Writing

Having been engrossed in the construction of my latest story in recent days has led me to thinking about the actual process of writing once again. I seem to have a few different approaches, depending on how the 'muse' takes me - I have written stories, like Valediction, that have come to me almost in 'one piece', and just require a fairly mechanical process of transfer from my brain to the screen, I have written others, such as Suadela and Quaesitum, which developed much more slowly, and still others, like Lucid, that have changed direction pretty radically from their original plot, midstream, as it were. Sometimes, though, the stories and their characters seem to become all-pervasive, almost taking over my life for long periods. Perihelion, and Pete and Ricky, its principal characters, has been the best example of that hitherto, but this new story, despite its first few paragraphs having sat neglected in draft for the best part of two years, seems to be surpassing even that experience. It's already the longest story I've written, and it isn't nearly finished yet, although I do have my ending in mind now. I know I keep going on about it, and I suppose I could be setting myself up for a big anticlimax, if it sinks without trace like most of my other stories, but I can't help myself. It's a love story, and one I'm in love with, I guess. And I know I'll continue to love it, even if no-one else does.

Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B