Saturday 21 August 2021

Decade. Ten short years to achievement.

This is weird.  It’s been so long since I’ve even attempted to write anything other than a work email, that it’s taken me over a week to be able to start typing.  And this is how I start?  Marvellous.  Consider your expectations managed.

My last blog post was about the love of my life, David Bowie, not long after he died.  That wasn’t intentional.  I didn’t write it thinking, ‘I can’t go on, my creativity and my voice have died with him’, I simply became distracted.  I changed job, bought my first home, discovered gardening and decorating, and allowed laziness to take over in between all of the above.  And Xbox.  Xbox took over, too.

So why did I start writing now?  I blame/thank (delete as appropriate) Mark Watson and his Decade experiment.

The basic premise is that people have and continue to come together to support each other in achieving their chosen goals, and the deadline for their completion is ten years.  There’s more to it, and I would encourage you to check out #watsondecade on Twitter if it’s something you, or someone you know, might be interested in joining.  It’s not too late to join in, we’ve really truly only just begun.  There are plenty of posts in @watsoncomedian 's feed, or hit me up for some extra guidance.

One of my two goals is to write a novel.  It’s something I’ve tried to do a number of times over the last twenty years and never quite managed to complete.  I lost interest, or the laptop it was saved on gave up the ghost.  At other times I lost confidence in the story or couldn’t find my way through it.

The thought of jumping straight into writing a novel is inconceivable to me at this point.  Do I revisit an old story and see where I can take it or do I start from scratch?  If I revisit an old attempt, where did I save it?  If I start from scratch, I need to think of a new story to tell.  No.  I need to ease myself into this.  I have ten years.  Plenty of time.

That’s why I’m writing this now and you’re reading.

Is someone reading?

Hello?  

*taps screen* …

...

Getting started is tough, even with this blog post.  So to keep it short I’ve written a Haiku, so I can explain my motivational and creative processes without sending you to sleep.

My imagination wakes
Oh, how do I start?
Buy a new laptop, numpty

So that’s what I did.

To be continued...