Monday, May 22, 2006

In which fingerless mittens are yearned for

I sould stop knitting all my various projects and just sit down and knit myself a pair of fingerless mittens now. That's how cold it is.

In twenty minutes time the children will be home and I shall attempt to bribe them to come for a walk with me.

I have worked in a desultory fashion on my fantasy novel. I feel very uncertain about it. I keep thinking, but the next bit will be really good. But why is it always the next bit? What about the bit I'm doing right now? Why isn't it really good?

On the other hand I have finished the novella, The Wish List.

Perhaps the next bit will be really good because then I'll be wearing fingerless mittens and able to hit the kruvpstf accurately? Is that what I mean? Or do I expect the gods and goddesses of fantasy writing to zoom down, perch on my shoulder and lovingly dictate the next bit?

In the meantime, I'm looking for the titles of children's books, preferably young adult and preferably fantasy, in which the protagonist (or one of them) practises art in some way, preferably writing. This is for my thesis.

Yes, I know about Margaret Mahy's The Tricksters. It is beautiful. I wish I had written in. I had a crisis about teaching after I read it. I wondered if I should just give up teaching and just focus on writing. But after this morning's effort, I'm rather glad I've put that whole idea on hold for the time being. Clearly I could make a better decision in fingerless mittens.

If you haven't read The Tricksters, do.

1 comment:

Gregory Brett Hardy said...

Man, I've said it on Kayjay's blog, I've said it on mine and now I'm saying it on yours: Paul sucks.

I still haven't found a book for you but I am trying. You have me interested. I'm going through my collection and looking for you, Catherine. You can pay me back by getting me a bookcase. A big one. Made of oak and polished a deep, desert brown. Just a nice, expensive, large, heavy bookcase.

Or you ignore the request. I would, but then, I'm an idiot.

Now, Catherine, your fantasy... perhaps, if you relaxed a little? Because in class you mention it and you seem anxious about it, you know what I mean. Try some writing excersises that I had to do once. When I realised my characters were being too formal I thought that maybe, my own anxiety was getting into the story so I wrote a quick one-pager were I allowed the characters to just relax, in dialogue particuarly. Much better.