In which characters attack me

[katiefoolery]

Characters keep attacking me when I least expect it, which is probably the best time for it, from their point of view.  First, it was Jane from jane_of_letters.  There I was on Monday day, trying vainly to get some sleep, when Jane popped up and started nattering in my ear.  She wouldn't shut up, so there was nothing for it but to get up (at midnight), go into my study and take down some of what she was saying.

This resulted in my writing 1,855 words in under an hour.  I haven't done much writing in the depths of night before and now I'm inspired to do a little more.  That's quite an impressive outcome for an hour's worth of work.

Next, it was Ryn's turn to attack me.  Ryn is an 'alternate me' from the life_or_freedom community and she's become a little bossy of late.  She keeps popping up at inconvenient times and rattling off bits and pieces that she insists I write down.  She made another appearance today, while I was reading the latest instalment from flippyfrog and kept bothering me until I began writing down one of her confusing reminiscences.

I wonder who's next?  Perhaps Lenore will blather at me in a slightly inane manner about how I should be getting on with The City.  Or maybe Jeannie will tap me on the shoulder and point me in the direction of the second draft of Black Fiddle.  All I know is that they'll choose the most inconvenient time possible for this and won't leave me alone until I start doing something.

Well, I'm sorry to tell them that I'll be taking messages.  I have work to do on Postcards.  Carmen's final letter must be seen to and my new additions to the story need a thorough check, to make sure I've kept the relevant voices intact.  That should set me up for one final read-through of the story before I have to summon up my courage and send it off into the wide world.

Please excuse me while I go and whimper about this fact.

Comments

[crazedturkey.livejournal.com]

No whimpering! All shall be well! Success can never happen if you don't try first...(not that I can talk). So good luck and be brave :D

And thankyou again for the new Lorftastic stuff! Ryn is a delight to read :)

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

You're welcome, good Turks. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I'll try not to whimper.

[crazedturkey.livejournal.com]

Good!

[rigel-7.livejournal.com]

No complaints from all of us LorFers!

But 2am writing - though slightly inconvenient for your sleeping pattern - is a most splendid time to write.

Ideas just seem to pour from your mind in a torrent, rushing down on to the page. Your mind ticks over with myriad possibilities and all the voices clamour within you, vying for attention; those chasms of plot holes and irksome flaws that drive you to despair in your waking hours vanish with the clarity of thought that comes with that one magical hour.

Oh to be caught in the whirlwind of creativity!

[flippyfrog.livejournal.com]

She can't say anything straight, can she? It always has to sound like it's pulled from a poetry book :P

All i can say is, there is simply one cure to all of your problems; Write.

If you don't beware this herring i'm likly to hit you over the head with.

And totally understand the past midnight writing. If i'm awake past 12 i know there will be no sleeping until at least 130, i think that's the time when my mind is empty enough to be bugged by characters. Demanding little buggers...

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

That's very true. If I do a bit more writing, perhaps I can satisfy these characters of mine. Perhaps.

*makes note of the herring*

[cat-eyes-el.livejournal.com]

2am writing for me ends with sentences that don't make it into the world of sentences...

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

That's experimental writing, good Cat. Who's to say what a sentence is these days?

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

I certainly was free from distraction, unless you count Pickle's insisting on going in and out of the room. Silly cat. I'm trying to re-assess the hours at which I do my writing now, but I'm not having much success. I keep either staying up too late, but not late enough, or sleeping in. Ah well. I'll sort it out eventually.

[gwyndolin.livejournal.com]

Such a blessing and a curse when characters won't leave you alone. They never seem to understand things like schedules and responsibilities. "I don't care if you're supposed to be meeting with your boss right now -- what about my needs?"

Needy little bastards. :)

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Very true. But you have to get a bit worried when you need to ask someone to repeat something, because you were paying more attention to what a voice in your head was saying than what they were telling you.

[gravityslave.livejournal.com]

I just had a huge 'duh' moment while reading this! The reason my characters never show up at inoportune times and make me write is because I have had the bad judgment to write characters who are really laid-back, fear exposure, and sleep longer hours than I do!
All I have to do is create a character who has loads of energy and is very persistent and my writing torpor is over!

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Hehe! Good luck with create that energetic character. You might live to regret it, but it'll be fun while it lasts. :)

[naelany.livejournal.com]

heh, inconvenience, maybe. But it sounds like inspiration's taken a 2*4 to your writing and kicked it in gear (if that's a good way of putting it lol)

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

It does, doesn't it? That's quite a good thing, even if it can be a bit inconvenient. It's much better than having no inspiration. :)

[naelany.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure it beats it, yes

[naelany.livejournal.com]

*blinks* howcome I'm not seeing anything on Jane other then the intro anymore??? Was hoping to read your latest

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure - you're a member of the community, so you should be able to see the entries. Were you logged in properly when you looked at the community? We've friends-locked all of the entries, because of copyright issues, but you should be able to see them if you're logged in. Let me know if you're still having trouble and I'll look into it a bit further.

[naelany.livejournal.com]

I was logged in (I never log out of LJ). Just wouldn't work for some reason. Apparently it's working now though *shrug*. If I have problems again, I'll let you know

[talmina.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the submission of Postcards. I wish my characters would do that to me sometimes, except when I'm trying to sleep...

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Thank-you muchly, good Jess. I'll try not to panic too much about it.

The problem is, it's when I'm trying to sleep that these characters are most likely to pop up. I think they sense a moment of weakness and exploit it.

My successfull plan...

[bunhusband.livejournal.com]

I guess all that whispering into your sleeping ear of "Go write something" over and over worked if i got you to get up in the middle of the night to do some writing:):):)


BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHA the power:):)

Whats for dinner tonight??

Bunhubby

Re: My successfull plan...

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

Food.

Git.

:D

Re: My successfull plan...

[bunhusband.livejournal.com]

Better be pretty good food then:)

[sirgallivant.livejournal.com]

I think I'd like that, being hounded by fictional characters. I'm no writer so I have no characters to do any nagging, although I sometimes hear the odd natter from Sir Gallivant, or arguments from some of the other characters of the old SR plays.
And good luck with Postcards ! It's fabulous. :)

[katiefoolery.livejournal.com]

I seem to get a lot of Clarke, for some reason. He always did have the most biting things to say. :)

*sighs wistfully*

[sirgallivant.livejournal.com]

Hehe - 'a lot of Clarke' - that made me laugh out loud. That dear cheesegrater!