Needs

A picture of Cascan,
made for me by the talented
 Karl Dernburger.

At the moment I feel the pull of writing on me, my mind is reeling with my FYP (yes I finally got there) and I have a thirst to write. This is a good thing, last time this really happened I wrote for a month straight and covered over 30,000 words. But this time it could coincide with my birthday, and Mark's next visit.

Of course, if that's the case, I will have to prevent myself from writing. Friday should be easy, being out all day and enjoying myself. But if it strikes on Saturday how will I prevent it? This impossible desire, like a vampire's thirst almost, it's very difficult to resist, especially when you've been embracing these moments for the past six years. 

Thursday could be exactly the day to blow off enough steam for the weekend, and I can write more on the Sunday. The thing that spurs me on is that the Plot is about to get interesting. It needs work, understandably, I'm not entirely sure where it's supposed to go yet. I do, however, know that Val needs to die in order for the plot to work correctly. Not hard considering the state the character's in. 

More than ever, I need to get myself into some kind of disciplined writing. There are those who say they only write when the mood strikes them, to them I say look at the writers who wrote a thousand words before breakfast, look at how many novels they churned out in their lifetime. Two a year on average... that's so many chances at best sellers. Editing is a different thing, if you can get the first draft done it's all worth the work you put in. 

I was reading an interview with Terry Pratchett this morning and came across something that made me wonder. With the release of the first part of the seventh Harry Potter film, the infamous J.K.Rowling is back on our minds. Hayley and I were discussing her inability to let go of her texts. The interview raised issues of translation to American and I seem to remember J.K throwing a hissy-fit because they changed "mum" into "mom". As Pratchett pointed out though, "We're talking the "pavement vs. sidewalk" argument. If the use of the English word is not only unfamiliar, but changes the meaning of the sentence to the reader, then it makes some sense to change the word." thereby making J.K's insistence that the word "mum" remain English a ridiculous decision as she seems to be sacrificing her reader's understanding because of her control freakery.

It's the whole "Dumbledore is gay" argument too. At a certain point your text needs to speak the story for itself. It's like a child growing up, by the time it's ready to be sent out into the world, you've done all you can for it, and now you need to let it stand alone. If my books ever got taken to the screen I think I'd throw them the manuscript and let them get on with it. Of course, if they wanted my input, all they'd have to do would be to ask, but ultimately the film would be a reproducing of something that no longer belonged to me. We can't keep hold of things that are publicly available, it just makes us look like a bitch.

To J.K I say: seriously woman, get a grip.