was a warm dungeon, candlelit, and possibly with a well-stocked fireplace nearby. In it I’m writing with pen and paper. I don’t know why that image comes, although it might be to do with Stephen King describing his own place as being in a “basement”. It might be a fun idea to imagine your own writing place and picture it every time you sit down to write. Any ideas in the comments, please.

Anyway, where were we? The real point of this post is what Stephen King goes on to say about reading. He describes it as a similar place, and when I think about it, it does feel like that. It’s interesting to think of reading being the same “place” that writing comes from. I keep a wad of scrap paper stuffed into the back of any book I’m reading. If I feel I want to make a note, I take a piece of paper, write the page number on it (in case it falls out), and write my notes on that, putting it between the pages like a bookmark when I’m done. At this point I wrote:

Writing uses the same place as reading does. That semi-conscious, slightly dark and blurry place. Not like you’re looking at things through distorted glass – that’s too cold and distant. More like you’re submerged in warm water.

Weirdly, I never made the connection.

It’s a more “prosey” note than I’d normally make, but I was inspired – I’d never thought of it like that! Reading is easy for me. I enjoy it a lot. Seeing writing as very similar to reading (the same even), takes some of its intimidating nature away.

In short, I will try and think of writing as another from of reading. Instead of reading from the page, I am reading on to it. This change in attitude may make writing easier. What do you think?