After posting yesterday, I found myself thinking "When and why did I start writing?" Strangely enough, the answer was quite clear, yet unfortunately unoriginal. When I was 16, my English teacher directed me to a novel in the library I might enjoy called 'A Game of Thrones'. I was completely consumed by Martin's world, and rode every bump through to 2005 when he published 'A Feast for Crows', book four in the supposed seven book series. It was around this time, in '05, when I dejectedly realised that the next book in the series was not coming for quite a while. I needed more! I was taking some creative writing subjects at university at the time, but there was one class which really opened my eyes, I believe it was called 'Writing Extended Fiction'. This is where I developed the idea for my current WIP, which undergoes a name change every couple of months, indecisive as I am. However, the idea is loosely based on the political turmoil faced in Martin's Westeros. I have not found much in this specific genre I call 'political fantasy', so I'm grinding my way through the first of a trilogy I am writing, at excruciatingly slow pace. More on that later.
A couple of days ago I received Martin's latest novel in the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series, 'A Dance with Dragons'. I have looked at the maps inside the first few pages, but I can't bring myself to begin. Why? Martin has a cavalier disregard for the emotions of his reader as evidenced by some major characters being brutally disposed of earlier in the series. And I found myself thinking - Can I handle more of this at the moment? Will this influence my own writing too heavily? The gorgeous novel is sitting in a prominent spot on the bookshelf for now, its pages awaiting my eager eyes. I hear it calling me. It won't be long until I cave. How can I possibly resist?
Back to work in the den,
Luke
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