Ideas...

As previously mentioned, the Fitzroy series* is my first serious attempt at a substantial written work

So, a voyage of discovery that I am sharing via this blog

A youngster setting out on a literary journey, not a gnarled old practitioner that has seen it all, done it all

At least in mind, if not body

I have been asked where I get ideas from, and there is quite a lot to talk about here

As previously discussed, I had the idea of turning a few poems initially in to one book, and then as things developed into a series of books

So, for me the project was already under way without having to face the blank page

Without having to write the first line of the novel with all the angst that can entail

I had a few pieces of the jigsaw in my hand and it was just a question of finding the other 300 or so

Then an imaginary world began to grow, the Mews, the playroom, the characters

At this stage ideas are sparked by TV programmes, film, a conversation, something I see in the street, really anything

Old ideas surface, the idea of Fitzroy, as previously mentioned, came years ago

It is like creating a net that things fall in to

So, when I get an idea, I am quick to capture it

This might be an idea for a character, a scenario, humour, or something I want to convey

As I said before, could be anything

I write pretty much every morning, sometimes for a short time, sometimes longer, and this is important in making sure ideas don’t fall through the net

I just get it down, sometimes just a few lines, sometimes it grows into a story

Sometimes it merges with another sort of idea

I don’t try to fit it in at this stage

I don’t try to constrain it

I don’t try to judge it

When I have enough content, I start getting ideas for the bigger picture, start putting things together

This is what I mean by a journey, but without a fixed destination

I end up somewhere

If I like it, I stay there a while, if I don’t, I go somewhere else

I will be returning to this subject as there is a lot to be said about it…

*The Fitzroy series will stretch to approx. 300 stories