They say writers will find any excuse to get away from their desk and I'm definitely guilty. But, recently, I've found myself wanting to get down to putting words on the page again - a feeling which is both heady and terrifying in equal measure.
Perhaps it's the start of the new academic year, which for me has involved a shift in universities and the beginning of studying for an MA in creative writing. However, my timetable is unexpectedly light on contact time - four hours a week, split into two two-hour sessions, (one of which is at night). A part of me is mourning the promise of the student experience I'd been looking forward to; Newcastle is a fantastic city for culture, music and student life, but one which can't be fully appreciated on a timetable centred around a Monday afternoon.
More positively though, after the first week of seminars, I'm excited by the structure of degree and the focus on long form (novels). This excitement stems from the fact that I currently have a couple of characters floating around in my head which are keeping me awake at night. I keep questioning the way they would act, the settings I find them in, and how to write their world in an authentic way. For me, setting is hugely important. I like to spend time getting to know the places in my head intimately so that when I write, I can pick out only the truly necessary and truly beautiful details. The step from short stories to longer pieces leaves a huge gap which is all too easily filled with the kind flowing, descriptive passages I love to write; and which can kill a plot before it's even started.
In a writing workshop a couple of years ago there was a discussion around finding a piece of music or art which you love and needing to expand on it, to make it more tangible and whole or to write down the atmosphere of it in words. It was odd to hear someone else describing a feeling, (or perhaps a process, if you can call it that), which was so similar to my own. For me, there are maybe a handful of these pieces in the form of songs: MS MR's 'Hurricane', from which the title of this blog post is taken, and Fink's 'Looking Too Closely' are both among them. However, it's the album 'The Back Room' by Editors which has been bothering my subconscious lately. I've devoured that album every time I've heard it since its release over a decade ago. Something about the sparseness of it is begging to be to explored and occupied. Somewhere in there are the bones of a story which I expect will become my first novel. It remains to be seen how much of The Back Room’s influence will be visible when all is said and done, but I hope the shapes and outlines might still be hidden in there for those who know where to go digging.
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