A Quick Chat

Aside

Some time ago it was pointed out to me that in early posts it was difficult to distinguish the past from the present and # 1 son suggested I had two headings : ‘Story contd,’ and ‘Asides.’ Just lately people have been brave enough to peruse the archives so I am now making sure that at least each episode of the story of my Imperfect Past is labelled ‘Story contd.’ For non-techie me it is quite a laborious job and I have done about five months and hope to complete it shortly. Just discovered there is another four months to do, so shortly will be more longly.

I have now got my story - up to date – on one document, and my step-son has shown me how to put it on a USB memory stick instead of faffing around burning CD’s. Any comments welcomed. That was a good happening. A less good one was when the glass dropped out of my delicate specs – for no particular reason other than I dropped them. They are now altogether again but at present I’m wearing my # 2 pair and # 3 in the garden. (So please ‘scuse errors)

Yesterday I received my copy of ‘You’re not the only one’ compiled by Sarah Peach. I am trying to save it for my holiday but have started it already and – of course – made sure my own offering was there. It will be a comfort to have something absorbing if the weather is foul. So on Friday we are off to Dorset – fingers crossed we stay the course this time. It should be stress free as we are in a cottage with complete freedom to do nothing if we feel like it.

See you all when I get back and please don’t run away.

Progress Report.

Aside

It still feels presumptuous to talk about ‘the book I am writing’ but what the hell! I now am up to date, in that all the episodes of ‘Past Imperfect’ are on one document and I have done some preliminary editing – for example - deleting headings which are episodic (what a nice word that is) instead of chapter headings. I have done some revision and find – to my delight - I rather enjoy it. I am fumbling with chapters - where, how long, how many? My total word count so far is 97,000 but how many pages is that? I know - if I count the words on a page of the autobiography I have just finished reading and multiply by the number of pages… but then there are lots of half pages which affect the calculation. Bother!

It was a comfort to read in The DT’s Review that when , after writing two successful books about the death of her husband and then her daughter, Joan Didion on being asked to write a play said, ‘I did not want to write a play. I had never wanted to write a play. I did not know how to write play.’

On meeting David Hare, who was to direct it she asked him how ‘long’ a play should be. ‘He did a word count on his own Via Dolorosa: 15,000 give or take.’

The point being that even someone as gifted as she is, feels uncertain when tackling something new.

Vanessa Redgrave is to play the lead and I’m sure – as she did in ‘Atonement’ – will shine like the candescent star she can be. ‘The Year of Magical Thinking’ opens at the National on April 25^th.

Back to the book, it’s clear I have a lot of work to do with regard to continuation and cohesion, to say nothing of coherence, conciseness and clarity. I need to read the manuscript from beginning to where I’m up to. I’m not done yet, so possibly there will have to be massive cuts. That’s much less daunting than having to pad it out. Onward and upward! I have a theory that post natal depression sets in after publication – I can comfort myself with that if nought comes of it. Meanwhile agents and publishers please form an orderly queue.