Inspiration
We went to Windsor Racecourse on Monday. It is perhaps my favourite racecourse, small though it is. We don't have a car, so we get the boat along the river, and it's a beautiful trip, past Windsor town, regattas of swans gliding past. It was chilly all day, though, so I bought myself a coffee and whisky which they sell at one of the stalls. The taste knocks your head off- next time, I might try coffee and Baileys instead- but it did the job.
This time, we got to see the paddock and the parade ring. I think it really makes a difference when you see the horses there in the flesh. Some people come to race meetings and spend the time all day in the bar watching the races which are running outside on television screens. I wonder what the point of that is.
I did a bet called a Placepot, where you have to pick a horse in each of the first six races. If each horse wins, or is at least placed, you've won something, but your winnings transfer immediately onto the next race. If all six of your horses are placed, you clean up. But the first time one of your horses isn't placed, you lose the whole lot. It gets more nerve-wracking the better you. You might have five wins/places, with your potential winnings mounting up, but then fall in the last race, which is heartbreaking. I think I did well getting through to the second race.
There have been two or three competitions about. I've been trying to come up with a story for Burial Day Books' next Blue Book:
http://www.burialday.com/submit/horror-anthology-submission
Then there's this competition, by Chalk The Sun:
http://chalkthesun.co.uk/?page_id=897
And, as always, something for Microhorror:
http://www.microhorror.com/
But nothing came up. A good time, you might think, to write another blog post, but somehow I couldn't bring myself to do that either.
It's been similar with my reading. My bedside cabinet has had mountains of books, poised unsteadily, ready to brain me during the night. In theory, I was reading all of them. But obviously, when you decide that you want to read next, where do you start? It doesn't help that I'm incapable of entering a public library without borrowing something.
I started re-reading a useful book I've read before, How To Get Ideas by Jack Foster. The library files it in their Business section, but it's good for anybody trying to get ideas.
Finally, I got an idea for a story for Burial Day. I hummed and haahed about it- the deadline for the Chalk The Sun competition was up first- but decided that it was better to be writing something, anything, than staring at a blank page. I think I've made a mistake, though. As an experiment, I wrote a dialogue-only first draft. I got the idea from a creative writing book, I can't remember which. I think it was by Olivia Goldsmith. Anyway, the idea is sound enough. You write the dialogue and then see what needs explaining to the reader. You fill in the gaps with bits of prose. But somehow, it's made me feel detached from the story. Oh well, nothing ventured...
Natalie Goldberg has brought another book out, The Truth About Writing. It was good to start reading it. I think I've been trying to turn myself into a factory, churning stuff out. Maybe it's time to get back to writing practice, which Natalie Goldberg has been advising us all to do in her books. You get a notebook, make a list of subjects you're interested in, then write about each of them for a set time, say ten minutes a day. It's a way of getting in touch with your unconscious, where the goodies are, the inspiration.
And I must, absolutely MUST, write biographies for my protagonists. I've got to. Because my characters are beginning to strike me as cardboard at the moment.
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A couple more gems from Microhorror:
http://www.microhorror.com/microhorror/author/ethan-steers/all-eyes-on-hamilton/
http://www.microhorror.com/microhorror/author/kati-krieger/through-the-window/
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