Breaking promises

I promised myself, that when I finished Carrie's Diaries, I'd buckle down and revise for my theory test.

But then my friend let me on to the release date for The Tree Of Seasons, the book Stephen Gately was almost through writing when he died. She's already finished it (she says she knew Stephen and Andrew well. Think that means she got sent it early. Either that or she pre-ordered. Knowing her, it was the first option) but it was only released Thursday.

So I finished Carrie's Diaries today, and have already started on The Tree Of Seasons. I am so bad. It's going well so far, if a little slow. I get the feeling he's writing some Irish folklore into The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe.

Ordinarily, I would consider it blasphemy to try to replicate The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, but Stephen Gately seemed so genuine and warm, and had a huge appreciation for Disney that I'm not sure I can be all rude about it. Especially as he's now deceased. So I'll get over my normal vehemence, because Stephen Gately was a dude.

Anyway, Carrie's Diaries! I wasn't ever an avid watcher of Sex And The City, and have never read the books that the films are based on. I did watch it occasionally, and immediately fell in love with Samantha. I could take Carrie or leave her, Miranda would annoy me too much since she's too like me, and Charlotte's pretty cool, but Samantha has that confidence I'd love to have. So the prequel intrigued me.

The only character really in it is Carrie, and a whole bunch of 'new' characters. I wish Cassie read this, and commented, because I know she's really into SATC and she'd be able to tell me if Carrie ever mentioned a Lali, or Donna LaDonna (Samantha's cousin), or Maggie or The Mouse ... I just have to guess. Or spend an obscene amount of money on the series to see if there's a mention of any of them (or not, I think I saw it dirt cheap in tesco's. But I spent about £70 today so there's no chance) ... I might just plague Cassie on facebook.

Candace has a great writing style. I'm envious. There were a few things that didn't sit right with me - I didn't really get that Carrie felt so enamoured with Sebastian (or maybe it was me thinking 'he's a douche, he's a douche' the entire time) or the whole bit with Peter (you'll see when you get there, I want everyone to read) but otherwise, I liked the way Carrie came across. When Donna LaDonna mentioned a cousin in NYC who Carrie should meet up with, I could tell right off who it could be, which made me want to skip pages (always a good sign in a writer, if I have to restrain from doing that and get on with the minor details instead). There were some things written in the book that kind of sparked something, some hint of recognition, when Carrie was talking about wanting to be a writer and the advice she's given along the way. Sidebar - I hate when authors make their protagonists aspire to be writers. It just feels like they're making a mockery of the entire system, being so preachy about the chances of being published and blah, blah, blah. However, I do know Carrie wrote weekly for a magazine or paper, so this always felt a little more like realistic back story than, say, anything Lindsey Kelk ever wrote.

Advice point one - write what you know. That old adage. To this point, I think when I write I both succeed and fail. I'm an observer, and I've had a fair amount of life experience. To that end, I can write a hell of a lot of what I know. But also ... maybe I try to distance myself from what I know to an extent, and put the experiences in different locations, situations ... so it's not what I know. Does this doom me to poor writing ever after?

Advice point two - Keep a diary. Or, in this modern age, a blog. Carrie doesn't, but I do. Admittedly, intermittently, but I do. It helps practice writing and documenting key points in life. It helps to formulate writing style and precision. It's like with anything to do with body and mind - if you don't practice, you won't do as well for as long. I know sometimes I may only make sense to me (and sometimes, I don't even achieve that) but hopefully we can bear in mind the crazy from the illness episode and use that as a formidable excuse. I don't know what's with my extensive vocabulary suddenly, by the way. It's the mood I'm in.

Advice point three - I'm going to have to lift this from the text, because it's far more eloquent than I can be. "Audiences often ask if characters are based on 'real people.' Indeed, the impulse of the amateur is to write about 'who one knows.' The professional, on the other hand, understands the impossibility of such a task. The 'creator' of the character must know more about the character than one could ever possibly know about a 'real person.' The author must possess complete knowledge: what the character was wearing on Christmas morning when he or she was five, what presents he or she received, who have them, and how they were given. A 'character' therefore, is a 'real person' who exists in another plane, a parallel universe based on the author's perception of reality. When it comes to people - don't write about you know know, but what you know of human nature."

I get that. I feel I do that. Feedback when you read my stuff?

P.S. Is this not the most affirmative review I've given so far on my blog or what? Not to sound arrogant ... it's just nice to be able to praise writing, rather than complain about it. In short - Candace Bushnell makes none of the rookie mistakes I make that I recognise in others work. Kudos Ms Bushnell, Kudos.